The Directors: Jerk Store
Jerk Store has a knack for finding the funny within the funny, and magnifying the key comedic moment in a spot - a knack they most certainly developed while spending their formative professional years as an award-winning creative team in Toronto where they picked up A&D Club, Applied Arts, Communication Arts, Marketing Awards and One Show awards.
When they aren’t mining for pure comedy gold, the duo - consisting of Ben Weinberg and Pat Andrews - can be found purchasing unnecessary guitar-related gear and unlistenable vinyl records.
Their short film 'Get Happy' which screened this past year at Just for Laughs, LA Comedy Festival, and The Austin Comedy Film Festival, has been described as “under four minutes in length”.
Name: Jerk Store (Ben Weinberg and Patrick Andrews)
Location: Toronto
Repped by/in: The Deli
Awards: Participaction Excellence Badge, Red Cross Maroon Water Safety Patch, Just For Laughs Eat My Shorts Short Film Finalist, LA Comedy Fest Sort Film Finalist, Austin Comedy Film Fest Short Film Finalist, and most recently a Silver CMA for Skip the Dishes
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Jerk Store> Seems obvious, but scripts with a good core idea first and foremost. Or the kernel of one. A hint of one, even. As long as there is something insightful or absurd or both, we can build something good out of it.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Jerk Store> It all starts with that core idea we mentioned earlier. What about that idea is inherently funny or insightful? Why is it inherently funny or insightful? Answering those questions will usually tell us everything about how we should approach the script. Everything from the cast, to location to art direction to camera to audio. We measure everything against what we’ve identified as the core idea. Occasionally we’ll make choices that stray from that, but those choices will require some sort of conceptual justification. Also we make sure we have a funny cover page that has our contact info and names spelled correctly. Crucial.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Jerk Store> Actually, less important than one would think. We don’t 'immerse ourselves' in the brand, to borrow some ad-speak. We’re not immersers. There’s already lots of immersing going on by the agency and client. They need to be the experts on the brand and brand strategy. We need to be experts in comedy and to bring some fresh eyes to the project. Informed eyes, yes, but fresh eyes. You can never know too much, but over-researching can sap your enthusiasm and make you too clinical in your approach. You need to maintain your intuitiveness. And again, if the script is halfway decent, it will have a lot of what you really need to know.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Jerk Store> Collaborative-ness is always good. But trust is even better. Trust-ness? When you trust each other you are excited about creative risks, not sceptical of them. And in the best cases, these so-called 'risks' become obvious creative choices that everyone agrees are crucial to the success of the spot.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Jerk Store> We lean more to the absurd and awkward, because that is our life experience in general. It’s what we know best, and correspondingly it’s what we do best. Not to say we don’t love all flavours of comedy, and other genres as well, because we do. But if you’re looking to make Terms of Endearment II, we probably ain’t your team.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Jerk Store> Not great in general, as it tends to make the production process unnecessarily adversarial. We get it however. There’s a mistrust between client, agencies and production that’s been cultivated over a long, long period of time. It’s fuelled mostly by a lack of knowledge, a lack of transparency and a cynical sense that everyone’s goals aren’t the same, or even contradictory. It’s too bad. As a former creative team, we know how tough it is to get work through and to get it done with ever diminishing budgets. So we can certainly sympathise.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Jerk Store> Animals in general are tough. You know, the ‘not wanting to be there’ and the stooling and such. But one spot required a sloth. And somewhat ironically we needed said sloth quickly. But surprisingly there aren’t a lot of thespian sloths out there. Luckily we had access to an incredible puppeteer who created (in record time) a sloth that was even more sloth-like than an actual sloth. And best of all in the end, no real sloths were needlessly bothered for the purposes of an ad.
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Jerk Store> Well, really everybody should be protecting the idea. The tough part is making everyone on board see things that way, and to take an active part in that stewardship. The best way we’ve found to do that is to be honest about everything and to intelligently explain and defend our choices, even if those choices seem frivolous, absurd or even counter-intuitive.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Jerk Store> Absolutely, of course. It’s extremely important for diversity to be reflected in every aspect of production.
And we certainly welcome any and all mentoring opportunities, which is something that was an important part of our agency-side days.
LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time?
Jerk Store> Even more obsessive hand-washing and an intensified fear of intimacy.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Jerk Store> Obviously you have to keep all formats in mind. You just have to make sure you’re not compromising anything conceptually or comedically crucial in order to accommodate something that’s just technical. It’s very case by case, shot by shot in nature.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?
Jerk Store> The tech advancements of the last little while are all very exciting. And we look forward to serving our future computer overlords with humility and dignity.
LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?
Jerk Store> The three spots and short film we’ve included best reflect our work so far. A bit weird, a bit absurd, more than a bit awkward and hopefully funny.
