Following their conversation during our Labs event, Qezz Gill caught up with Katie Metcalfe, NOWNESS’ video commissioner again to learn more about their commissioning process, which stories and visual style catch their eye and potential opportunities in the world of short film. Qezz has also selected some of her favourite NOWNESS films which you can check out below.
Since 2010, Katie has been dedicated to curating and programming shorts from many global lenses at Sundance Film Festival. With over 15 years of experience tracking talent and developing new directorial voices, Katie is now a Video Commissioner at global video platform NOWNESS where she has commissioned editorial films across fashion, art and culture as well as branded content for clients such as Valentino, Adidas, Farfetch and Nanushka. Katie’s dedication to showcasing cross-cultural stories is a reminder that film is timeless and that sharing stories from different perspectives keeps the world revolving.
Qezz: Please can you tell us what a Commissioning Director is?
Katie: Essentially a Commissioning Director oversees everything related to commissioning films. From conceiving new series ideas, developing creative approaches/campaigns for clients, writing briefs, developing film treatments and providing feedback notes on edits and then working with the editorial team to plan the release campaign. Most of my job is about building relationships with directors and being across the work that’s being made and the bigger conversations out there in culture. The role can expand to hosting screenings, producing events and overall giving filmmakers the resources to develop their directorial vision.
Qezz: What is the process of commissioning at Nowness?
Katie: There are three ways we commission. They are Editorial Films, Arts Partnership films and branded content. Editorial films are concepts we build with our inhouse team where we look at what is happening in culture at the moment. Our tagline when picking concepts is ‘timeless yet timely’ in hopes to make work which can live on in perpetuity and not tied to a moment. So we commission Directors that have a strong photographic eye and a sense of composition.
Our Arts Partnerships are with institutions like the Tate, Design Museum and Barbican where they come to us with a brief relating to an exhibition they are doing and we will come up with ideas on creatively approaching telling the stories.
Lastly, The branded content is where clients like Adidas and Dior will come to us with a brief and our internal team will brainstorm the three ways in which we can approach telling the story. This will usually be through documentary, narrative film or a conceptual film. We create decks for the client to choose which route to pursue and then invite directors that we think are suitable for the subject matter as well as developing the creative side of things and help with the editing notes.
Qezz: Does social media play a role in finding emerging filmmakers?
Katie: It plays a big role. We track talent on Instagram, especially filmmakers that have created a universe of their style, tone and mood that strongly communicates their work and location. Post-Covid, we are much more lenient about our process and are thinking more locally. It’s a useful tool to know where directors are in the world so we can send them the brief and do it so it’s environmentally conscious.
Qezz: What makes a good treatment?
Katie: For a platform like NOWNESS, the treatment needs to be super visual and communicate the story you want to tell. Thinking about the ‘why’ and ‘how’ where it communicates a sense of purpose and pinpoints why the film needs to be made. Words don’t always encapsulate the full universe you’re wanting to create; make sure to include lots of visual references with links, style , tone and mood of what film you’re making. It’s also worth mentioning how you can bring your own personal experience into your storytelling which always helps authenticate the film.
Qezz: Can you tell us about your career progression?
Katie: I started out running short film nights with short film label Future Shorts, and then moved into acquisitions and distribution – acquiring short films at festivals and selling them to broadcasters, airlines and VOD platforms. I moved to New York in 2009 and attended the Sundance Film Festival and shortly after joined the programming team as a short film programmer which I’ve been doing for 11 years now. The programming work was a good counterbalance to the distribution work – championing work for bold, daring vision as opposed to purely for commercial appeal. During this time I was also producing various film events and went on to project manage the 2012 Vimeo Festival & Awards. Then I moved back to London and joined NOWNES in 2016 as a Video Commissioner.
Qezz: When you look back on your previous roles, which stand out the most and why?
Katie: I’d say the commissioning role at NOWNESS really stands out, because it was a culmination of the experience and relationships I’d built up over the years and I was now much more actively making new work.
You can hear Katie and Qezz talk about all of these topics in more detail by watching back our recent LABS event with them here.
Below, Qezz has hand picked a few of her favourites for you to explore and indulge in the best visual storytelling NOWNESS has to offer.
Nowness is an epicenter of honouring the best in culture through film. For me, the platform is a place of discovery, innovation and thought. As a photographer and filmmaker my only goal in creating is to share. I enjoy sharing and watching tales of refreshing concepts and have dedicated my lens as a tool for building fantasies around real life events, memory keeping, and capturing moments.
Through the years, I have learnt that as people and creatives we like to hold onto moments and showcase our hopes for the future through images, words and videos.
I knew every weekend when I was 4 years old, I’d be placed in front of a camera to do a photoshoot to send to my dad in Dubai. At 14 I begged my cousin to give me her Sony Ericsson W200 phone to take on a school trip. Now, at 24, I capture people and tell stories through my lens for a living. The films below are some of my favourite bodies of work from the site where each film honours the same values of culture, radical thought and redefinement.
1. Tall are The roots
Byredo channels the zeitgeist of our uncertain times to mark the release of the Mixed Emotions scent
2. Rituals: The 99 Names of God
Arab-American filmmaker Yumna Al-Arashi explores the rhythmic rituals of mystic Islam.
3. A Hue Named Blue
Two creatives explore adidas Originals’ iconic color for the launch of the FW21 Blue Version collection
4. Harmónia
Director Isaac Lock embraces freedom, movement and joy in a spirited new film debuting Nanushka’s SS22 collection
