Short of the Week

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Comedy Mark Waites

The 1st

Spend a day behind the scenes of test commercial, where a wall of milk bottles are to be blown up. It doesn’t sound like a tall order, but the clash of hard-working professionals and creative egos can endanger even the most straightforward of shoots.

Play
Comedy Mark Waites

The 1st

Spend a day behind the scenes of test commercial, where a wall of milk bottles are to be blown up. It doesn’t sound like a tall order, but the clash of hard-working professionals and creative egos can endanger even the most straightforward of shoots.

The 1st

Directed By Mark Waites
Produced By Mother & DMC Film & Vero
Made In UK

What happens when you bring together an egotistical film director, a cursed AD and 2500 stacked milk bottles? Brimming with British talent, including Steve Oram (Sightseers, The End of the F***ing World) and Morgan Watkins (Kingsman: The Secret Service), The 1st is a spectacular explosion of sardonic comedic brilliance. Inspired by a true story, written and directed by Mark Waites (co-founder of the prestigious agency, Mother) and co-produced by Michael Fassbender and Conor McCaughan’s DMC Film (Robot & Scarecrow), the 12 minute comedy allows an eclectic gallery of film-set archetypes to drive its story—perfect for cineastes who like to imagine behind-the-scenes drama and thirst for a guarantee of cringe-worthy moments and a bloody good laugh.

First-time director Loick is shooting a 30sec commercial which involves a wall of empty milk bottles getting blown up and filmed in slow motion. The studio is hired for the day, the crew is working hard, the bottles are being stacked—everything is going to plan, with one tiny exception—the first assistant director has got the flu and his replacement is cursed! Well, maybe not cursed, but he’s on a bad streak. A crew member lost a finger on his last project, and whispers of a hex are going around. He could really use a win, and the tension is rising…

Filmed entirely inside a West London studio, the film’s pulling power comes from a familiar role reversal we have seen in TV shows like Extras, where A-listers become the anonymous faces behind the camera. It’s a tried and tested technique and one we’ve grown to love. Waites’ direction and writing are excellent, the characters are fleshed out and the cast’s ongoing refusal to take themselves seriously deserves to be commended. Watkins does a grand job of embodying Loick (only occasionally threatening to slip into caricature territory) and delivers the best lines in the film. Whether you work in the advertising industry or not, chances are you’ve met ‘that’ guy—arrogant, self-important, and an absolute tit. My favourite scene has to be the one where the director ponders on what to write on the slate for the explosion shot, perfectly capturing just how utterly clueless he is. Favourite quote: “I was always a director, I just wasn’t directing”, closely followed by “they’re not milk bottles until they’ve had milk in them.”

Steve Oram is superb as Kelly, the allegedly cursed AD. We figure out exactly who he is pretty much straight away—a kind, hard-working, family man, whose luck has just about run out and driven him to desperation in order to make ends meet. His barely contained frustration is almost palpable and his misfortune totally disarming. But the performance that really stood out for me was that of actress and comedian Cariad Lloyd (Peep Show), whose character, Julia, keeps the film from falling into a more familiar and cynical satire. She provides the balance between the two leads and lifts The 1st out of an ordinary sketch comedy into something touching and relatable.

The 1st has enjoyed a successful festival run, including Newport Beach Film Festival, Encounters and the Aesthetica Short Film Festival. A co-production with the social network Vero, the film premiered as an exclusive on that platform last year, only now arriving on other platforms. The film is a touch predictable, but with the talent involved it is still a blast to follow along, and its very British sensibility charmed this Londoner immensely!