My Creative Obsession: Dean Friske

Friske (said like whiskey) is a commercial filmmaker specialising in comedy, performance and the delicate art of can-do-ism. Writing, directing and editing, he shepherds campaigns all the way from “Could this be a good idea?” to “Holy sh*t, they let that idea on TV?”.

Born in Far North Queensland, Dean once swam fast enough to get into Olympic, Commonwealth and World Championship trials — and slow enough to now be a filmmaker. He’s also solo-backpacked through Morocco, Syria, India and Nepal. All that wandering gave him a soft spot for people and all their glorious quirks, which now fuels everything he makes.

Today, Dean shares his creative obsession.

What is your creative obsession?

Some would say, as a director, you have to be obsessed with everything. But I have too many and varied interests to be obsessed with any one thing. Collaboration is also one of the most enjoyable aspects of what we do, so why not let other people obsess over the details? A gentle point in the right direction does wonders.

That said, as a director… (oh my god, does that not sound like the wankiest thing ever? It’s how I preface everything FYI --

“Anything catch your eye from our wine list, sir?”

“As a director…”

“When did you start to feeling this pain in your chest?”

“Well, as a director…”

“You know you can’t park there, you muppet!”

“Actually, as a director…”)

But, as a director, out of everything -- story, action, framing, set design etc, -- at the top of that list for me, would be character. Without a compelling character, why should an audience stick around, or engage with the brand, or share that story with others? Story matters, but that all lives and dies with the characters telling it -- and I prefer my characters to have something fun or unusual going on.

When did it first arise?

I was an only child for the first eight years of my life, so I spent a lot of time with adults. Did I understand what they were saying? No. So I blame this 'obsession' on them.

No surprise that one of my first gigs was editing, where you notice what an extra five frames of a look could say about someone, or the abruptness of their actions, or the way they held themselves despite whatever crazy crap was going on around them. All the minutia -- the subtle, often subconscious choices of actors -- is what stories are built on.

How has this evolved over time?

I’m not sure it has. Whenever I get a script (or write one), I’m still that kid pretending to be that person, and wondering where they are emotionally and physically, and why they’re doing what they’re doing.

While I’ve always been attracted to the off-beat, I find myself more zeroed in on those inflection points where reality meets the absurd. It’s there that things get really interesting, and more often than not, funny (and hell knows we need more of that these days).

Take this scene from 'Ocean’s 11'. On paper, the movie could live without Bernie Mac’s 'moisturiser' dialogue and cut straight to hands being squeezed. The specificity of what this character reveals though, and how diametrically opposed that is what is actually going on (physically intimidating the salesman), turns what could be potentially procedural into something hilarious, charming and memorable.

Likewise, the dialogue from Mission Control in this spot for Corporate Traveller could’ve been so much straighter. Instead, thinking about exactly how incompetent Mission Control could be and what that looked like led to something unusual and norm-breaking.

How does your focus on character influence the way you approach your work and how do you think it enhances your output?

Casting becomes everything. And then it’s looking at the objectives of the character. Like with this Vicks spot.

In the original script and animatics, the la-z-boy warped into a 3D sled and the vapour drops disappeared. Looking at it through the lens of character though, there’s no way he’d be tossing those vapour drops. They’re his 'magic beans'. Realising this gave us more opportunities for him to interact with the brand in a comical, unexpected way, making his descent more than the expected scream-fest.

Likewise, in the spot below for SafetyCulture, after a woman is sucked into a black hole, there was a lot of discussion around the line “gonna miss her salmon quiche”. The main character was the epitome of “she’ll be right, mate”, reflecting most attitudes towards workplace safety. But how do you show someone who’s apathetic acknowledge a relationship he’s just lost, all while being true to the scene? “Gonna miss her” could too easily fall flat. But “gonna miss her salmon quiche”? Suddenly, you’re seeing beyond the moment and imagining their past interactions in the lunchroom. The story becomes all the more richer, memorable and amusing because of it. That’s character. And if approached right, character adds meaning.

But it demands being specific. Being specific scares marketers, as they often want to cast the broadest net. Counterintuitively though, specificity makes things more tangible, which in turn makes it more relatable, giving audiences something concrete to connect with.

Has your obsession with character impacted your personal life in any way?

If we’re all heroes in our own story, then I guess the most extreme thing I did in the pursuit of character, was decide the kind of person I was going to be when I turned 30.

I had a friend, who was also a director, and when she turned 30 she went AWOL. Walked off set in the middle of a shoot and didn’t come back for three days. No-one knew where she was. I was determined not to be someone who lets life happen to them, but instead, grabs it by the balls and runs with it. So, instead, I rode naked from my home in Newtown, Sydney to the Opera House during peak hour traffic, with “what will you be doing when UR 30?” on my back. The plan was to meet mates there for a picnic breakfast. But my support car got stuck in said traffic, with my clothes, and so I was standing around for half an hour doing A-frame hugs. Definitely character building.

What advice would you give to anyone who wants to learn more about character?

Do acting or improv classes. Watch movies or TV with the sound off. Or do what Robert Downey Jr and Michael Douglas do in one of my favourite scenes – watch people and let your imagination off the leash.