LBB Dream Teams: MAMA on Living in a State of Tinkering and Riffing

Together, Mark Potoka and Matt Spicer form directing duo, MAMA. Before bringing their talents onto set, the pair were deskmates and became friends at Wieden + Kennedy. Despite initially being told their joint creative was “too dark”, they eventually were allowed to work together, and from there, Matt, a trained copywriter, and Mark, an art director-turned writer, wrote as many comedic scripts as they could get their hands on the briefs for.

Now pairing their funny dialogue with cinematic visuals, they are carving out a distinct comedic look and voice, influenced by their years of ad writing. As a directorial duo, the pair has now worked with the top agencies on campaigns for household names, including GEICO, Rocket Mortgage, Dave’s Hot Chicken, Hershey’s, Anheuser Busch and more.

Constantly communicating to achieve a “hive-mind consensus” on each creative decision, MAMA doesn’t divide its roles and responsibilities between the two, instead vetting each other's ideas until a refined, unified approach is met. So when it comes time to shoot, there’s little question as to what needs to be executed.

“We both have a very good sense of where each other’s heads are at and what performances we’re after,” says Matt. “Of course, we also improv with actors and make adjustments, but that’s the fun part. It’s also where we shine. Riffing and throwing out lines until we make the work as funny as can be.”

For Mark, it’s only ever the little things that cause clashes between them - be it a lens choice, how a shot is framed or whose line is funnier - but these disagreements rarely escalate to frustration. Matt jokes,

“We have a small room on every set where we can beat up effigies of each other and then go back to set and let cooler heads prevail. It’s why we’re sometimes holding fake limbs and why we’re always a little sweaty.”

Transitioning to the production world has proven easier than expected for MAMA, with Matt going as far to say it felt “a little like cheating” to start their directing career with several years as a successful creative partnership already under their belts.

“We just start with the ball at the five-yard line every time,”

he says, explaining how the pair try to re-write every bit of creative they’re given to give people an insight into their style, and to shake off some of the inherent restraints of the idea.

“We know how it goes - how many iterations, clients and creatives weigh into the work through the process. So sometimes it’s good to approach it with fresh eyes and ideas that don’t have all the baggage,” says Mark.

“Sometimes, we push things too far, want to set too many things on fire, or want to jackknife too many semi-trucks (if anyone has a concept that allows us to do this, please call us).” 

Read the full article on LBB here.