At Capacity: Spencer Jamison Interview

5th August 2024

At Capacity: Spencer Jamison Interview. By Joe Muldoon.

Comparisons and allusions to similar romances (particularly Linklater’s Before Sunrise) will undoubtedly be made (as I myself have); were you particularly influenced by any other shorts or films?

I take that as a high complement, so thank you! What’s funny is at the time of writing and filming this short, I hadn’t seen the trilogy yet! Most of my training has been in theater so I am still actively working my way through film canon and am very grateful to get to experience such brilliant work with the perspective I have now. My wonder, whimsy, and love of dialogue definitely comes from plays and golden age films my mom played like Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, The Philadelphia Story or The Sound of Music. I’m enamored by the way Nora Ephron and Rob Reiner films present witty and charming romantic characters that feel grounded and human… My goal was to do the same. I also infused a bit of the essence of 90s Black romances like Love Jones, Waiting to Exhale, and Love and Basketball as well as a sprinkle of The American President and more recently, Rye Lane.

Having written the short and cast yourself as Mia, how much of her character is a self-insert?

There are elements of me in both Mia and Ari. Mia is probably a bit more guarded than I am but I do relate to her desire to take care of everyone, even pushing herself past her bandwidth. As I was writing, I’d recently worked through a bout of burnout and symptoms of brain fog brought on by long Covid. I wanted to write a character whose walls are disarmed by someone who moves through the world with complete authenticity…Mia is finally able to breathe in his presence. Ari’s spirituality and references to his lived experiences are similar to my own. I really do watch ice skating videos to de-stress and have read The Four Agreements a few times. And similarly to Mia, a bee really did fly into my jacket once and I sat there with it for a few minutes until it calmly flew away.

How did you go about finding the right cinematographer for the job? Kunitaro Ohi’s visual design here feels really warm – was that a conscious decision you both made?

My older brother, Jai Jamison, is a filmmaker as well. Kuni has been one of his long time friends and collaborators and has watched me develop from an actor in Jai’s projects into a fully fledged filmmaker. So when it came to directing my first film, I knew I could trust Kuni’s expertise and skill. Early on in pre-production, I would visit museums in Los Angeles and look for color palette inspiration. I sent him countless photos of paintings and sculptures with vibrant and opulent colors, amber orange, and burnt hues. He took that and ran with it alongside our gaffer Brian Sarvis and colorist Matt West. Kuni also claims that “from art to costuming, everyone had this warm and loving vibe that they wanted to project” and I believe that seeped into the world both on and off screen.

‘Try a little tenderness’ was chosen as the tagline – how important was it that your story embodied this philosophy?

The past few years have felt particularly tumultuous all over the world. That’s probably putting it lightly. I feel like what we need more of is tenderness, respect, and empathy. With At Capacity, during all aspects of the creative process I was adamant that we would lean into play, peace, ease, and nurturing one another. With this film and the other projects I have in the pipeline I want to remind folks that our work can be sweet and still have depth. It can nourish as well as challenge. I hope that my creative projects can be a tender salve to those who engage with them.

What happens next – do Mia and Ari meet again, do they leave their accidental evening as a short shared experience between strangers, or do you not know yourself?

I always envisioned them getting married but how they get there could unfold in so many different ways! In one early iteration of the script, Ari and Mia end up as new colleagues the day after they spend the evening together. In a television series it could be years of classic will they, won’t they and witty banter back and forth while they take on political and legislative obstacles. I really do love all the characters I’ve introduced in At Capacity. Audre is a filmmaker, that’s how she makes sense of her world. I think it’d be fascinating to follow her journey of finding her place as a Korean-American in a Black family. Finally, Maxine…after ending a relationship with such a terrible partner, I’d be interested to see her blossom into herself as a single woman and teacher. It would be a joy to keep exploring all of their relationships, their ideologies, and their pursuit of full lives and dreams.

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