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Industry Interviews

Inside Origin: Andrea Wing

Ben Hewitt
Nov, 2019
6 mins

In our second edition of Inside Origin, we are pleased to introduce Andrea Wing, our Video and Content Director. Winger (as she’s known ‘round these parts) is responsible for a ridiculously huge percentage of the video content we produce, and, thanks to her amazingly diverse skill set, is often involved from the initial concept stage right through to final delivery. In her spare time, she can generally be found deep in the backcountry in search of untracked snow or in the midst of an epic singletrack adventure. She’s also a huge supporter of women in film… but we’ll let her tell you more about that. 

Origin: You grew up in Ontario, right? 

Andrea Wing: Yeah, I’m an eastern specimen. I grew up in Ottawa and got a business degree in marketing at Bishop’s University in Quebec. I was really into skiing and ski racing growing up, and I finally just said to myself ‘I need to live in a ski town.’’ That’s how I ended up in Pemberton, and I just fell in love with it. 

Origin: Were you involved with film at that point in your life?

AW: Negative, I was busy working all sorts of random seasonal jobs to maximize my ski time. I really got into filmmaking when I started backcountry skiing; I bought a small camera, that would fit in my pocket, and starting shooting all sorts of stuff. I was doing a lot of touring with other women so they became my focus. There was also the occasional video about my weekend road trips with my hockey team, #NSFW. What it came down to was that I really loved capturing content. 

Origin: So this was all self-taught?

AW: Well, I learned to edit from a book, so in the beginning, yes, But I got to the point where I was like ‘THIS is what I want to do with my life,’ so I went back to Montreal for film school and dove deep into the technical aspects of filmmaking. 

Andrea headshot
Andrea shooting in water

Origin: What happened next?

AW: After film school, I moved back west to Squamish. I really (really) wanted to work for The Ride Guide, which was a TV show based in British Columbia that followed pro skiers and riders to resorts and heli/cat ski operations. I called the executive producer every day for two months. I’d call and ask if he had a job for me, and he’d say ‘no,’ so I’d call the next day and ask the same question. And the day after that, and the day after that. I think he finally just got annoyed enough with me to say ‘yes.’ My first paying video job was as a field director for them, rolling around BC in a stinky van, getting paid $100/day...it was dreamy. After that, I tried the film industry for a while, but I just didn’t take to it… there were too many 16-hour days. I was also shooting commercials, and that taught me a lot. I learned how to interview, and also how to recognize a sound bite, which is one of those skills that’s hard to teach, but really important to learn. 

Origin: And then you launched your own online video platform, right? 

AW: I saw an opportunity with queer content, and decided I was going to start what could be loosly compared to the Netflix of queer film. I got some seed money, developed a platform that could stream content through a paywall, and aggregated about 400 titles from independent filmmakers. It was called BuskFilms, the tagline being Queerly Original. This wild ride went on for five years, and I learned a lot but really, I was running a charity and eventually had to shut it down. 

Origin: I guess the obvious question is: How does someone go from running the Netflix of queer film to working at Origin? There’s gotta be a story there. 

AW: A friend of mine worked at Lululemon, and I got a job working on their film team, capturing stories about yoga and then eventually was promoted to manager of film creative. That was really fun, and my hamstrings loosened up a lot. But after a while, I was starting to feel like it was time for something different, and that’s when Danielle [Kristmanson, Principal and Creative Director at Origin) called. 

Origin: Clearly, you love making film. What’s so compelling to you?

AW: I think I have a natural affinity for observation; generally, I prefer to be on the outside looking in, and being behind a camera has allowed me to live that out. Growing up, my brother basically took up all the room; he left me about 5% of the space, so I think I got used to observing, rather than competing for attention and probably not winning. I also really love the process of finding a person’s true character. 

Origin: How do you do that?

AW: It goes back to observation - being tuned in and paying attention.

People offer indicators of who they are all the time, many of which are non-verbal. It’s really just so much fun diving into someone’s life and building a compelling story. 
Andrea wing video + conent director, origin

Origin: You’ve always been a big supporter of bringing more women into the film industry. Can you talk about that a bit?

AW: This is a hugely complex issue. There actually are a lot of women in the industry, and historically they have tended to be in vanity roles, makeup or wardrobe. When it comes to the technical side of the business - and specifically, directors - there’s definitely a lack of representation. For instance, when I went to film school, there were three women in my class of about 30. 

Origin: What do you feel is your responsibility to help make that shift happen?

AW: In hiring, that’s a big one. I also create opportunities by teaching filmmaking workshops to women through Moonlighter Film Camp. We create a space where women can come and learn, ask all  sorts of questions in a non-competitive, non-judgemental environment, and walk out with some solid skills. Mentoring is a really important way to give people access.

And I think all of us at Origin need to keep leading by example. Right now, we’ve got a woman - that’d be me - running a video department that’s made up of 50% women. I’m proud of that, and really glad to be working for an agency that gets it.

Origin: What advice would you give to others in the industry who care about making it more inclusive of underrepresented groups?

Look around to see who is in the room. Who’s on your team? Is it completely unbalanced or unrepresentative of the person you’re trying to speak to? If so, speak up and be part of the change that needs to happen. 
Andrea wing video + content director, origin

Origin: So would you hire someone who called you every day for two months? 

AW: Yeah. I think I would.