Washington Square Films' founder and EVP of Production discuss what it means to be a multi-genre production company.
(Image credit: Joshua Blum and Han West)
Washington Square Films (WSF) is a multi-genre production company immersed in the worlds of marketing, series and feature entertainment, and live theatre. Heading the company is founder Joshua Blum, a producer who made his mark on the entertainment and advertising industries by specializing in discovering first-time talent, leading him to work with global clients like Pepsi, Ford, Apple, and Coke.
Alongside him is WSF's EVP of Production Han West who has built a career providing architecture for storytellers, working on feature films, commercials, and diverse content from virtual reality to the experiential. As part of our Day in the Life series, I caught up with Joshua and Han to discuss their collaborative roles at WSF and what lies in store for the future of the production industry.
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
Could you walk me through a typical day in your roles?
Joshua Blum: There isn't a typical day, really, but I usually carve out personal time in the morning, as many of the people I work with are on West Coast time. Sometimes, I work from home until around 11 AM before heading to the office, and my office workday often extends until 7 or 8 PM.
When I do come into the office, I start by figuring out my priorities. At this point, Han and the production team handle the day-to-day operations of our commercials effectively, which alleviates a lot of the burden on my end. But, I still like to have daily check-ins with Han to review jobs and bid. Every day Han or I also talk to our Head of Sales (and commercial division co-founder) Jonathan Schwartz regarding leads and big picture strategy. Beyond that, my focus is on our producing projects, which includes the musical The Harder They Come, a tv series we are working on with Lionsgate, and several feature films.
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
Han West: Every day is different, but here’s one version: I drop my kids off early between 8:00 and 8:30 AM. I’m the first one in the office and my mornings are dedicated to calls with European clients – everything from new projects to reviewing cuts and general check-ins – all before lunch.
Midday, we have various internal staff meetings, which is a great opportunity to check in with the team and for everyone to align. If it’s a lighter week in terms of production, I focus on things I’ve been meaning to catch up on, such as reading scripts, watching film cuts, and reconnecting with people I haven't spoken to in a while. If it’s a heavier week for production, I try to stay available to support producers with any challenges they might be facing.
In the afternoons, I focus on in-person meetings and check-ins, reserving the last few hours of the workday to tackle more detailed tasks like budgets, treatments, and providing notes and feedback. I leave the office by 5:30 PM to pick up my kids, and after putting them to bed around 8:00 PM, I use the end of my day to catch up with folks on the West Coast.
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
What does it mean to be a multi-genre production company?
JB: Everybody assumes we make commercials just to fund our producing projects, but I really love commercials. We work with great people, we get to work with the latest technologies, and a lot of the content is fun and creative. I especially love how fast it all happens. A feature film can take you 10 years to develop. As a multi-genre company, we are also exercising different business muscles. When we make commercials, we never forget we are a service client working on behalf of a client. On the entertainment side, there are also critical commercial and financial considerations, but my priority has always been about protecting the artists and the work being made. That tends to pay off on the business side.
A little stoicism can really help keep the train on the tracks
Han West
HW: You embrace more entropy but you also earn more perspective. Being multidisciplinary provides a unique understanding of the ecosystems that surround creative projects and gives you a wider range of choices to pull from in terms of people and approach for the projects you’re working on. There are many similar characteristics between producing feature films and producing commercials, but there are some very clear differences as well, especially with whose vision you’re serving and the venues and ways in which you vocalize and address your opinions and concerns as a producer.
If I’m being honest, I also think being prepared to give up one or the other makes you a bit bolder (for the positive) in each discipline: “If I mess up this commercial and am banished from the industry, I can always go back to making movies!” And vice versa. This balance also helps me avoid becoming too emotionally entangled in the process; when working with passionate creative people, a little stoicism can really help keep the train on the tracks. Our physical office reflects our multidisciplinary identity, conjuring what Josh calls the “clubhouse” effect at WSF, where our doors are always open to people from different walks of creative life to meet and work. And that makes it an exciting place to be and work.
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(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
Tell me about a tricky work-related challenge and how you approached it
JB: Scaling up, scaling down, and then scaling back up again is a constant challenge. There was a time when the industry was steady, and you knew exactly what you needed. However, Covid really changed things. The lack of work during the pandemic forced us to scale down, and now we've had to scale back up again. Reestablishing a new culture in a post-COVID environment has been both exciting and challenging. The COVID era and shifts in the industry have redefined how we work, and it’s been an exciting opportunity to reshape the company for this new landscape.
HW: The biggest challenge I face on a daily basis is time. There is a lot of my work that requires I put my head down and focus: I don’t skim scripts, treatments, or budgets, I read them line-by-line. I wish I was faster at it but to provide good feedback or to help draft the architecture of approach, it’s just the way I have to do it. But that’s only half of my job.
It’s a tricky balancing act and there are limits to how much you can ‘scale’ yourself
Han West
The other big(ger) part of my job is to be present for the people I work with, from directors to interns, because everyone's work is important. This challenge becomes even more complicated when multiple projects are shooting at the same time: recently we had reshoots for a feature film and a commercial for Instagram shooting in the city during the same week, and I had to literally bounce between sets every day.
It’s a tricky balancing act and there are limits to how much you can ‘scale’ yourself for any of these ends. The only real solution is to groom and empower others within the company to develop the same acumen, the same trust with our collaborators, and the same sense of responsibility for the end product. The challenge then becomes how to foster an internally supportive and externally consistent company culture. I don’t know if we’ve fully figured that out yet, but it’s something we’re working hard at.
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
Which project are you most proud of and why?
JB: I’m really proud of every project, but if one stands out, it’s. The “United States of Poetry" USOP kicked off everything, and to this day, USOP represents the best example of one of our missions, to bring new and unheard voices to new audiences. One of the great things about this company is that we have the flexibility to work only on projects we truly care about and believe in. I can honestly say I’m proud of all our projects, but it’s unbelievable that USOP even happened – and that it launched everything back in 1995.
HW: There is not any project I’ve worked on that I would single out as one that I’m ‘most proud of.’ Anything that gets made in this medium is a small miracle, and I’ve hit the same levels of euphoria and sense of accomplishment on tiny commercials and big feature films alike.
Do you ever face creative differences when working together?
JB: It’s amazing how few problems and differences we have. There may be times when there might be a project that Han is more into than I am into or vice versa, but we always respect each other’s taste and support each other even if it’s the other person’s labor of love. There is nothing that Han has shown me that I haven’t respected. The division of labor is also pretty clear-cut. There are depths of production, I don’t pretend to understand that Han is a master of. And he speaks the language of a new generation of clients and creatives, so I have very happily found my lane and I stay there.
HW: Josh and I have very different tastes, strengths, and weaknesses, but that’s what makes working together so rewarding. Any success we’ve had in the last three years of working together is largely a result of this dynamic. Josh has an uncanny ability to work with limited cues and information and accurately foresee potential issues, whether it’s a blindspot in a script or something unsettled in a relationship with a director or client.
Sometimes I don’t see what he’s seeing, but I’ve learned to really value and trust his instincts because he’s right nine times out of ten. Communication is also paramount in any creative and business partnership and this is also an area where Josh excels – he is one of the most responsive people I’ve ever worked with and this encourages a healthy tempo of dialogue that helps avoid misunderstandings and misdirections.
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
What do you think the industry needs to improve?
JB: People need to start embracing long-form storytelling again. The pandemic and the strikes pushed people to TikTok-style videos. There seems to be a whole generation, older people too, who only consume content on their phones. We need to get people back in the habit of going to movie theaters and even watching TV with friends and family. It’s not just the loss of the content, but also the loss of the collective cultural experience.
HW: For a long time, we were overproducing, and in many cases, we weren't being very discerning about what we were creating. I hate to say it but this has collectively devalued the medium of motion picture, both in commercials and features. As a result, it’s become rare for commercials to truly cut through the zeitgeist in the way they once did, and without a lot of marketing dollars, the same is true of most feature films. My mantra this year is to focus on doing fewer things but doing them better and with an emphasis on quality and precision.
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
What’s one thing you wish more people understood about your industry?
JB: The patience and resilience required. It can take forever to get a project off the ground and when you do it can instantly be dismissed by gatekeepers and critics. If you are in the business long enough, you are going to get your ass kicked, and it hurts, but you get back up, because what else are you going to do?
If you are in the business long enough, you are going to get your ass kicked, and it hurts, but you get back up
Joshua Blum
HW: This is clearly self-serving, but I think content producers are players in one of the toughest and most complex games on the planet. It’s highly entrepreneurial, you generally have no infrastructural support other than what you choose to build for yourself, and the iterations are short and rapid (i.e. when you complete a project after a few months or years, you start all over again on the next one).
It requires immense EQ to navigate working with emotional and passionate people, and yet you must possess the left brain acumen to interpret the extremely detailed and regimented architecture of physical production in order to execute successfully. You are consistently working across continents, different cultures, and different altitudes of society, from pitching to a billionaire investor to resolving a dispute with a craftsperson on one of your sets. You are trying to make and sell things in an incredibly volatile market, where tastes and technology shift on an almost daily basis. And yet despite all this, I still think in many circles we’re seen as black sheep who avoided or could not hack it at ‘real job’ and ran off to the circus!
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
What are your favourite tools?
JB: I’m old school. I use as few tools as possible. My preferred mode of communication is meeting in person, if that can’t be arranged, then I actually use my phone to call people. In general, however, I try to keep my life as unmediated and unautomated as possible.
HW: It's a cliche – but it's my phone (I read, make calls, etc). It’s the lifeblood in communication and the smartphone is the ultimate communication tool… “If my phone’s dead, I’m dead”.
What’s your dream project/dream client?
JB: Obviously we like great creative work for big brands, but for me the most important thing is working with agencies and clients we like and respect. My best experiences have been more about the people and less about the brand or product.
HW: I have a great idea for a diaper commercial after having three kids. If Pampers or Huggies want to triple sales through a great piece of marketing, then give me a call!
(Image credit: Washington Square Films)
What career advice would you give your younger selves?
JB: Relax, don't lose so much sleep. You might not believe it now, but it's going to work out.
HW: Have more faith that the work will pay off and pay less attention to the moments when you don't feel compensated. Think less about the scoreboard and more about just putting one foot in front of the other—you'll probably get where you're trying to go faster.
Natalie Fear is Creative Bloq's staff writer. With an eye for trending topics and a passion for internet culture, she brings you the latest in art and design news. Natalie also runs Creative Bloq’s Day in the Life series, spotlighting diverse talent across the creative industries. Outside of work, she loves all things literature and music (although she’s partial to a spot of TikTok brain rot).
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