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Born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, Jay Will was destined to have an impact on the film industry. Starting his career early in television Jay Will decided to transfer his skill set to video production. After working on Kayne West s, "Through The Wire", Jay Will pondered the best way to make an impact in the world of video production.
It s was then that he decided to lend his creative eye to the Jamaican audience. We caught up with Jay Will before heading to Miami.
Peppa Pot: How did you get started shooting videos?
Jay Will: I started out in television first. I ve been working with TV since high school.
Peppa Pot: When did you know film was going to your creative medium?
Jay Will: Not only film but also television. I ve always wanted to produce a television show or a sitcom. I definitely knew upon graduating high school I wanted to be in television. I didn t know what aspect of it though. I have a passion for entertainment and story telling. Music videos right now are just a stepping stone to making movies.
Peppa Pot: Who inspired you?
Jay Will: My high school television production teacher. She basically was responsible for me even being interested in television. After that I had a natural talent for it. Early into my TV career Vanessa Moore at MTV. I look up to other directors who are doing what i m trying to do, such as Hype Williams and Spike Lee.
Peppa Pot: You worked at MTV. Why did you leave?
Jay Will: Fortunately for me throughout my career i ve had different stepping stones. I started out in high school, with a high school TV station. From there I started interning at network station, NBC. Then took an internship at MTV, graduated school and started working at MTV. While I was getting all this experience in television, I applied that to music videos. The next step for me is film.
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| Jay Will and Voicemail |
Peppa Pot: Peppa Pot: How did you get started shooting music videos for Reggae artists.
Jay Will: Starting out at MTV and working on a few rap artists videos, I worked on Kayne s first video, Through The Wire. I basically saw myself as a small fish in a huge market here in New York. I wanted to go back to Jamaica, which is a smaller market at stand out. Fortunately for me everything worked out. I also felt like it was my giving back to Jamaica by somewhat trying to enhance our film and television industry. I ve been in the business in Jamaica for two years. I can see the difference not only in my work but in other director s work. Eventually soon we ll be producing movies from Jamaica that can compete worldwide.
Peppa Pot: When you re commissioned to shoot a video who comes up with concept? Is it you or the artist?
Jay Will: I do. I get a song, put in on my ipod and listen to it for about a week or two. From there it s whatever I see, whatever I visualize. I think I have a gift and a curse. I see images every time I hear music. Later whatever that initial image was that I wrote down sometimes I can develop on it and make it make sense or I may have to think about it some more and add in different elements.
I come up with a concept and see if we can do it with the budget we re working with. Sometimes I come up with an idea but we don t have the budget for it. So I have to go back to the drawing board with sometime new in mind. The budget affects my thinking the second time around.
Peppa Pot: You shot Reign of Fire which was basically a short narrated by Capleton s album. How did that come about?
Jay Will: VP Records approached me. I had done a couple of projects for VP prior to that. Joel Chin gave me the songs to work with and he told me he wanted it done like a movie. So I listened to the songs and figured out what order I can combine them to create a story that would make each song segue into each other with one unique theme overall. It took me awhile.
 | Jay Will and Bogle (Mr. Wacky) |
Peppa Pot: Tell us about the "Danceumentary: It s All About Dancing."
Jay Will: It not only demonstrates the current dances in dancehall of that time. It shows the structure of the dancehall. It shows how the different aspects and different people who are members of the dancehall community, from the dancers, to the selectors, to the artists - how they relate to each other. It breaks down how an idea goes from concept to ending up in music videos all over the world, from reggae to hip-hop videos.
It also shows all the key people in the dancehall industry. Not just who you would think but also the vendors, the dress maker, the jerk chicken man, the peanut man. It also shows the influence that Bogle had and still has in the whole dancheall scene. From the slang to the fashion.
Peppa Pot: How important do you feel it is the document the culture?
Jay Will: That s one of my goals in life. We ve been influenced with American cultures and cultures from all over. From Karate movies to soap operas. I watch TV and see a lack of representation of Caribbean people and people of Caribbean decent. I want to start a movement and change that so hopefully the next generation will continue the trend. I want to see more representation of Caribbean music and culture. We have so many untold stories in the Caribbean, not just Jamaica. I think it s very important for us to tell our story authentically. There have been a lot of people who have attempted to portray us in major movies. A lot of times it s over done - it s like you re a killer or crazy thug like those Rasta men in the Steven Segal movies.
We owe it to ourselves and culture to basically gain whatever experience it is we need to get to properly tell our story, whether it s comedy or action, ect - the right way so people worldwide can see. We re such a beautiful people but we re not being adequately represented.
Thats why I invest in the youth in Jamaica. I hold some work shops and training sessions. We can t do it all by ourselves.We have to start the movement keep it going. Hopefully when I m old and grey inna di wheelchair mi can watch two show and ting.
Peppa Pot: How do you feel about the state of the film industry in Jamaica?
Jay Will: There is no film industry [laughs]. There is no film and music industry in Jamaica. There a little change right now people are trying to mirror what they see on MTV and BET in terms of production standards. You ll notice the difference on HypeTV, RETV, CVM, TVJ - they re changing up a lot of little things. For instance they put a little TV PG in the corner. They re toning down the nudity and weed smoking, ect.
But it goes way deeper than that. In New York there s a union set up for people in the industry. There s a lot of things put in place by the government for the industry, such as grants. There are many things not available to people in Jamaica to create a real and proper music and film industry. I don t have all the answers, but I know some things because I work in the industry. I know what s available to me in the States and what s not available to me in Jamaica.
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