Show creator Anastaisia Brady was able to sit down with Kay McCoy Director,
Paige Steadman - Mary,
and Josh Winters - Editor all of “Quill In The Big City” to ask them some questions:
Anastaisia Brady: Hello everyone thank you for being here so let’s get right into it!
What was your role in the production and what was your process like?
Kay McCoy:
You (Anastaisia) wanted me to direct You gave me technically my second opportunity to direct
other than myself. How did I approach it? Well, I never heard of the Hurt universe until you told
me. And then I looked it up just to do a little research on my own, just to get a feel for like what
the show was about. So yeah, I just did my own research and looked into what has happened
with the show and the series before me to see what I could possibly bring to this series.
Paige Steadman:
First I was excited because my friends Anastasia and Molly told me about it. Then I read the
script and I loved it! Approaching Mary, I feel like even though she's really different from me, I
have a lot in common with her; as far as l want to check on my friends and make sure that
they're okay. You know, for me I tell people to drink water for Mary I think it's come on, get some
fresh air. I think I really tapped into -
“Ok I worry about people, but I don't but I know like if
they're struggling, they don't want to see me actively worrying because that might drag them
down further.
So I try to tap into whatever cheerfulness I have, whatever good things I have going on, and try
to share the happy that I can and try to encourage them. I think that Mary does a lot of that with
just wanting to support Quill and be there for her. While, also not letting her push her away,
which she's trying to do so hard. So kind of getting in the headspace of okay, Mary's, she's
younger than I am, she's more energetic than I am. But I remember being that way.
Josh Winters:
My role in the series was as the editor. So I approached the series basically by just following
along the script and using DaVinci Resolve to edit. What I did was I took every episode, or in the
first case when I first approached the project it was separated into parts. so I just edited each
part. Before I put together the edit, I took all the takes and put them in their own select reels. I
was trying to look at what takes were the best, which were the most appealing visually, which
had the most expressions when it comes to the acting. My goal was to put together cohesive
edits while also maintaining as much continuity as I could. Having the script provided was very
helpful, as well as feedback by Anastasia and Joshua (Director of Photography) So it was great
to get feedback from them and also just to put together something that looked visually
appealing. And so that's basically my approach to it all.
Anastaisia Brady: You all knocked it out of the park, I’m glad you were able to share, ok second
question
What did you learn through your role in the series?
Kay McCoy
I would say I learned quite a bit about web series. This is actually probably one of the only web
series I've ever watched. I probably should get into web series more. Its sort of competing with
verticals if you really think about it in like social media shows and stuff like that. I learned mini
series are actually pretty fun to make, and they don't take too too long to make either or that you
don't need to have a big budget to make something decent. I mean I've already knew that, but
like even with this kind of thing, like you know, from just like the reviews that we got or like what
other people have been saying about the project. I didn't know about Spark T V. I didn't know
there were small stations like that. Not gonna lie, I learned a bit about distribution through
Craig. I learned that our lead actresses only met for the first time on set. I did not know that.
Obviously their chemistry later on in the series ⁓ shows very well. I thought they knew each
other already, the fact that they just meshed so well the first day on set, it's just like okay, that's
crazy!
But yeah, I did learn a lot and what I want to do for my own projects.
Paige Steadman:
I learned that - okay, this is a less serious one, but I learned that roller skating is not like riding a
bike! Just 'cause I could do it really well as a kid doesn't mean I'm really good at it now. But also
I learned little things about acting for the camera that are so different from acting in live theater,
which is where I spend most of my time. Just the support, the community on set was so
supportive, everybody was wonderful to work with. I just I wasn't sure how it would be. Even
though I've done a little bit of film, I hadn't done a lot. This was the best film set I've been on so
far. Not that the others were bad. I'm not saying that. They were really good. It's just that this is
even better.
Josh Winters:
I learned a little bit more about editing a sitcom type of show and a mini series because this is
the first miniseries I've ever edited. There was a lot that I learned about just like I said before
about continuity, like the specific color grade. Especially working alongside Joshua, the
cinematographer, and just basically you utilizing like a warm color palette throughout the whole
thing and also kind of a color palette that's not too contrasty and trying to emulate that sitcom
style. So that's one thing that I've learned and I also just learned, you know, the beginnings and
the ends of each episode like when each episode ended and which one began and timing and
stuff like that. So those are basically the things that I learned from editing throughout this whole
thing.
Anastaisia Brady:
This next question is for Paige specifically, What was it like for you to double as the Intimacy
coordinator? And could you go more into your own history of it too?
Paige Steadman:
Well, intimacy coordination is a relatively new thing. It used to be they would rely on fight
directors if they asked anybody for help at all, which a lot of directors didn't. I'm so happy that it's
becoming more of a thing now. And I learned so much from IPEC (Intimacy Professional
Education Coordinators Collaborative)
I should have looked that up. But they taught some workshops and I really took a lot from that.
Jessica Bennett is one of the people who helped SAG-AFTRA Union figure out what the rules
needed to be for intimacy coordination.I learned a lot from her. So I’m really happy that I've had
so much education.And I need more. I always want more. I've done intimacy coordination in live
theater. I've been intimacy director and coordinator ⁓ on a couple of sets. Every time it's been
wonderful just to see people realizing that “Yeah, I am safe here. I can do this.
”
Because communication is really important. I always tell people consent is the main thing and
consent is changeable. Just because you thought you'd be okay with something, it doesn't mean
that you ⁓ still will be at the time that you have to do it. So constant communication with your
scene partner is so important.
Who are the people you look up to in your line of work?
Kay McCoy:
I would say director wise, I really, really, really look up to Tim Burton.
He has that aesthetic that he sticks to and Johnny Depp is absolutely the number one person I
would love to work with one day.
Other directors I look up to let's see - Christopher Nolan, Shonda Rhymes, Ryan Coogler, Ryan
Murphy, Jordan Peel oh his mind process is insane! I would love to have a conversation with
that man!
Yeah, there's a there's a few, but I would say those would be like my top people that I really look
up to. If you can tell a story, find your niche or find your go to and just build a brand from that. I
mean look at
Issa Rai she started with a web series and then boom, Insecure happened, and then boom,
Hollywood happened. She started directing for her own show while also starring in it! so yeah,
you always start somewhere. But now there is this new generation of YouTube directors, you
know, Obsession just came out, Passengers just came out, Backrooms just came out and they
all started on the YouTube. They built their audiences through social media and then got noticed
by studios. When it comes to personal inspiration it’s my family because I've been through so
much shit in my life. They inspire me to write or tell that story. Because you never know whose
story relates to you either. Also even though I'm not a horror film person I have met people
specifically my best friend down here in Georgia - Love you, Ashley! she’s big into horror and
her love for it has piqued my interest in the genre.
Paige Steadman:
So many people, my mother taught me 90% - And even though yes, I went to college for it, she
still taught me 90% of what I know about theater. From acting, directing, playwriting, improvising,
producing, I learned from her that it's really important to
delegate and not try to do everything yourself. Because there were a lot of times when she did
everything herself and really it took a toll on her. And I learned, okay, I need not to to do it that
way for me. But she's amazing! She's brilliant! I have a lot of mentors that I've worked with over
the years I am still working with Robert Drake, who is amazing. He's the artistic director at the
Academy Theater.
Dan and Kate Gyton are the kind of life goals as far as playwriting and working. they’re really
awesome. I have so many people I could probably go on for an hour if I start listing everybody.
Josh: I look up to a lot of people in my life. I look up to my buddy Aaron, who without him, I
wouldn’t be the person I am today with the values I hold. I look up to my friend Lee, a dailies
colorist who has taught me so much in life. I look up to my college film professor, Deon Kay, who
was foundational in teaching me the skills I have today. I look up to my friend, Chad, who is a
steadicam operator and has always pushed me to be a better filmmaker with how far he’s gotten
in the film industry. I look up to my friend Brittney, one of my high school friends from Michigan,
for convincing me to pursue this career path in the first place while always learning new
perspectives and ideas from her. I could go on and on because I’m always considering myself a
student learning from everyone I can not only about career advice but about life advice. I’m just
always humbled by the talented company I keep.
What does this series mean to you?
Kay McCoy:
Queer representation, obviously, with two lesbian characters. It’s also like a cute, like fun story.
Like it's it's not too serious. I think hard work can pay off. Even in small ways. You can really
take something small and make something bigger out of it. Honestly this is my first published
director debut. So I'm officially a published director now. So this is always gonna be a big part of
me and my journey as a director. Other than my own project of obviously, any other project that
I've worked on directing wise was assistant directing. So I will say this will always hold a special
place in my heart.
Paige Steadman:
This series to me is a slice of life that is so real. Nobody is portrayed as perfect. And everybody,
you know, has their own wants, their own desires. The relationships between them are so real,
how they care about each other and how they might miss certain aspects of what's going on in
somebody else's life.
Like every little bit of it, it's totally believable to me. And I really empathize with Quill and with
Jacky watching the first two episodes. I was so excited to see them. Just the amazing portrayals
of those characters.
Josh Winters:
It means a couple of things to me. Just first of all, just seeing more queer representation on
screen is always a plus, whether it's behind the camera or in front of the camera. I think more
series should exist in that regard, especially in this day and age. Just being able to help out with
a project like this is a huge honor. Like as someone who you know, I'm not queer myself I'm very
much a straight
male, but it it's just having, you know, family members that were queer, especially my mom. It
just means a lot to me just to be helping out telling these kinds of stories. Also just the the fact
that there's still independent projects like this on a low budget being made without the reliance
of AI is very important to me. Like there's so much AI slop out there and just to see so many
stories like this being told without taking the easy way out and just generating something you
know, it's always inspiring to me, like just seeing any project that is foregoing that kind of
process. So I I really appreciate that aspect of it as well.
What do you hope people will take away from this?
Kay McCoy:
That more queer stories need to be told. Hope they can relate to Quill. No one is perfect. We’re
all human at the end of the day.
Paige Steadman:
I think I want them to realize and maybe reinforce to them that
Everybody's going through a struggle. And even though your struggle might be different from
somebody else's, you're not alone. You have people who care about you. You can reach out for
help. And sure, sometimes things won't go the way you want them to. But the human connection
is so important.
Josh Winters:
I hope people take away from this series that you don't have to have a big budget to be able to
tell unique stories. It’s just inspiring to me that y'all have created such a long history a character
going back to the original mini series that y'all started, and just being able to do that on such a
low budget. It's real, and just to see how the series has evolved since then, it's just really
inspiring. I hope people also see that evolution as well and start to give y'all flowers because it's
astounding to me to see y'all just continue to kill it with this series as well as just seeing like I
said, just the representation on screen and just like normal representation of
a queer couple and not just like any queer trauma or anything like that. It's just, you know,
people dealing with normal things like work overload. Like a lot of us can relate to that and just
how we process that with our friends, with our partners and just trying to balance that work life
balance as well. I I think it's a very relatable story and I hope people take that away from this
mini series.
What do you have planned for your future?
Kay McCoy:
I'm in the process of finishing up my own film edit, fingers crossed by the end of the summer
and end of the summer premiere. If any of my people read this, yes, end of the summer. I'm so
sorry. Yeah, my biggest plan for right now is to finish my feature film, get that all squared away,
have a premiere, and then possibly ⁓ I think I'm just gonna go straight to distribution with it. I
don't think I'm gonna go to any film festivals with it. Just go straight to Spark TV with it and see
what happens. Push some promotion, then after this project I wanna start writing my next one or
build off of a IP that's already exists or my own IP. Regardless of any project that I do next. if it's
my project obviously I want to build an audience first. So whether that be through a vertical
series, through like, you know, TikTok or Instagram or YouTube Shorts. I just wanna build a fan
base essentially. And there's so many people nowadays. You don't have to go to the big guys
anymore. There's so many people nowadays who have pull with certain things. I would also say
my biggest thing is building my portfolio.
I've also learned a lot in this process as well. Just being here, being down in Georgia for about
four years now, learning how different people function different ways or whatever. it's a very
creative city.
Paige Steadman :
Well, I am going back to live theater and I will be part of the Tapas Festival of the Academy
Theater and also doing some murder mysteries and stuff with improbability theater. So yeah, I'll
keep working, composing. I am working with a playwright that I’m composer for his musical, he
just asked me to put music to another song that he's put into his play. So working on that right
now.
Josh Winters:
What I plan on doing in the future is working on documentaries. I'm in the process of working on
getting one off the ground with a team that I'm working with right now. We're hoping to do a
documentary on the Belt Line and basically haven't really a hundred percent narrowed down
what the subject is gonna be specifically, but we're thinking it's gonna focus on like artwork on
the Belt Line and how it positively and negatively impacts the community. By just mentioning,
you know, how vibrant the artwork is and how much
of a museum the Belt Line is, and explaining how it has been developed and has kind of
contributed to gentrification as well and that negative aspect. So we’re just kind of developing
that right now, but we’re hoping its gonna come off the ground pretty soon. So we'll see what
happens. I'm also hoping to work on more stories like this, more web series, short films,
whatever comes my way. I just wanna be able to work on some more independent projects and
just get better with my craft as far as an editor goes. Cause I've been editing for let’s see, about
thirteen years professionally now. I've done a whole wide range of things like weddings,
marketing videos, short films, commercials, music videos, you name it. But film is my main
passion. So just doing more film related stuff or just even a television series like this, is
something that I'm really
wanting to get into, just to balance out what I do for my actual work, which is more marketing
stuff. So to have that creative balance is just ultimately what I'm wanting to do. But mostly
documentaries as well, because I just want to be able to tell real stories out there, especially
real impactful stories. So that's that's what I hope is on the horizon.
Can you give us any spoilers for the last two episodes?
Kay McCoy:
We add a new character at the very end. I won't give his character name away, but his actor
name, Face, love him. Face if you’re reading this love it bro! I'm glad that he was brought onto
the project. Bring the little diversity.
I don't wanna give too much away because the last two episodes just like the first two episodes
are pretty short, so I don't wanna give too much away. There's only so much you can say in
about four or five minutes. I'm not gonna give too many spoilers, but it is cute, I would not say
Quill has calmed down finally a little bit. They finally get out the house just to do something.
Paige Steadman:
Well, I was so excited to get to see Kyra roller skate. I got to finally be in a scene with Face, who
is an amazing actor I've known for years. We just like keep missing each other in plays and stuff
that we're in. So it was exciting to finally be in a scene with him.
Josh Winters:
So let’s see couple spoilers. Wow, in the next couple episodes Quill, get this. She goes to a park
and she skates! Mind blown, right? That’s all I'm gonna give away. But yeah. It gets good.
Anastaisia Brady: Thank you all so much for these introspective and thoughtful
answers! None of this could have been done without you.
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