Promiscuous Ponsonby Pomade

Meet Mary McCune. She's studying in Brooklyn, New York to become a film producer. She's created this video for T&D featuring our very own Ponsonby Pomade. It was filmed in the gorgeous setting of Fort Tilden, New York and we think she's done an awesome job! Check out her video, and learn more about Mary here....

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, and how you got into video making?
Hello! My name is Mary McCune and I am 22 years old. I moved to Brooklyn, New York from Florida almost a year ago now to pursue my MFA in Producing at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema. It has been a huge jump but I’m loving it. I have this really vivid memory from my childhood of watching Patch Adams with Robin Williams; it was the part when he was making his big speech at the end and I remember crying, feeling completely overwhelmed by watching that movie because I had felt every emotion under the sun, and when it finished I realized, “hey someone made that, someone made me feel like this!” I was instantly hooked! I wanted to be a part of making something like that, creating something that made people feel everything.

What would you say your creative style is – and where (or who) has that inspiration come from?
I am a huge fan of shooting outdoors and in natural lighting. It’s the best in my eyes because the world is doing most of the work for you. I think that inspiration comes from the movies I love. I am super inspired by the work that came out around the 70’s- One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Midnight Cowboy, The Conversation… I could go on forever, but I think what is so memorable about those films is how real they looked and felt. I love to try and emulate that “realness” as much as I can.

How did you get involved with Triumph & Disaster, and where did you get the idea for your Ponsonby Pomade video?
I was lucky enough to meet Khaula Malik, an awesome and talented producer at Feirstein. She had actually approached Christian Fernandez (Assistant Director) and I about creating a video that had a mini story revolving around this product. Fortunately, a few months before, I had Google searched the top places to visit in Brooklyn, and Christian and I shot a project for school in this place called “Dead Horse Bay.” Originally, we were going to shoot the T&D video there, because it has this amazing look, it has several grass tunnels leading out to a beach and I knew I wanted to shoot some sort of “chase” in there from before. However, when Khaula and I scouted the beach for the shoot, the beach wasn’t looking too hot and she suggested this place called Fort Tilden, and we fell in love because we could really see this scenario play out in the space perfectly.

What role does music play for you with video making, as well in your life generally?
Music is such an important element in video making because it’s so powerful on its own- once you marry an image with a great soundtrack it dictates the mood of what you’ve created visually. I was a band nerd in all of middle school and all of high school; so needless to say, music has always had a great influence in my life. I can’t even remember a time where I wasn’t listening to a great soundtrack to start my day. Tell us what a typical week looks like for you? I am a student, so my week is kind of normal. I spend a lot of time in class, and when I’m not in class I’m still at school, tucked away in an editing suite, working on different projects. By the time the weekend rolls around, I love bike riding around the city shopping for groceries and just hanging out doing homework.

What are your dreams and aspirations?
My mom and dad always tell me, ‘when you love what you do, you never work a day in your life.’ The dream is to continue to be able to work with thoughtful and talented people for many, many years to come. And to, hopefully, by the end of it, create a beautiful body of work that we can all be proud of and be able to say we’ve had the time of lives doing it.

What do you do when you’re not behind the scenes / camera?
If I’m being super honest, I’m sleeping! Whenever I have been fortunate enough to work on a project, it is the only thing that is on my mind; so most nights I’m up late and my brain is too excited to think about anything else. One thought leads to another and so on and so forth and by the time I realize I need to go to bed, it’s the next day and I’m playing catch up.

Lastly, do you have a favourite T&D product?
You know it’s not just for guys…. Haha Yes! I actually snagged the Ponsonby Pomade by the end of the shoot and I use it to tame this wicked cowlick I have in my bangs. It works like a charm, especially in this Florida heat, and the smell will forever remind me of the video shoot at Fort Tilden.