The Creative Blood Podcast
Join us as we delve deep into the personal journeys of culture-defining creatives and industry insiders from the world of fashion, music, film, photography and more.
Through intimate conversations with host and Creative Blood Founder Laura Conway – in the spirit of ‘passing it on’ – they reveal the tips, rare stories and insights that have helped them navigate their creative paths, designed to help you navigate yours.
From the influences that sparked their imagination to the creative risks that changed their lives, it’s all in here. Get ready!
Creatively Down and Dirty is our new podcast series where we deep-dive with one creator into one project.
Prepare to hear it all, from what sparked the initial idea from the high-highs to the low-lows during the making of it and ultimately, how it got released out into the wide world.
Subscribe now and be the first to listen.
The Creative Blood Podcast
Emma Westenberg, Grammy-nominated filmmaker, storyteller and artist, On creating viral videos, vulva trousers and Super Bowl ads
When Emma Westenberg landed the job directing the music video for Janelle Monae’s track, PYNK, it opened a Narnia-like door to a whole new world of creative possibility. The video – which featured Monae wearing those iconic vulva trousers – went viral, clocking up more than 16M views to date, earning Emma both a Grammy and MTV Music Video Award-nomination, and perhaps best of all, being described as “a Queen” by Janelle herself.
Since then, her career has accelerated in all directions—from a Super Bowl ad spot featuring Zoe Kravitz, to music videos for Troye Sivan, Princess Nokia and Rico Nasty, to commercial work for clients from ASOS to Vogue, to directing a feature starring celebrated Scottish actor, Ewan McGregor (OBE!) and his real-life daughter Clara in Bleeding Love—and it doesn’t stop there!
No matter what the scale and nature, Emma brings her distinctly witty and whimsical aesthetic to every project, and, in this beautifully candid episode, she talks us through some of the challenges, lessons and moments of magic along the way—from working with tricky collaborators under pressure, to the simple joy of making art for art’s sake.
“I think only the crazy ideas are the brilliant ones. I like things that are unexpected, or offbeat, or that rattle you in some way. You want art to do that, to show you something new or exciting” — Emma Westenberg
Follow Emma @emma.westenberg
EPISODE INSIGHTS
- How perseverance and rising to the challenge can reap huge rewards
- The water-off-a-duck’s-back mindset needed to stay focused and resilient
- Why tapping back into the joy of art-making is essential
- How projects that feel chaotic in the making can turn out to be the best in the edit
Thoughts on the episode? Drop us a DM @creativebloodworld
EPISODE CREDITS
Episode hosted by Laura Conway
Produced by Scenery Studios
Show music by Ben Tarrant-Brown
Video by Nicola Collins
