5 Questions with Mark Day
July 2nd, 2007 | Interviews, San Francisco Comedy
Mark Day is a bald Scottish comedian living near San Francisco. With more than 17,000 subscribers to his YouTube videos, he is the 36th most popular director on the site.
Who are some of your main influences?
Coming from Scotland, Billy Connolly is my Richard Pryor. If RIchard Pryor was descended from a race of people who’d never seen sunlight. I remember listening to records of his that my parents owned when I was a kid, in the same way that all American comedians remember masturbating when their parents weren’t home… I mean, listening to Richard Pryor records. Connolly does an incredible retelling of the crucifixion as if it took place in Glasgow which was, for the time, incredibly ballsy. It’s “the sacred and the profane,” which - if done well - is always good. Eddie Izzard for the intelligent absurdity. Bill Hicks for the outrage (I’m old enough to remember when he was really breaking through in the UK, and young enough at the time not to have really got the difference between him and Dennis Leary - that came later). Eugene Mirman for the sense of whimsy (and the fact he likes to fuck around with video cameras). And a guy called Stewart Lee who is really the (British) comedian’s comedian. But it’s hard to be influenced by someone who’s that good at his game. Mostly, you admire from afar.
What is your background in film, and what equipment do you use?
I got a video camera about 10 years ago because I wanted to make videos at the Burning Man festival. From that, I started filming skits involving my friends. It was actually a while before I put myself in front of the camera. I use a Sony that’s a couple of years old, a tripod, and I edit on iMovie on my Mac. I’ve used Windows Movie Maker too and for simple web stuff, it’s fine. I’ve learned a little Final Cut Pro but I don’t really need it for what I post online. I recently upgraded to a consumer model HD camera, which is a bit gratuitous. When people say to me, “Mark, why do your videos look so fucking amazing?” I tell them it’s mostly because I film in a room with lots of bright, semi-direct natural light.
What advice can you offer to others trying to find YouTube success?
I’d say grab a camera and make some videos and not worry too much about ’success’. If you’ve got some funny news-related bit that’s going to be old in a few weeks, it’s a good way to bring it to a decent sized audience - maybe - while it’s still fresh. There’s no guarantee you’ll find an audience. I was lucky to get in on YouTube relatively early, and later on I got a video on the front page and so on. Honestly, I think it’s probably easier to have a break-out video doing sketch comedy at this point, for any number of reasons (the SPF7 improv guys are doing some kick ass stuff…). Parody videos of ‘I’m a Mac, I’m a PC’ ads are probably done to death, but someone did a whole series with action figures as ‘I’m a Marvel, I’m a DC” and it was awesome stuff - simple, funny, pushing all sorts of nerd buttons. Come up with the next cool parody of some pop-culture moment and you could be off to the races. But whether you’re doing sketch or some ranting video, the best advice anyone can give or get is to keep it short. If you couldn’t sit through four minutes of someone else’s shite (and you probably can’t) why would you expect them to do the same for yours? Also try to understand that it’s a different medium - some things work well, others kinda don’t. It’s also one you can try different things with - if you don’t (yet) have a big audience, you can post stuff, see if it works, delete it if it leaves you feeling slightly ashamed… and no one will ever know. And one other thing - it’s nice if the video looks good, but sound is really more important. That’s not me saying that, that’s the Ask a Ninja guys. And they’re right. If people can’t hear what you’re doing, click, they’re off to the next video.
Do you ever get recognized by fans when you’re out in public?
A grand total of three times. Including some guy in an Albertsons who thought I was some funny guy on YouTube… called Patrick something or other. Maybe a bit more when I go to events that are more online video focused. The guy who does The Ointment podcast recognized me once and I was excited by that. That’s how much of a video nerd I am.
The majority of your videos are done in front of a yellow wall. In feng shui (according to a non-scientific quick Google search I just did), yellow is believed to increase self-esteem and strengthen overall well-being. How much of your success might be due to your brilliant combination of the yellow wall with your lovable Scottish accent?
The wall is actually painted with a shade of colour called Superstar (by Benjamin Moore). My wife pointed this out long after the videos started picking up views. Freaky. As I am indeed a superstar, in as much as I command maybe a fraction of the audience of the weatherman at the least popular AM radio station you can pick up locally (although I can mostly talk about what I want and he can’t…). But yeah, it certainly doesn’t hurt that my video thumbnails look bold, consistent and eye catching - at first by accident and then on purpose (I have spent more time making sure the thumbnail image for my video on YouTube is, say, me wearing a Transformers helmet than I would care to admit). And it is also true that I can put hours of work into writing and filming some - ahem - cutting social satire, and the feedback says, “your accent rocks!” I also get plenty of feedback on YouTube that says, “the only reason people watch you is your accent, you bald cunt.” On some level, it’s nice to annoy people that much. “I want three minutes of my life back!” Sorry, you can’t have it, now fuck off. You can go far on a funny voice and a purty wall, you know…
