Laura & Laurence on the set of HWUTDN (photo by Anna-Marie Ramm)
HE WOKE UP TO DEFLATING NEWS is written and directed by our Fall 2022 Short Film Fund Grand Prize Winners, Laura Spini and Laurence Brook. The surrealist, satirical comedy follows a sedentary pensioner who must find the inner fire to fight his local council before he is turned into a coffee shop.
Laura and Laurence were generous enough to share their experiences with pre-production and production for their bold, hilarious, and quirky short film.
Did you end up developing the script further after winning the Short Film Fund? If so, what were some of the goals in doing so and do you feel you were able to achieve them?
Though the structure of the film has remained fairly consistent, we did develop the script further. After winning the fund, we got some really good feedback both from Shore and from our EP Chi in terms of making the script as lean, funny and impactful as possible. Voiceover is a key component of the script, and we kept working on it until picture was locked!
How did you crew up for your project? How did you connect with your producer and EP, Leiah and Chi? Were your department heads all folks you had worked with before?
We’ve just celebrated our 10 year collabiversary with Leiah, and we’ve known Chi for around half that, and have always wanted to work with her. Most of our other HODs are people we’ve worked with for a long time, or have been recommended by other people we have been working with for 10+ years. All of this clearly goes to show we are at least 10 years old.
What was your casting process like? Your lead, Michael Redmond, was already attached when you submitted to the Fund. How did you find the rest of your cast? Did you hold auditions? Did you cast off tape or in-person? Did you hire a casting director?
Laura & Laurence with lead actor Michael Redmond (photo by Anna-Marie Ramm)
We saw Michael perform his brilliant stand-up set at Edinburgh Fringe, and just down the road we saw a Pret-à-Manger being built next to another Pret-à-Manger. Both very funny things to see. It was only natural to get in touch with Michael and ask him if he wanted to be turned into a Pret-à-Manger. He said ok. We love to be behind all aspects of casting, especially on a project this size – all cast are actors we knew personally or had worked with before. We normally like to audition in person, but this is the first project where we sent direct offers to all cast.
What was the most challenging part of pre-production for this short? Were there any surprises that happened during pre-production that you can share about?
Having developed this short for quite a long time, most of the challenges that we faced were known about in advance, but that doesn’t make them any less challenging. The film is very production design-heavy and our amazing (and very small) team, led by Sophia, pulled off miracles to get the practical set, set dressing and graphics done in a very short time to a very high standard. This also included Sophia having many late nights at our place being barked at (and later cuddled by) our two dogs.
What was the process like for you working with ARRI Rental?
DP Jackie Teboul (photo by Anna-Marie Ramm)
We had the smoothest time in our communication with ARRI but thought Jackie, our Cinematographer, might be best placed to answer this question! So here are her thoughts: ARRI Rental has supported us all the way from pre-production to filming, providing us with camera and grip equipment including a state-of-the-art digital camera, a Mini LF. They were kind enough to let us film with some of their most high-end lenses, exclusively available at ARRI Rental: the DNA LF Lenses in a 9-way set (those were previously used for Lord of the Rings: Ring of Power S2). It is truly exceptional for a short film production to have access to such equipment and it made my job as a DoP all the more enjoyable.
How many days did you shoot for? Were you able to stay on schedule? Where did you shoot (city, on location, in studio)? Did you get everything you hoped to capture?
Everything was shot on location, in South (and West) London over 4 days. Our 1st Assistant Director Sunjna was most excellent in keeping us on schedule, with an upbeat spirit and solutions for anything life threw at us. A couple of darlings (shots, not people) had to be killed but, on the other hand, we were able to steal a few new shots, so it all evened out. We even wrapped 15 minutes early on the final day, so we treated ourselves to standing outside the location for 15 minutes!
We love hearing serendipitous stories. Did anything happen during production that was initially a “problem” or obstacle that ended up being the best possible thing for the project?
Lead actor Michael Redmond (photo by Anna-Marie Ramm)
We had a grand plan for a tracking shot in a void where we pull away from Michael’s armchair to find him surrounded by darkness. Sadly, very few British houses offer the luxury of 6+ metres of spaces to lay a track on. As it happened, one of our other locations ended up being a gigantic hall. We figured out that we could recreate Michael’s living room in a completely different location by bringing over the armchair and a couple more props. Our DOP Jackie was worried we might not be able to pull off full darkness, but that’s why we love to work with overachievers who are driven to excellence by worries! Jackie and her team’s lighting plan was fool-proof. We are sure it was a task for them to pull off, but from our comfortable scumbag/director position it was spellbinding to watch them seamlessly choreograph the track, focus, and lighting during the takes.
How is post-production coming together?
Really nicely! We have a great post team and we have just locked picture. Our composer and sound designer are just starting to work their magic and we are getting a very short animated advert for our fictitious coffee chain, which we’re hoping to include in the final film. Also we’re very thrilled the film will feature an incredible track by our songwriting hero, Richard Dawson.
What are your aspirations for the short once it’s completed?
A healthy festival run? A stepping stone to one of our long form projects? Lawsuit from (famous coffee shop chain)?
Do you have any advice for filmmakers embarking on their first short film?
Have fun, be weird, do what you’re interested in! But please keep it shorter than 14 pages.
Feel free to mention anything else about the shoot that we may have missed.
We have two frosted perspex panes, a pop art Winston Churchill portrait and two novelty plastic skeletons going for free, collection only from South London.
To learn more about Laura and Laurence, as well as their past and current projects, visit, visit https://www.buttheadfilms.com/
–
The 2025 Spring Season of the Short Film Fund is now open. This season, we’re awarding another $15,000 cash production grant and $4,000 in finishing funds. Learn more here.
