Tired of his big brother’s bullying ways, eight year old Stephen uses his wild imagination and polka dot socks to teach him an electrifying lesson!
Director’s Notes
I’d wanted to make a short film for a while and naturally, working in commercials, my mind is set on telling stories in the shortest amount of time.
So, during one creative coffee break, Static Stephen – a 1 minute 30 second short about mischievous brotherly rivalry was born!
I teamed up with a fantastic young producer, Charlie Morrell, and brilliant DOP, Nick Eriksson (who helped us buy left over film stock from the last Mission Impossible) and a shoot date was set.
Casting happened in one magical afternoon where the brightly red-headed Rueben Bainbridge entered and entertained the room in an instant, followed by Ryan Turner (Hugo Weasley in Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Part 2) the perfect grumpy teenager to play Ruben’s older brother.
The one day shoot went brilliantly. The actors were great, the crew exceptional, no client to please other than myself and my first time shooting on 35mm film, which as others will tell, is an amazing experience. It’s another level of discipline on set that I hadn’t encountered in the digital world, but definitely worth it – the visual results are stunning!
Like the film, post production happened very quickly. With the edit locked, the finishing touches of a beautiful colour grade and creative sound design were generously added by London post house Unit.
The finished result is a warm-spirited display of before-bed brotherly antics in the family home, that anyone who has a sibling can probably relate to!