In filmmaker Kyle Jon Shepard’s new surrealist comedy short Stress Head, two friends gather for what seems like a casual drink. Quickly, however, the situation takes a turn and as the tension ramps up between them, one of the friends decides to get physical. Shepard’s short is punchy, in more ways than one, but also really playful and expertly directed. It’s one of those films that starts strong and never lets up until the credits start to roll. Shepherd, whose Tell Me Where I’m Going Wrong introduced us to the mental complexities of frisbee earlier this year, has been cutting his teeth making comedy shorts for a while now and Stress Head marks another impressive piece of work in his repertoire. DN spoke with Shephard about his journey making Stress Head, the influence of Danny Boyle and Baz Luhrmann on the film’s rapid pacing, and the creative decision to blend practical and digital effects for the film’s intense climax.
Do you remember when you first devised the concept of Stress Head?
Not quite sure where the idea came from to be honest, but it was one of those concepts that knew what it was trying to say, and what it wanted to be from very early on in the creation of it. I didn’t have to strain too hard to figure out where the arcs in the script would be. Those sort of tension peaks came quite naturally in the first draft and that was that really. I think Gary Hanks, who played Dez in the film, thought I was a bit mad for bringing this idea to him, as did the crew. I didn’t really have any references whatsoever for what a human head stress ball would look like, so they were all playing a bit of imagination and guesswork really. Luckily everyone was very supportive of the idea though and threw themselves at it.
It was one of those concepts that knew what it was trying to say, and what it wanted to be from very early on in the creation of it.
Were you always intending to create the head through a blend of practical and digital VFX?
Initially, the idea was to make a prosthetic stress ball replica of Gary’s head, but given the materials we needed for it to squeeze properly, it proved a little tricky to get the prosthetic looking exactly like him. So when we came to shooting it, we knew we would have to grab a load of plates of Gary’s real face, so we could motion track and warp that onto the fake prosthetic head in post, which Magic Pie in Manchester handled for us, which I think they did an insanely amazing job on.
What kind of prep work did you do? Were you rehearsing with Gary or was it more about planning how the head would look?
Gary and Jim Embrey, my DP, were both very involved throughout the entire process. Gary travelled down from Bolton to London for the day, to sit in my kitchen and be plunged into darkness for half an hour while we made a cast of his head. Both Gary and Jim were present for the performance and tech rehearsals, which automatically gave them a greater perspective on the desired outcome of the film. We shot on Sony Venice using Tribe7 lenses, which I think are a great lens for comedy given their unique focal lengths.
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Given the required VFX work, did you find that your vision for the short properly took shape in post?
I ended up cutting the film myself and Izaak Buffin at Rascal did the sound design, where a good chunk of the comedy comes from. For me, I was never really laughing much at the offline edit, and then when Izaak showed me his first pass of the sound edit, I then found the more violent and aggressive moments funny. He balanced comedy and music in a really smart way and yeah, the film would not be nearly half as strong without his work on it. The edit took about two months between other bits of work and the VFX took about two to three months.
Was the film’s quick pace an aspect that was established in the screenplay or something that came out of the edit? Or both?
I would say that came more from the script than the edit, it was written to be very back-and-forth. I like that style of writing, especially when you have those moments that feel like verbal table tennis, followed by a slower, more calculated approach from one or more characters, almost like they’ve lost the moment but are still trying to win the scene. Gary, who played Dez, is an incredibly proactive actor and collaborator and was amazing in helping us find that rhythm, mainly during rehearsals. I knew I wanted the ‘fight sequence’ to feel fast with quick cuts, but I also discovered some freeze-frame moments during that sequence in the edit, where it feels like we slam on the brakes, something I worked closely on with Izaak, our sound designer, and Paddy Fletcher, our composer, to accentuate in a fun way.
I love films that start fast, like the audience just get punched, forgive the pun, in the face straight away.
At what point did you decide to include the voice over, which acts as a great counterpoint to the absurd comedy of the piece?
The VO, which was performed by my friend Joe Connor, was a decision I made in post. The narrator role was written in the final few days of the online after I felt the intro needed a bit of a Baz Luhrmann or Danny Boyle inspired kick. I love films that start fast, like the audience just get punched, forgive the pun, in the face straight away. I think it worked well to give the audience a bit of a shake, almost a warning of what’s to come. The VO in the end also offered up a nice way to bookend the film too.
How do you feel being both in front of and behind the camera in your shorts? Is that a part to the process you enjoy? Or is it tricky balancing the two?
Honestly, I kind of hate it now and try to avoid it. I started my career by constantly being in my own sketches, which I was shooting for around £40 with just me and a friend operating a camera. I have more crew on set to consider these days. Also, having to constantly switch between my director’s cap and acting hat on a set with such heavy VFX involvement is pretty challenging and stressful, something I’m keen to avoid in the future, I think. There’s just a lot of spinning plates. But for this one, I just knew that Gary and I would have a pretty solid dynamic together on screen so I’m pleased I did it. Also, I had a wisdom tooth infection that day, which was really painful, so that didn’t help!
What keeps you coming back to comedy as a mode of storytelling?
I don’t know really. Probably because there’s a bit of a painful answer at the bottom. Drama can fail or succeed, but it can also comfortably sit in the middle. Comedy is more often a win-or-lose situation, there’s usually a higher risk involved, which I think is fun to tackle. I also think comedy offers more contrast and juxtaposition to a story, which lays things more bare and upfront. It’s rarely delicate, and I quite like that.
Comedy is more often a win-or-lose situation, there’s usually a higher risk involved, which I think is fun to tackle.
What’s coming up for you?
I’ve got two more shorts coming out toward the end of this year, or early next year. One called Role Play which was written and stars Kit Loyd. Also starring Marina Bye and Luke Rollason. The other short is called Ignore The Noise, which I wrote myself and stars Henry Perryment and Elena Saurel. I’m keen to find a new script to direct next year, whether it’s something I’ve written or from someone else. I also need to start looking towards my first feature and having a look to see how I could potentially get that produced. And that’s about it really!
