“LIVING” WITH A ROOMATE CAN BE DIFFICULT: BEST SHORT WINNER KYLE LARSEN DISCUSSES “COHABITATION”
ZFA was honored to interview the creator of one of this season’s big winners - Cohabitation. With one of the highest ever rated submissions by our jurors, Cohabitation is a short film that hooks you from the very beginning and keeps you laughing. The premise is simple - What if you discovered that your roommate was a ghost? Director Kyle Larsen and the District 22 team took that premise and turned it into comedic gold. And all we can say is, we want more. Cohabitation took home the following awards for the ZFA Winter Edition: Best Short Film, Best Editing (Kyle Larsen), Best VFX (Kyle Larsen), Best Sound Design (Seth Mo Jerome, Kyle Larsen), and Best Production Design.
ZFA: This project is absolutely hilarious! What inspired you to create it? Any influences?
Kyle: I’ve always been a fan of comedy, especially taking something that at first glance would be more horror based (a ghost haunting a house) and making it comedic and emotional instead. A big inspiration was the 2014 mockumentary, What We Do In The Shadows. That movie absolutely knocks it out of the park. And obviously The Office and Parks & Rec are shows I’ve watched multiple times and quote constantly.
ZFA: Where did you film Cohabitation? And how long did it take?
Kyle: We filmed this at the house of a friend from High School. His parents graciously let us film in their gorgeous house. Because they were being so generous, we wanted to get out of their hair as fast as possible. We shot 95% of this short in one day, and then came back about a week later and did some pickups to wrap up the shoot.
ZFA: The jurors commented on how they couldn't stop laughing while watching, and they wanted to watch again. Any tips on comedic timing?
Kyle: Thank you so much! Hearing an audience laugh when you hoped that they would is such a satisfying feeling! I would say my 3 tips for comedy would be: 1) Ground your comedy in relationships. View your story through the relationships in it and where the comedy can grow from there. 2) Have heart in your comedy. Don’t be afraid to take a break from the jokes to make the audience feel for the characters they’ve been laughing at/with. That will make your characters feel more like personal friends of your audience members and allow them to connect fully with your story. 3) Don’t forget that the camera is a character. Whether that is in a mockumentary style comedy or any other, the camera can help you pack a heavier punchline to a joke. Jamison Lyman, our DP, did such a great job at using the punches and pulls of the lens to heighten the jokes in this short.
ZFA: What was the biggest challenge you faced during production and/or post-production?
Kyle: I think the hardest part of production was maintaining the sheet on Tobe. Keeping it covering me the whole time, having it fall in a natural way, and moving without being able to see through it.
ZFA: What was the most memorable moment on set?
Kyle: A very memorable moment was starting the day with the workout room scene. Getting the practical effects figured out and set up, finding the perfect comedic timing with Tobe falling on the treadmill, and then shooting the emotional moment alone for Nick (James Rudd) in the gym right after. It really just let us feel all the emotions we wanted to portray in the short, in one setup, and that was wonderful.
ZFA: Any lessons learned or things you would have done differently?
Kyle: I am genuinely very pleased with the process of creating this short film. A big lesson learned was to be okay with challenging yourself. When you challenge yourself as a filmmaker you make work that you’re proud of, and I’m extremely proud of what our cast and crew were able to create!
ZFA: Any advice for aspiring filmmakers?
Kyle: Give yourself a deadline. Finding the time to fit filmmaking into a busy life can be difficult. Obviously the goal for aspiring filmmakers is to be able to do it full time and provide a life for themselves through it. And on the long road to getting there, deadlines help immensely in giving yourself motivation to get things finished. Because it is very easy to tweak your project into oblivion. Come up with an idea, set a goal of when you want to have it done by, and embrace the obstacles. Then once you’ve finished, start the process over again. Time will slip away if you don’t dive into another project right away, which is a truth I know all too well.
ZFA: How can we find you and follow your work?
Kyle: District 22 Studios is our handle on all social media and on YouTube. We have some really fun things on the horizon!
Interviewer: Alicia Oberle Farmer
