Illegal Shiny Spheres: Austin and Meredith Bragg On Their Short Film "A Piece Of Cake"
Directors Austin and Meredith Bragg are an award-winning brother duo.. Together, they won the 2016 HP Masters of Short Film competition at the Cannes Film Festival. They’ve also produced projects for Turner Broadcasting, Visa, Atlas Obscura, AT&T, The Smithsonian, The Washington Post, and Current TV. Their latest film, A Piece Of Cake, tells the humorous story of a father who goes to drastic measures for his daughter’s birthday.
When a desperate father (Rich Sommer) discovers his daughter’s favorite cake decoration is illegal, he descends into a confectionery black market. Now he must make the ultimate parenting choice: break a birthday promise or break the law?
This comedy short has already won prestigious awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for Comedy at the 2020 Indy Shorts International Film Festival, and it will screen at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival in November. We had the pleasure of chatting with the Braggs about their film, its origins, working with Rich Sommer, and much much more!
How did the concept for A Piece Of Cake originate?
We both have young children, and the desire to not disappoint your kids is pretty universal. The background of the story is true — it is next to impossible to buy those decorative silver balls in California. We even had to bring canisters of them on the plane from the east coast to L.A.
Tone and timing are integral to a comedy. How did you guys approach crafting these elements for the project?
We were certainly aiming for some seismic tonal shifts in the film, and a large part of pulling that off was having a cinematographer who really got what we were going for. Our DP, Adam Lee, really understood the goal and elevated the production. As for timing, a lot of that just comes from trusting your actors. We couldn’t have asked for a better cast.
Speaking of your cast, we’re big fans of Rich Sommer! How did you guys get connected with him and what was it like collaborating with him?
We are big fans too! Rich was our first choice for the role and we were just lucky that he was both available and interested. It turns out he’s had a similar experience trying to find his wife a very specific candy in Manhattan, so I think that helped. He really was a great presence too, helping to keep things light and fun on set while still being focused and invested. Just an all around pleasure to work with.
How did you find the rest of your cast?
We had the help of an amazing casting director, Lindsey Weissmueller. She helped us narrow things down to some really superb options. After casting Rich, we went looking for someone to play his daughter. Once we found Riona [O'Donnell], it was a matter of finding a believable mom to make the family. That’s how we found Natalie [Britton], whose audition tape was just great.
Put yourself in Jim’s shoes. Do you break the law, or break the promise?
Break the law. No question.
Is there a moment or scene from the film that’s your favorite or turned out better than expected?
I will always have a soft spot for the underground cake den — the way our production designer, Paris Pickard, put it together, the way Adam shot it, the amazing performances by Rich, Ryan Shrime, and J. Stephen Brantley. It’s still a lot of fun for us to watch.
That scene is also a testament to great sound design and score. The tone of the film really turns at that point and our composer, James Newberry, just nailed it. And the sound design by Matt Cavanaugh — particularly those ridiculously over-the-top dragee canister hits — are glorious. Sitting in the room with him, cracking ourselves up as we tested just how far we could push things, was absolutely one of our favorite moments.
What drew you to the visual arts? How did you get into directing?
We’ve been telling stories since we were kids. It became obvious that if we ever wanted to see the stories on screen, we’d need to be the ones to do it. Turns out we really enjoyed the process, so we haven’t stopped!
What films or filmmakers have inspired you, your style, or your approach to telling a story?
Our first big influences were some of the great sketch comedy troupes — Python was a big one to be sure, with that great blend of visual and cerebral humor. The Coen Brothers, Edgar Wright, Amy Sherman-Palladino, Taika Waititi — these just are a few of the writer/directors we try to study.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
More than anything our goal is to entertain people. If they come out of it with a new perspective on the drug war or overcriminalization, even better.
Do you have any future projects in the works that you can share with us?
We’re working with MPI — the same team that helped us make A Piece of Cake — on a feature based on the true story of Roger Sharpe, the young midwesterner who overturned New York City’s 35-year ban on pinball. It seems we’re drawn to stories about illegal shiny spheres.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!