Directed by
Mark Brent
Featuring
Erik Eagleson and Laura Blue

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Bitter & Horny was written on a road trip by Mark Brent and Dawn Brent. It was one of long days of driving where everything just seemed to look the same. The idea for the short was conceived somewhere near to the border of Nebraska and Wyoming. It was a place where everywhere you looked the horizon had the same view. It was literally no where and yet was so familiar it pulled up emotions such as nostalgia and longing.

Bitter and Horny was produced to prove several arguments that a filmmaker finds themselves in as they move forward in their career. The first argument relates to Mark's next projects. He has written two feature film scripts, both naturalistic romantic comedies like Bitter & Horny. Bitter and Horny shows this humor and proves Mark's abilities to tell these kind of stories. The second argument is Mark's claim that a movie can be shot on film and produced in such a way that it doesn't sacrifice production value even though it cost far less than the industry standard. The first argument's truth is evident in the film itself, so watch it. The second is proven in the facts. The 16 mm film was made for less than 5 grand. This includes traveling to location and producing this film with a cast and crew count of eight. Cost was also kept down by knowing before hand what shots that were need to tell the story. The film was made with about twenty shots. We only used 800 feet of film and the dream sequence was done on an available HD camera. In short, the story was more or less edited in camera and not only contained in plot, but in production logistics as well. It's true filmmaking and makes one wonder why they would ever want to work with a bloated production again. In reality some productions require more, but this one was designed to prove the point that less is more.

If you have watched this film and would like to learn more about the two feature films in development by Brent Creative and Mark Brent check out the descriptions on Brent Creative, or contact Mark @ his email

Bones Over Metal is a huck fest at a dirt park, freeriding on a gravity challenged mountain trail, riding urban lines, basically finding flow where others don’t dare to walk. It’s commitment and focus that depends on trust with the bike. A bike made, built, or sold by a local company with an organizational pride for the world they help create. When a rider cases a jump something is going to break, it’s either going to be his bones or it’s going to be the bike. That’s Bones Over Metal.

Bones Over Metal is a documentary on the grass roots movements and individual stories of the Washington State Mountain Biking Scene. This growing scene is dependent on three areas working together: the advancement of the technology, the development of the arena (trails and locations) and the people (organizations and athletes) that make mountain biking their passion. There are so many passionate stories and adrenaline filled events that happen every day. As this movement matures Washington State is quickly becoming a hot bed for the sport. We will show world class Freeriding, amazing Urban environments, and bone jarring downhill. We will tell the stories of our organizations, companies, and athletes as they drive themselves to make better product, develop better trails and events, and take their riding to all new highs. Our story is a microcosm for what is going on around the world and by telling our story we tell everyone’s story.

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This Episode Features The Following Riders: and Many More.
Mike Metzger, Travis Erickson, Andy Sundbaum, Phil Sundbaum, Kyle Young, Andy Grant, Joe Perrizo, Kyle Thomas, AJ Johnson

Bones Over Metal Fetures The Following Organizations:
Go Huck YourSelf.com, Transition Bikes - Transitionbikes.com, FRide - Frideswag.com, HD Cinema Group, Fluidride - Fluidride.com

Turn Your Computer Off and "Go Ride Your Bike!"

www.bonesovermetal.com

The Tree
By: Dave Wilson

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The Tree surrounds us in our daily lives, shades us from the sun, protects us from the rain, but how much do we really know about our leaved acquaintance. Here are a few lesser-known facts that may help in the betterment of our relationship with our aloof and stoic neighbor: The Tree.

The modern tree was discovered by an ancient race of inchworms in a southern African rainforest. Trees are believed by scientists to have evolved from a leafy, woody biomass that once lived on the oceans surface. The earliest known land tree was a tree fern, which inhabited the earth in the late carboniferous period.

The word tree simply means woody plant. Trees are divided into five general categories (unless you count angiosperms twice - which is often done).

The oldest living tree is nearly five thousand years old and currently resides in California. The largest tree also lives in California along with the tallest (the actual height of the tallest tree is presently under investigation due to a freak accident). California is the largest U.S. state in population, third largest in area and is responsible for thirteen percent of the U.S.'s Gross Domestic Product.

The tree consists of five major parts including twigs. Its major imports include carbon dioxide, water and sunlight. Its major exports include wood, fruit, flowers, shade and oxygen. A small group of trees is known as grove, a large group is known as a forest.

Trees are not known to have a dominant language. Their main form of communication is deliberate action. Politically, trees are considered to be among the first species to successfully incorporate general apathy as an even somewhat, marginally successful governmental methodology.

Trees major recreation includes swaying, rustling, enjoying second hand smoke and procreating.

I sincerely hope this helps in the next interaction with your new pal: The Tree.

More on California to come...

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Interview With Mark Brent
By Dave Wilson

1) Cowboy's Last Up premiered in 2005, did it have a festival run?

Wow! It's going to be like that! It tripped out of the starting gate. It went to one festival, STIFF and won Best Looking Actress for Jaquis Olivas.

2) Did you make the film with thoughts of an Internet release?

Cowboy's Last Up was made as a festival film. However, we shot it quickly and downtown. We didn't allow for money to loop in studio sound. So, the film didn't have the best sound it could have. Due to cash limitations it became feasible to mix the movie for the Internet. Basically, my mistakes as a producer cost the sound of the film. I managed to salvage the sound, but feel that festivals were not accepting it for that reason. Actually, I don't know why festivals didn't accept it (they don't tell you), and got tired of sending them my money. Next question.

3)How long is the life-span of a short?

A short is great once. After it is seen, it is dead. (This is what I've been told.) I just keep finding ways to show it to new audiences. I think Cowboy's Last Up is worth showing to new audiences. I feel this way based on the feedback that I get.

4) Do you consider yourself a short filmmaker?

No, I'm six foot tall. Ummm..... I used to think I was good at shorts, until I realized my films weren't true short films. I make moments of feature length stories. A true short film is one thread, one point, one epiphany--it's not a matter of length. So, I guess I'm not a short filmmaker. However, I haven't made a feature film yet, so maybe I am not a filmmaker.

A Shotgun Cinema Introduction by Director Dave Wilson

Strange, awkward, absurd and often offensive Shotgun Cinema is an exploration of peculiar moments by way of predominantly visual storytelling (we rarely can afford sound gear, but when we can, watch out).

The Shotgun Cinema journey began a few years ago when a some of my Shotgun Cinema Assailants and I began our careers in "Professional Filmmaking." We would find ourselves with sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of filmmaking gear and a couple minutes to spare for some good old fashioned creative hedonism.

It hasn't changed much since then, or at all I guess, but there are more scripts, more assailants and more Shotgun Cinema, and more and more people around the world being subjected to it (a few people anyway, and one guy in poland).

Most importantly though, the spirit has remained: creative hedonism. We don't let a half scribbled script or a lack of filmmaking equiptment get in our way of making half baked, painfully irreverent, time wasting entertainment.

Thank you and enjoy Shotgun Cinema: The Rise and Fall of the Barometric Pressure. Featuring Brian Barnett and Mark Brent with music by: TU. More to come soon and more to come often, so come along, your time isn't that important anyway!

Interview With Jay Purcell
By Mark Brent

1)Inteligent Risk Taking is an experimental narrative that watches like a poem video. What drew you to the poetry of Darren Gray? What were the challenges with working with a poem versus a plot driven script?

Well I am also a graphic designer and was approached by the publishers Next Century Books to design the book cover and layout for Darrens first collection of poems Delicate Elephant which featured the poem Intelligent Risk Taking. We were throwing around ideas about how best to get the book out to the public and reach people that appreciate poetry but who would not normally go out and seek a book of it. After reading Darrens work it struck me that rather than being like the kind of flouncy/arty poetry you get sometimes his revolved more around twisted daily observations of life coupled with his own inner thoughts and emotional contemplations of his personal life. Reading the poems gave me ideas about how they would look on film, as I always see imagery in my head whether Im walking down a street or listening to music. I thought this would be a great first project to direct some short films, no pressure, no money but pure experimentation! So the task began. I waded through the book and picked out about 10 poems to work with, the next stage was to jot down some rough ideas and shot lists of how they could be filmed. The main challenge in filming these poems verses a plot driven script was my own slap-hazard organisational skills. Although sketching out my rough ideas beforehand I had no script or storyboard and just went out shooting with the ideas in my head, figuring out how to put it all together later. In the case of Intelligent Risk Taking this was all filmed over the course of 2 days in various different locations. The office was the only location we had arranged beforehand with all the other locations found on the day of the shoot. So before we shot we had no storyboard, no script and no locations, this was all my fault in lack of preparation, but then it was all a bit of an experiment! Im a great believer in that however rough or crap you think the footage is you can always, always make something acceptable in the editing stage! I hope that Ive managed to prove in this film that if you can make an acceptable little film with no money or crew, imagine what you could do even with a modest budget!

2)What's independent filmmaking like in England? Do you find much support? I suppose it is always the eternal struggle of getting any money to make films that is always the biggest struggle, but I guess thats the same everywhere. When it comes to documentaries and short films there seems to be a lot of support in the UK for this with various schemes set up to showcase work, get funding, help network and find other crew members. When it comes to feature films though it is very difficult. The UK film industry doesnt really exist anymore and youll be hard pushed to make or even release a film without the major backing of American or foreign companies who own all of the Cinema Theatres here and hence give priority to mainstream blockbuster releases rather than supporting independent films. This is the case on a national basis apart from a small selection of independent theatres in London and other cities who make it their business to show independent films.

3)What's next for you?

Well despite my partially negative answer to the last question I am about to Direct my first feature film! Its a comedy about ordinary guy Paul Blackship who lives in the dull, grey City of Milton Keynes in England. Paul claims that he is a Superhero and possess special superhero powers! After an anonymous letter is sent into a TV network, investigative documentary reporter Egon Kitzmert and his crew turn up to make a documentary about Paul and to investigate the claims made in the letter, this is Egons last chance to make some great TV before the network axe his show. Cue lots of silliness and other dodgy English superheroes! We are due to start filming this August 2006 and a pre-production web site has already been launched at www.midknight-rising.com where we will also be releasing regular production video podcasts in the coming months.

As well as making films I am also a musician currently playing drums for 3 different artists as well as writing and producing tracks for solo artists. I also run my own label Funkbuddha which has a production arm to it making websites, graphic designs and more for clients such as Abbey Road Studios, so Im never really stuck for something creative to get my teeth stuck into!!!! Oh.and Ill also be releasing my first solo album later in 2006 which will feature some of my best music collaborations over the past 6 years. Keep an eye on www.myspace.com/jaypurcell for the latest info!

Interview With Dave Wilson
By Mark Brent

1) Describe your thought process behind leaving out the credits and let us know who is responsible for what. This way we can hold someone accountable.

Ha, Im not sure anyone involved really wants credit for Shotgun. Seriously though, I don't think there is room for it in the piece. Shotgun was designed to be an internet movie so credits were to be added in text alongside the piece, plus it kind of becomes a commercial and who wants to see credits at the end of a commercial? We only had four people involved in this film and a cat named Larry that kept on licking up the fake blood. Eric Stalzer was featured he also co-wrote, Tony Konichek was featured as well, he also co-wrote, did the graphics and was the gaffer, Ryan Alexander starred and provided the location, cottage cheese and fake blood, we all produced, I co-wrote, shot, directed and edited.

2) Shotgun is definitely an Internet film. What can a film like Shotgun accomplish for the filmmaker?

That is a great question. The Internet is becoming an amazing tool for short content. Shotgun was recently picked-up by atomfilms.com a site made for short content that gets 5,000,000 hits a month. There are also a lot of great grassroots tools for promotion and networking on the Internet. A film like Shotgun has the potential to reach an audience of hundreds of thousands of people - for a film that cost $80 dollars and 10 hours total to make, a few years ago this would be unheard of. These are exciting times.

3) Shotgun is built like a good joke, but it also seems to sum up everything that can be said about youthful pressures when it comes things like alcohol and drug use. Did you intend this, or is that perceived depth simply why it works as a good joke?

Some of the funniest things I've seen on TV are these anti-drug PSAs. You know the ones with Jimmy and Tommy smoking a joint, playing with a gun and somehow someones head gets blown off. How stupid do those producers think kids are, but then again the whole war on drugs thing is just as dumb and delusional? Shotgun is probably the easiest film I have made. The premise is simple, the joke is easy and it could easily become a see jimmy this is why you shouldn't be pressured into drinking except for the fact that it is completely absurd, then just when it would be the perfect time to reflect on the violent and horrifying event that had just taken place it becomes a pro-drinking add. I hope all of this plays into why Shotgun works, we are conditioned to expect a certain sequence of events and when something unexpected happens it's usually funny, like when someone falls down; they aren't supposed to fall, so when they do it's unexpected and it's funny. I really don't have much of a moral stance on the issue of youthful pressures and drinking, stupid people are going to do stupid things and if some tragic event happens while they do it, I have another plot for a film. I support drinking, I think Shotgun is better enjoyed after getting good and loaded, driving around in circles for 20 minutes and calling an ex-girlfriend a lousy and offensive twit on the nearest overpass with chocolate syrup. Enjoy Shotgun and watch it on atomfilms.com a few times so I can make a lot of money. Ha ha ha!

Interview with Dave Wilson

The Freeride Mountain Biker won't be confused with his cousin the spandex clad cross-country rider we see in so many bad advertisements. Freeriding is a huck fests at a dirt park. Powering through deep berms. Hucking off drops, over tabletops. Freeriding is challenging gravity on a ragged mountain, finding flow where others don't dare walk. It's a commitment and focus that depends on trust with the bike. It's about Bone's Over Metal. When the rider cases the jump something is going to break, it's either going to be his bones or it's going to be the bike. That's Bones Over Metal.

Bones Over Metal is an episodic podcast that takes a documentarian look at Freeride Mountain Bikers. Oh, there is bike porn! Lot's of it! But this Bi-Monthly podcast introduces the riders to you. You like them! But what's not to like about a rider who's willing to flip himself backwards over a thirty foot gap, then hits the transition and kicks up a rooster tail while screaming into the trees. We also destroy myths. Promote good bikes. Highlight wonderful local riding spots and the trail builders.

This Pilot Episode features the music of More. More is a Seattle band that has found that grunge sound again. Thanks! Really! Mike Metzger and Grant Breshears are the featured riders. We go to a favorite spot of theirs at Beacon Hill on the outskirts of Spokane, WA. Thank you Mike and Grant! These guys have ridden together since they were thirteen. It's great to watch them push each other. Bones Over Metal is shot with HD and 16mm. These two formats work well together and create a high production value for less money than shooting straight film. When shooting action there's a freedom in shooting video, even high end video. We saved the film for creative moments. We also used wireless microphones with the riders. This gave the episode a real candid feel.

For more information See www.bonesovermetal.com

- Mark

I had a few student films under my belt, but The Greasy Spoon Poem was my first film where I'd produced it from concept to final film. I wanted to make a film that was very contained and had minimal requirements to achieve a high production value. I took a short poem that I had and worked a plot around it. This wasn't too difficult to do. The poem has it's own conflict, I just had to keep the world of the poem down so I didn't drive my budget up. I stayed with the two locations, a bar and a greasy spoon, that are mentioned in the poem. Later, I was able to find a location that had both a bar and a greasy spoon in the same building. A great place in Seattle called The Hurricane Cafe. I was able to use the location in away that allowed the place to stay open during the shoot. So, the owners gladly didn't charge me for a location fee. They even provided craft services to the shoot for cost to themselves. Again, thank you Hurricane Cafe!

We shot on a DVX100 from Panasonic. By using proper film lighting we were able to achieve a look for the film that really takes us into the protagonist's world. The entire film was shot and put through post production for less than a thousand dollars.

The Greasy Spoon poem has been well received. Especially by creative types. It seems that we all have a personal understanding of the struggle that exists when creativity is brought into a public arena. Thanks for watching the short film. Let us know what you think!

- Mark Brent

Check out my production company's website www.brentcreative.com click here