The Tree
By: Dave Wilson

Watch the movie by clicking on the pod image above

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...

Watch the movie by clicking on the pod image above.

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 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