Relentless Energy Drink fuels Short Stories:
“The Pit: a film about crowd surfing”
The behaviour of fans at a gig is a key part of the relation between them, the band, and the music. Crowd surfing, along with pogoing and moshing, is an act of rock’n’roll defiance, a demonstration that you are there in the thick of it, lost in the music. “The Pit: a film about crowd surfing” is film maker, Dave Depares’ journey into the complex politics of crowd surfing, which shows the fans in action and tells their story.
The fifth entry in the 2011 Short Stories film competition fuelled by Relentless Energy Drink, “The Pit,” takes viewers into a world of bodies and bouncers. Depares introduces us to the fans who risk ejection from the venue, the musicians who live it every night (including Liam Cormier of Cancer Bats and Lee Spielman of Trash Talk) and the bouncers who try to keep everyone safe. The film contrasts the focused energy of the band with the seeming chaos of the pit.
The director draws on his dual experiences of directing music videos, and reviewing hundreds of gigs as a music journalist, to get under the skin of the fans and show how they see the art of crowd surfing. “I’ve always been fascinated by crowd politics, the way different crowds respond to different bands, the changing energy levels, the positioning of various crowd members within the venue and their roles within the crowd. There are the planks, the head-nodders, the dancers, the pogoers, the moshers, and the crowd surfers.”
The short film is a kinetic portrait of what it is to be lost in music, showing both the beauty of the energy involved and the violence of the actions themselves. It’s a real eye-opening look at a world a lot of us may never have seen.
“The Pit” is being released on August 11th via www.relentlessenergy.com
About Short Stories:
Now in its 2nd year Short Stories fuelled by Relentless Energy Drink is a challenge to filmmakers around the world to explore, reveal, celebrate and define the No Half Measures attitude through the medium of film.
At the heart of Short Stories is a competition which rewards directors who can bring to life ‘Focus’: the Relentless Energy Drink Virtue that is being brought to life as a theme this year. Short Stories portrays this quality via the words, actions and attitudes of those individuals who live and breathe it – from the worlds of core sports (skate, surf, snow, BMX) to music (rock, metal, dance, punk, drum n’ bass).
Open to amateur and professional directors, entrants must be 18 years minimum and need to submit their showreel to be selected.
For Short Stories 2011 a selection of 30 film makers were invited to provide a treatment for the Story they wished to tell. From these treatments, eight directors were selected to make their film.
The eight films will be judged on: how engaging is their narrative; whether it’s inspiring and motivational; if it provokes a fresh, new outlook; believability and honesty; technical craft; and compelling filmmaking.
The winner will be awarded £10,000 plus a contract and funding to shoot another film project for Relentless Energy Drink.
The 2011 judging panel are being finalised, but for 2010 featured editors and publishers from Sidewalk Skateboard, Dig BMX, Surf Europe, Whitelines and Huck magazines, plus the director of both Lives of the Artists films.
To view all Short Stories films and for more information visit relentlessenergy.com – where you can also sign up for the latest updates, news, videos, offers and competitions from Relentless Energy Drink.
