An interview with Chiefland Director Gabriel Tyner

Picture courtesy Gabriel Tyner

I attended the Brouhaha Film and Video Showcase this past weekend and was privy to a variety of films from up and down the state of Florida.  One of the films that interested my was a short documentary about a man that had returned to the bull riding after a ten year absence due to an accident.  The name of the film was call Chiefland and I was able to get a hold of the director, Gabriel for his thoughts about how the story came together, some of his general thoughts about filmmaking and his producer.

Why did you want to make films?
I make films, especially documentaries, with hopes of changing the way people think and hopefully inspiring them to act.  For example, Chris Wilson's story is about never giving up on your dreams.  His dreams were much bigger than anything I have ever wanted to do.  I believe I can overcome lots of obstacle because Chris Wilson's obstacles were tremendous, daunting, and death defying.  I think that my dreams of making movies are easier to obtain than Chris' bull riding career. 

Is this your first film working together (with Christopher Ramsey your Producer) or have you two worked together before?
This is the first film that Christopher Ramsey and I have worked on together.  We worked together at Fox News in Lake Mary.  There are plenty of people who work in news, but there are few people who actually do much outside of work.  I pursued a meeting with Christopher outside of work because I knew he was involved in documentaries.  In the end, it was serendipitous that I met Christopher and he has been a mentor to me ever since.

How did you hear about Chris Wilson? What made you want to do a short about him?
It all started in 2006 when I got a phone call from a friend of mine who had recently entered the sub-culture known as Professional Bull Riding, or PBR. He told me that a guy who had gotten hit by a train was going to be bull riding in Chiefland. So I grabbed the only camera that I could get a hold of and left for Renegade Rodeo in Chielfand Florida that very afternoon. When I got there I was greeted by cowboys, trucks, and bulls. Right away I met the cowboy Chris Wilson and I knew I had a star on my hands. His strong cowboy personality and infectious southern candor made for great content. I pushed REC and started filming.
I had been working on the story of Chris Wilson since 2006.  I originally wanted to make a feature out of it, but eventually gave that up and started showing a rough version at film festivals.  Then I hooked up with Christopher and his great storytelling abilities.  He formed the story into what we see today at the film festivals.

What were some of the complications that occurred during the filming of the short?
Sound was one of the biggest issues I had when I filmed the documentary.  I only a consumer grade video camera with an onboard mic.  I had no headphones either, so I was sure to get as close as I could during the interview.  I believe the "closeness" of the camera really paints an intimate picture of our bull riding hero.

Where else has the short appeared?
So far, our short has played at FILMSLAM, it was the opening film at Indie Grits, and it played at one of the oldest documentary film festivals in the world The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

What will be next for the short film?
We are still in the process of entering it into film festivals.  We do not like to talk about which festivals because we believe it is bad luck.

What is next on your agenda film wise?
Christopher and I are both working on separate projects.  For over a year now, I have been working on a documentary about gangs in schools.  Specifically gangs in Gainesville, FL where we have a growing number of gang members and violence is on the rise.  Florida is leading the way for gangs and they are targeting our schools.  Kids are easy to use for selling drugs or stealing because the cops don't look for kids and kids do not do a lot of jail time.   It is a passionate project of mine that is still seeking funding.  For more info check out our website at www.chasing-ghosts.com

Would you work together again or is that just a bad idea?
Great Question.  Of course I would work with Christopher again.  He is an excellent storyteller and I would jump at the chance to weave another documentary with him.

What would you say to a novice filmmaker as words of encouragement? Are there any words of warning that you have to share?
Chiefland is a great example of how important the story is and how unimportant the equipment can be.  Nowadays you can make a documentary with a cell phone and I completely encourage that.  I have been filming documentaries since I was 14 and probably would not be where I am today if I had not had all that time to make mistakes.  It's so important that you just start filming whenever you can so you can get your video and editing chops up to par. 
As far as a warning is concerned, If you can, always collaborate with someone.  It always helps to have another set of eyes to look at your work.  In my case, it was Christopher who saw the full potential of CHIEFLAND and made it what it is today.  Without his expertise, I would not be where I am today.

For more information on Gabriel Tyner you can check out his production company: www.filmsbygt.com
The production company facebook page: www.facebook.com/gtproductionsvideo
Also there is his imdb page:www.imdb.com/name/nm3068189/

The film's webpage is: www.chieflandthemovie.com