Our Filmmaker Q+A sessions are powerful nights in the theater, an opportunity to get to know the creative minds behind some of Filmed by Bike’s favorite movies.

When the LCD Soundsystem remade the video for their song Drunk Girls, they chose to film it with a cadre of Portland bikers. The result is a gritty party video. Producer Kevin Sullivan will be on stage to discuss this piece, why they chose Portland, how they found the actors and how they developed the rough-and-tumble concept of an underground tall bike jousting bout.

Saturday, after the 5:00pm show:

Merritt Raitt, Kevin Sullivan (Producer), Professor Dave and his daughter, Heath Korvola

Sunday, after the 7:00pm show:

Joe Biel and Steve Bozzone, Ilima Considine, Chad Berkley

Oh the Places You Will Go to Film by Bike

(A poetic interpretation of one man’s adventures in filming and biking: about filmmaker Mike Vogel)

Meet Mike

     Who likes to film by bike.

But we ask would he dare

     Film by bike anywhere?

Would he film on a crane?

     Could he film in the rain?

I would film on a crane

     I would film in the rain.

I would film here or there,

     I would film anywhere.

Would he film in a pick-up truck,

     All the way to Lady Luck?

Where he and his crew,

     Could get a shot of my tattoo?

Yes in a truck, to Lady Luck

I would go, to prove it so.

That I would film here or there,

     I would film anywhere.

I bet he wouldn’t on Hawthorne Bridge,

     It’s vertically filming on a ridge.

Shy away from the bridge, I would not

     If it meant getting the perfect shot.

I would film here or there,

     I would film anywhere.

He wouldn’t, he couldn’t if it were against the law.

I would and could if I thought no one saw.

I would film here or there,

     I would film anywhere.

I guess it’s true, I guess it’s so

     There is not a place Mike wouldn’t go.

So the question remains, the places you will go

     In order to be in the Filmed By Bike Show.

Drawing inspiration from drawings is not just a process exclusive to big guns such as Marvel and DC Comics, but something animator Carlos Maya has perfected for Filmed by Bike in his shorts like “Big Wheel Bounce”, a 30-second complex animated piece that showed in our 2009 festival.

I would never describe my Saturday morning cartoons as a very thoughtful effort, except perhaps to decide which sugar cereal goes best with reruns of Captain Planet. For Carlos, though, this is when the thinking cap comes on. An animator by trade, Carlos’ ten years of experience have helped prepare him to be a front runner for past Filmed by Bike festivals. His inspiration from cartoons is the fuel behind his passion. Drawing from the archives of classic School House Rock, Carlos sets forth to bring out originality, personality and something completely new through his work.

Carlos offers up this advice for all of you aspiring filmmakers: “Do what you love, even if it does not make sense.” Maybe for Carlos doing what you love means cartoons and making people laugh, but for you it could mean something different. Find out what it is that you love and start filming. We can’t wait to see.

The deadline for Filmed by Bike submissions 1/20/2011 and you can learn more at our Best of the Worst (What not to do) event on November 6th. Details here >>

In Portland, the name Lars Larsen may ring a bell – of alarm: the conservative talk show host (Larson) is well known for giving bikers a hard time. But there’s another Lars in town who is fighting more for good than evil: Lars C. Larsen. This Lars is a Portland based filmmaker who has been involved with Filmed by Bike for four years now. With his films, Lars brings a creative approach to the festival, such as the ultra-short 2009 Speed Kills that was shot with a cool vintage effect.

Lars’s films have appeared in the Chicago Underground Film Festival, the Caucophany Film Festival, at San Francisco Film Arts, the Humboldt International Film Festival and now for the fourth time at Filmed By Bike. Lars is currently working on the TNT drama series Leverage and he has previously worked on Coraline, The Hunted, and several TV and film productions shot in and around Portland.

Lars’s most recent film Go! Paperboy! will show in Program 1. Program details >>