PRIMAL DREAMS
Brothers-turned-filmmakers craft a second career, an enviable one at that, out of hunt season
By Chris Shogren-Thompson
It’s Monday morning and the alarm just sounded. Baby Boomer after Baby Boomer places their feet on the floor, throws on their business casuals, and heads out the door to go to their 40-hour a week job.
Careers can be the definition of who and what we are to the world surrounding us. We live and breathe our work. For some of us, we have lived a life fulfilled between the hours of 9 to 5. And yet there are those who still dream of doing something different.
We’re encouraged to have a hobby, to get involved, and to make a difference outside the company doors. Our evenings and weekends many times reflect the true passions that lie within. We dream of one day doing something that we enjoy, that we love.
We’ve paid the bills and met our obligations. We’re seeing a future that allows us to explore the world of want versus the world of need. There’s this option that shouts, “A Second Career.” And yet we ask, “Is it really possible?”
Two sets of brothers, separated by a thousand miles and varying careers, are joined together by the white-tail deer and traditional bowhunting. Their hobby and weekend passion turned into Wensel/Mitten Productions, a reality that the men only could dream of in previous years.
The Illinois Mitten brothers are professionals by day. Mark Mitten is a chiropractor; Mike Mitten is a cancer researcher; and David Mitten is an entomologist. Iowa twin brothers Gene and Barry Wensel formerly of Montana are retired chiropractors.
The five men met approximately a decade ago at traditional bow and arrow conferences. The Wensel brothers were highly sought after lecturers and the Mitten brothers were deer conservation enthusiasts eager to learn. They loved their freedom to hunt and captured hunting and scouting endeavors on film.
The Wensel Brothers produced three bowhunting films in the 1980’s: Bowhunting October Whitetails I & II and Highnoon Bucks. When they began production on their 1999 film Spirit of the Bow, they invited the Mittens to provide some of the film footage for the hunting documentary. This was the beginning of the “Brothers of the Bow” collaborating on Independent Filmmaking.
The hunters, now filmmakers, desire to produce films that “express the spirit of the chase and emotions that fill the hunter’s heart, illustrating honor and respect for animals and their habitat, and depicting man’s participation in nature while exploring the reasons for the hunt.”
In 2005, the production team released their second documentary, Primal Dreams, A Heartfelt Passion for Nature and the Chase…A Journey of Dreams, following it with Primal Dreams Special Condensed Edition in 2008. The film has sold over 20,000 copies and is available on www.Amazon.com and their website www.brothersofthebow.com.
Primal Dreams received three Telly Awards, which award outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as the finest video and film productions. The awards included first place for Cinematography, second place for Editing, and second place for Use of Music. In addition, the Illinois House of Representatives recognized Wensel/Mitten Productions in 2006 for their “production of a film which truly exemplifies the passion and excitement of the hunt.”
Co-producer, Mike Mitten attributes some of the film’s success to the fact that the documentary inspires, educates, and motivates hunters to seek their own answers to why they must hunt, while being able to be enjoyed by non-hunters also.
Many have deemed the film as the “ultimate chick flick.” Hunters finally have a venue to show their wives, girlfriends, and mothers why they’re gone on the weekend. Hunters can bring the hunt to their home, indicated Mitten.
Recently, the men returned from Manitoba, Canada where they wrapped shooting for the much anticipated sequel to Primal Dreams. The yet titled film has been in production since 2005. Between the Wensels and the Mittens, they have traveled across nine states and three Canadian provinces, capturing over 1000 bowhunting scenes. The film is due to be released in Spring, 2010.
When asked how much of an investment Wensel/Mitten Productions needed to make in order to produce their films, Mitten was unsure of the total cost.
Each man has invested $5,000 - $10,000 in Canon digital camera equipment. Today’s technology allows individuals, like the Wensels and the Mittens, to create and develop quality films like never before. Editor David Mitten uses Casablanca digital video editor to create the documentary.
Mike Mitten describes the filmmaking process as difficult at times due to the fact he and his brothers must juggle first and second careers, scheduling weekends and vacations to meet the demands of hunting and shooting on location for two-week time periods once a year.
The big challenge for the production team is creating the same caliber film. National Geographic photographers deemed Primal Dreams as groundbreaking work. Wensel/Mitten Productions hopes to make this film more of a “Reality TV” film than a documentary, bringing opinion and personality to the screen.
As part of the film’s pre-release, Editor David Mitten has created a 6-minute promotional video to show at trade shows around the country. In addition, Mike Mitten published One with the Wilderness: Passions of a Solo Bowhunter in March. The book has sold more than 1,500 copies and is in its Second Edition.
For five men, a love and passion for animals and nature transformed itself into a formidable second career.It is desire and pursuit of dreams, not earning power, which can create an opportunity unforeseen.
Who and what we are can only be determined by oneself. Careers may define us, but raison d’être personifies us and often gives the Boomer a new approach to working in life’s later years.
Author Chris Shogren-Thompson is a four-term elected School Board member, currently serving as Vice President of the Winthrop Harbor School District. She has volunteered full-time for the past 16 years , working with children and women in her community. Shogren-Thompson resumes her career as a contributing writer to www.watchboom.com and www.REELChicago.com.
