Right now, Dan is working on a project for COAD that has a deadline of next week. After that is finished, shooting will resume, so I’ll be contacting various folk within the next few days (when he gets back to me with dates and availabilities) to set up the next round of shooting.

You will be one of the folks we want to interview next, and yes, we’d like to talk with you about the schedules of events in the coming year.

Once shooting is done, which we expect to take about a year, we will be doing editing for however many months that takes, and putting in the finishing touches, titles, soundtrack and voice-overs–all the stuff that turns a mass of footage into a film. Once that is done, we will start dealing with funding for distribution, and will be very happy with any help you can give us in that regard.

We plan on getting the finished work “out there” in as many venues as possible–including international film festivals–we really want this documentary to get out in the world and do some good, because we both very much believe that what is happening in Athens need not be unique–it can and should be replicated elsewhere.

Our hold up in getting started, and indeed producing a trailer to take to investors, (and yes, Kickstarter and IndieGoGo were on my list of places to go,) was that I didn’t have the gear I needed to make this look the way I wanted.

I had considered renting the gear, (like a normal company would,) but the problem with that is our subject matter.

We’re working around the schedules of farmers, food artisans, (“Value-Added Reseller” sounds too bloody corporate for my palate, these folks are artists who are passionate about what they do,) and restaurants, So, we’re expecting a LOT of last minute cancellations, reschedulings, shufflings, etc. and that’s just not conducive to the micromanaged schedules that rental puts on a normal production.

My goal from the get-go was to do this in such a way that we weren’t limited on where we could put it once it was done. So if, (when,) we get a distributor, and they say “can you give this to us as X?” it’s just a matter of minor tuning and tweaking for output.

Streaming on Hulu and the like? Sure. It was digital from the get-go!

Download from iTunes or Amazon? Sure!

DVD and BLUray? Check.

Printed to film for theatrical distribution? Got that covered too…

About the only thing I don’t have covered out of the gate is 3D and IMAX.

I had picked out the gear I wanted to use for this project, but we lacked funding.

Well, back in September, I decided to go back into business for myself, bit the bullet, and invested in new production gear. What I wanted to shoot the documentary is exactly what I got for creating marketing material for small businesses, non-profits, etc.

So, here we are.

We’ve got the gear in place. Transportation is a short trip out a country road or two, (most of those locations within a stones throw of someplace Barbara or I lived at some point.)

Crew consists essentially of Barbara and me. I want to keep this production small and intimate. I want to keep our production “Footprint” low as not to invade these folks lives: Camera, tripod, wireless lapel microphone, and one or two lights if needed.

The more specialized technicians you bring, the more of an artifice you generate. The more foreign gear you pile into a persons home or business, the less at ease they are going to be. I want them relaxed, so they’re just having a conversation that a camera happens to be filming. These are brilliant, talented, passionate folks, and I want to portray them in as genuine a way as I can.

So, now that I have the gear, (which was a considerable bite out of my retirement, but so very worth it,) our overhead is fairly low. Just a little blue car full of gear, Barbara’s words, my lens, and these people’s incredible story.

Truth be told, this project is a dream. The story we’re uncovering in our little town is the type of thing that a seasoned documentarian would travel halfway around the world for, and it’s right here in our own back yard. The people we’re talking to for this project are people we know. We’ve broken bread with them. We eat at their restaurants and many of them we’ve fed, (as patrons of the places Barbara worked and I currently work.)

I’m fast coming to look at this documentary as a PART of the local food community. The people in it are people that want to share their passions with others. I saw it Sunday on the farm tours, and have seen it at the Farmers Market, the 30 Mile Meal events, our local restaurants. They want to spread the word, and my contribution is to provide a channel for that.

And that is a incredibly exciting, intimidating, and humbling feeling.

I’ve rambled enough…Thanks!

Stef–We are really hoping to get this distributed through a major film company. The story is compelling enough and unless we totally bugger it up, I think that it will be picked up by someone. Basically, right now Athens is unique, but I don’t want it to be–I want it to be replicated around the country, many times over and this film can be a blueprint as to how to go about doing such a thing. A blueprint and inspiration.

Maureen–As I said, we are hoping for actual distribution that will include limited theatrical release, streaming, DVD, and other options. That’s why we’re going to enter it into as many film festivals as we can. If nothing else, you’ll be able to get a DVD when it’s ready to be marketed.

Rebecca–we’ve mostly done b roll footage so far, but what I’ve seen of it, is lovely. Apparently, the stills I took above are quite representative of the look that Dan is working towards in his cinematography.

Thank you, Ardene–right now, I’m funding it myself–hopefully when it’s closer to done, we can get some other sources of funding going.

Thanks for the encouragement, everyone!

For the “funding” part, is the project already funded? If not, are you considering using something like Kickstarter? If you did, I’d chip in, for a DVD of the final results.