With the help of Larry Shank, I have started a new short film project that is about hist family’s adventures with teardrop camping right after WWII. This project grew out of the Overland Film project that is currently in post production (update on this project at the end of this post). As I was working with Larry on 30 min of vintage film and a pile of still photographs, I realized that his story was much larger than the Overland film could afford. Thus, we decided to launch an effort to make a short documentary about their unique story and camping vehicles.
Kickstarter.com has approved this project. Kickstarter is a creative community where people can financially or otherwise support films like this while receiving rewards for their support. Typical projects on Kickstarter are in the tens of thousands of dollars so it is pretty awesome that they have accepted our proposal for this documentary on a shoe-string budget. If you sponsor the project, there are rewards that Larry and I will send to you. The biggest audacious reward is that I will build you a teardrop trailer! I know, it’s insane. Check out the entire idea at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/overlandtrailer/vintage-camping-with-the-shank-family
OVERLAND AMERICA FILM: Progress in Post-production
Since I mentioned the Overland America Film, I thought I’d give you an update on its progress. To this point, approximately 60 hours have gone into post-production editing on the full full length documentary “Overland America: The birth of Teardrops & Tiny Trailers”. This amounts to almost 11 min. of edited film “in-the-can”. There is a lot more to be done but progress is being made. At times, I have felt that it is a battle of attrition getting this thing done but I am pleased with the outcome. Since my studio was first a music studio and since my music studio was inspired by my guitar, I am writing acoustic guitar tracks to complement the sponsoring band’s material as part of the sound track. Usually, I’m recording someone else’s work but this is a great opportunity to get my own material in a box while enhancing the feel of the film. Probably the biggest challenges for me have been the learning curve for professional video editing. I started this project with an above average understanding of video work but the learning curve has still been steep. My most prized seconds of film, at this time, are Computer Generated Graphical maps (similar to those in the Indiana Jone’s movies) that I made from CIA satellite photos and then animated in a three dimensional world. Sure this is no “Toy Story 3” or anything but still a great learning experience.
Well I’m going to get to the editing game again. If you have a chance, stop by: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/overlandtrailer/vintage-camping-with-the-shank-family and check out the new short film that Larry and I are starting. You’re support will make you a hero!
Cheers,
Mark