Hey everyone, sorry for being so slow an sporadic in updating this blog. Traveling through the Midwest means long drives, and long drives mean Justin is exhausted. That just leaves two of us to manage the day-to-day aspects of filming this thing and…well…theres a lot to do.
To make it up to you, here is a little video update that we did a while ago for the label, but they don’t seem to be doing anything with it. If they end up getting bummed about us putting it up, I guess we’ll just make a new one for them =)
Heyo. Its me again. I’m sitting here dumping some footage and happened to stumble across some words and speculation on the great expanse that is the internet. I figured it can’t hurt to take some time to clarify some things.
Now, I realize there isn’t much information available on this project. Lets change that. Firstly, I am in no way affiliated with the band other than that I am filming them. Yes, I knew Tim for a while before filming this, but mainly just as a friend of friends. Sometime earlier in the year I began going to “Moe Monday” at Moe’s (a burritto place) with a few friends and Tim was there. It turned out that we had a fair bit in common, and started geeking out talking about audio/video stuff. A few weeks later I left for a 2 month backpacking trip to Asia (as documented in www.superhappyfuntrip.com ). When I returned, I got a call from Tim asking if I would be interested in helping with their new DVD. I said yes, and we had lunch to discuss it.
Surprisingly, we were all on the same page from the beginning. I told him I would be fine just holding a camera and releasing a DVD on par with most cd/dvd releases these days (I mean, beggars can’t be choosers), but I would much rather approach this as a film worthy in its own right. After a two hour lunch and a lot of back and forth we started to plan something to pitch to the label.
So, for those of you wondering or want a level headed explanation of what this film is, here you go: We’re striving to portray what it is for a band of this nature to embark on a tour like the one they are currently on. Broad? Yes. But thats part of the appeal. When I think of truly great “band dvds” I think of “Don’t Look Back,” “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” and “Drive Well and Sleep Carefully.” The beauty in all of those films is that they appeal as much to the casual movie watcher as they do the diehard fan. When I told my stepfather I was doing this project I ended up discussing my inspirations. As it turned out, he had just seen the Death Cab DVD on TV. His comment was “I didn’t really care for the music that much, but it was a really interesting movie.” That is what I want.
Do I think this will be of the caliber of those films? I can only hope. But I do know that those looking for more from a band dvd then “Hey! We’re Band X! Check us out!” will be pleasantly suprised.
We should have a video blog up soon covering all these points again, but I just wanted to go ahead and throw some words out there. If anyone has any questions about this project, we will happily answer them. I know inevitably people will talk about things they know little about, and that the distance and anonymity of the internet will only intensify that. So, all we can do is be here to explain our views and do our best to sort things out.
I’ll try to throw up some new photos soon as well.
While it wasn’t taken using any of our nice equipment, I thought I’d share a kind of cool picture I took with my iPhone’s built-in camera.
It at least shows you the packed house at the Wiltern in Los Angeles and the amazing production Underoath uses for their shows. There is no post-production on this picture… this is just the every show lighting they use for their shows — very cool.
I know that I hate when I post comments on sites and they are never read. While I can’t promise I’ll have time to address all your comments, I will do my best. Here are a few I thought needed addressing.
underoathfreak777 Said,
Oh yeah baby!
Seay: Agreed. Oh yea, baby!
alexander777 Said,
ill be praying for aaron
AND
pao.oath Said,oh god!
can you tell me what exactky happened with aaron?
is he ok?
what he had?
please!
Seay: I’m sure Aaron appreciates the well-wishes. I also, could tell you exactly what happened with Aaron, but then you wouldn’t buy the DVD. You’d tell all your friends about what happens in the DVD and then they wouldn’t buy it either. The DVD would fail, we’d never work again and I’d slowly slip into a state of depression. I don’t think you want that.
I will say, though, that we caught it all on tape… it is pretty gross and definitely not for the squeamish; we will have to see how much of it can actually make it to the DVD.
underoathfreak777 Said,
Oh my goodness I can’t wait! it does seem to give off a more personal view of underoath then 777 which is just great! I am loving the idea already! I’ll be the first to buy!!
AND
McBadminton Said,is this gonna be like the chriot’s get in the van stuff? or a big music video?
Seay: The guys have been great about giving us freedom to shoot what we feel needs to be shown. Like we’ve said before, being on the road is tough and the music industry is by no means all glitter and glam; it can be pretty rough at times. It will be a very personal Underoath experience — I applaud the guys for allowing such access to their lives. It takes guts and a level of trust in their fans that is very respectable. It shows some real good times and some real bad times. We hope to make it the type of film that you, as a fan, and your friends/parents who aren’t fans can sit down and enjoy equally.
Definitely more in the van/bus type stuff. It by no means is a giant music video.
adicadabra Said,
What you guys are doing is incredible. I love this band more than I can sit here and type. Thank you. All of you. I love you.
AND
remedina Said,
this is sooo awesome! You guys are in my prayers! =)
AND
etid0777 Said,hey dood(s) what your doing seems awesome, ill be sure to try to find you at the jannus landing st pete show and say hey, good luck with this all
AND
StacyB Said,This Is Gonna Be AMAZING!!
AND
chasingsafety45 Said,this is amazingggg…i can’t wait to see the whole thing
Seay: I am fairly confident the majority of these comments are directed at Underoath and not actually the film crew. Just know that the band will not actually be checking this blog: only the film crew. Either way, I am stealing these comments as our own and saying, “thanks!” We think it is going to be great as well; honestly if we didn’t, we wouldn’t be doing it.
Bre Said,
Are you guys going to be comming to film at the Bakersfield Dome on Saturday (10/6/07)?
Seay: I guess we weren’t too clear on this one… I thought I should clear it up. We are in a van following Underoath’s tour bus. If it stops somewhere, we most likely are within 5 miles of it filming something. So to answer your question: yes. We will be in Bakersfiled filming. So make sure you look your best as you might be on the DVD. Oh and bring all your friends, we are looking for packed shows and enthusiastic fans.
A big hello to everybody out there in internet land. I’ve finally gotten my act together for the launch of what I’m sure will be the sweetest of blog post series. Welcome.
A wee introduction:
My name is Justin Stoddard. I’m 22, from Tampa, FL, a gemini and can tear up a dance floor (… that may be up for debate). Recently graduated from NYU with a degree in journalism and music, and fresh off a summer playing drums with a fella named Kurt Reifler, I found myself with an open schedule and little to fill it. So when the chance came up to travel the country with two great friends and a uber-rockin band like Underoath, I was all over it.
What I do:
Ryan and Seay have already covered the overall mission of what we’re doing, so I’ll just let you know how I fit in… I drive. It’s my job to be awake, ready to rock when those two are pooped from a full day of filming. This can be a drag sometimes because I have to be the responsible, non-partying one and operate on a different schedule from everyone else.
That being said, my job isn’t always so clearly defined. There’s only three of us, and when the drives are less heinous you’ll find me behind a camera (see pic), running errands or shuttling drummers to and from hospitals and airports. And, to be honest, it’s hard to be on a tour with a bunch of great people like the members of Underoath and not find yourself involved in some top notch hanging. So it’s not so bad.
Right Now:
San Diego (I’ll spare you the Ron Burgundy referenece). Chillin with Seay in the hotel now. The tour destinations in Cali are mostly only a few hours away from eachother so I’ve got some flexibility for the next few days, which works out nicely for visiting my friends on the west coast. Tonight’s show at Soma should be awesome, as usual. Will head over there soon.
Final Thoughts:
I’m a very lucky guy to be involved in this. We’re coming up on 12 days in, and already this project is shaping up to be something special. The people here are awesome, and while I’m still getting to know everybody, I can see there’s a lot of love and respect for one another.
And if you see us film crew dudes out at a show, please say hello. We’re friendly guys and we love to know that you are looking forward to seeing how our efforts turn out. And for fair warning, I’ll probably have time in hotels and a computer so you may have to deal with more of my nonsense. For that, I am truly sorry.
It has most definitely been an interesting couple of days. We are currently in San Diego, CA and the guys play Soma tonight. I haven’t been over to the venue yet — about to leave in a moment actually — but I’ve heard it is awesome. I am definitely looking forward to checking it out.
We got in yesterday after a drive that took entirely too long; chances are, we took the absolute longest path from Las Vegas, NV to San Diego, CA. We also realized that we were about 4000 miles overdue for an oil change so that took some time as well. Back to the subject of Vegas though… it was a lot of fun. Well… mostly fun. Ryan had stayed on the bus the night before Vegas while Justin and I drove in from Irvine, CA. In Irvine Aaron had been playing with a pretty beaten up thumb that visually screamed “you are in no condition to be playing drums” but he’s a trooper and he played on none-the-less. The show was Cornerstone and was in the middle of a ranch/field — there weren’t many amenities around and there was a distinct and inherent lack of cleanliness. All these factors, along with having his thumb lanced by a field EMT contributed to a fun sight when Justin and I arrived in Vegas. I called Ryan to see whether we should check into the hotel or not. This is when he informed me that he was at the hospital with Aaron. Turns out that when his thumb was lanced the previous night, it got infected due to the unsterile conditions in which the procedure was performed. Aaron had blood poisoning — not good. This, of course, meant that he could not play the show that night. While playing the show should have been the last thing on his mind, he was pretty concerned about the fans and making sure that people didn’t think he was just punking out on the show.
Kenny, drummer for the Almost, was given pretty short notice that he would have to fill in for Aaron. He got on a plane, flew out, left his bags at the airport due to a lack of time, rushed to the stage, and played his heart out. Working at a studio predominately consisting of rock and metal I see a lot of drummers and for the amount of time he was giving to prepare, he killed it. He wasn’t exactly presented with an easy task. The guy has been nothing other than humble about it all as well. A really solid guy. While we all miss Aaron and hope he gets back as soon as possible, he couldn’t have picked a better fill-in while he recoups. Everyone out there should keep Aaron in their thoughts and/or prayers.
Ryan, Justin and I stayed an extra night in Vegas and took a day off after all of the madness. I think it is safe to say that, combined, Vegas is at least $500 dollars richer and we are equally less rich after the two days there. It was a great experience though and we met some really cool fans of the band there. Our rooms were absolutely incredible as well. I’m sure someone else will elaborate on this point…they were definitely something to see though. Big thanks to Mandalay Bay and the Signature at MGM Grand for the rooms — I’ll be back in November.
Living in Florida, land of the green, flat and monotonous, it was really nice to see some variations in elevation. The desserts were pretty cool as well. It has been fun driving around the Arizona/Nevada area. Irvine was beautiful and I am really looking forward to seeing the rest of California. It has always been an intriguing state for me and I have not been in here a very long time. I wish we were here for a little bit longer, but in reality we aren’t anywhere for any substantial period, so I’ll take what I am given.
Anyone got any recommendations for awesome things to see while we are in Cali? I’ve got a day off coming up soon in L.A. Should be interesting. Well, my quick update has turned into a minor dissertation and I’m sure everyone has either fallen asleep or become distracted by a collection of shiny objects, being far more interesting than this post, and left the computer. I’ll update again later; probably after California.
Hey everyone, this is Ryan Gardner - the director of this whole project. I just wanted to drop a line and give everyone an update of whats going down. I always love it when productions like this post blogs lending insights into what they do, so I figured I might as well pay it forward now that I have the opportunity.
For the film/video minded of you, heres the tech rundown of what we’re doing:
We’re on the road for 46 days (minus a week somewhere in the mix to go home and organize), filming on two Panasonic HVX-200’s. One of the HVX’s is fitted with a Brevis 35mm adapter and is using Nikon lenses (28mm, 50mm, 85mm, 105mm, and 135mm of varying speeds and qualities). I can’t praise the Brevis enough, it definitely is giving this project a signature look. For sound we’re working with a Sennheiser 416 shotgun boomed (and sometimes hand-held) into a Sound Devices 302 mixer into a Sound Devices 702t recorder. We’re recording the video onto 16 GB P2 cards, with a firestore as a backup option.
So far I am completely stoked on how everything is turning out. The band is incredible to work with, and the equipment is amazing. We’re officially 7 days in now, and already I am feeling confident in the footage we’re getting.
I’m sure I’ll post more stories later, but I wanted to get something up here. I’ll be posting a mix of road stories and technical mumbo-jumbo (because like I said, I personally love it when other productions do the same).
In the mean time, here is a little montage I threw together using the footage from the first three days of tour. I was just messing around making sure everything was working well, but I figure people out there would like a taste of what we’re doing. I’ll be posting pictures here later, once I get them transferred over.
Foremost, I wanted to say hello to all the people who, for whatever reason, have decided to check out this blog. My name is Ryan Seay and I am the boom-mic operator for a documentary currently being filmed on the band Underoath. This is day five of our journey and we’ve decided to setup this blog to allow everyone a little insight into what we are trying to do with this project. We will be following the band across the United States as they embark on their fall/winter tour. I’m sure at this point you are asking, “Who exactly is this ‘we’ you speak about?” I’d say that, that is a fair question deserving an answer.
As I said before, my name is Ryan Seay and my primary job is to make sure that this film has sound and respectable sound at that. The crew, in its entirety, consists of director/camera man Ryan Gardner — whom at this moment is too busy running around shooting footage of the band to post — and Justin Stoddard whose primary job is to get us from point A to point B; in other words, he is our top-notch driver. Considering we are a three-man film crew, these roles quickly fade and the tasks we all have to take on far exceed our job descriptions. To give each of us the credit we individual deserve, our jobs are to do whatever is needed to make a film worthy of a band like Underoath. While I’ve met all the guys in the band before, I’ve really gotten to know them better over these few days and I know it will only increase as time goes on. That being said, I have to say these guys not only work hard at what they do but throughly enjoy every moment of it. Of course it isn’t all fun and games — the life on the road provides many hardships and it really isn’t a lifestyle that just anyone can become accustomed to dealing with. I myself have gone from a desk job managing a recording studio to sleeping on a plywood bunk inside a van for two months; it definitely takes some getting used to but in the end it is worth it if we can help portray how much work and passion these guys put into their craft so that you, the fans, can help experience that passion. I work with musicians every day and it is very seldom I run into a group of guys more dedicated to what they do — it is truly admirable. Well, that is enough with the Underoath love-fest. Everything isn’t fun and games. There’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears that go into a tour like this and I feel it is our job to show you that; I sincerely hope we are able to accomplish that.
We all leave behind friends, family and loved-ones to go out of the road and the road isn’t a as kind nor loving as those we have left. Touring exposes you to a myriad of different people, cultures and…well… those of various mental sanities. Four days in, we’ve already had our fair share of altercations. The footage looks awesome; it is really exciting.
The current tour lineup is Underoath, Maylene and the sons of Disaster, Every Time I Die and Advent. All the bands seem really close and are pretty excited about the lineup — it’s all very family-like. We head to Tulsa, OK tomorrow and then we have a day off for travel. I’m looking forward to hanging out some more during our various days off. Halo 3 came out today and Grant of Underoath picked a copy or two. We played a few rounds; I am not very good. If anyone out there has some tips, feel free to send them my way.
We’ve got some pictures to share and a trailer that kind of shows what we are doing. I’ll let the director, Ryan Gardner, take care of that though. I’m sure he will get around to posting it in the next few days. Make sure you check back. Also, if you are going to be coming to any of the Underoath shows, feel free to drop us a line and let us know. Always looking for interesting people to meet/interview/hang with. Oh and just to preface the obvious questions: No, I can’t get you backstage| No, I can’t get you in the concert for free | No, you can’t go on the tour bus. You can buy a ticket, though, let us know you are coming and track down the dude with the huge microphone on a pole to say, “hi.” If I am wandering around, I am pretty hard to miss.
If you have something interesting going on that you think we’d like to film, send us an email at underoathmovie[at]gmail[dot]com
I’m sure you’ll be hearing from Gardner or Justin soon. Until then, later.
