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Amiga News and Community Announcements => Amiga News and Community Announcements => Announcements and Press Releases => Topic started by: VivaAmiga on July 07, 2010, 07:54:31 PM
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Hello everyone...
I lurk here occasionally, don't really post since I don't use an Amiga heavily these days...(though I held on longer than many - used a Toaster setup as recently as 2002). But I've finally got some interesting news to share!
I'm making a documentary about the Amiga, and it's gonna be awesome. My partners and I are in the production phase now, shooting has begun.
Check the website:
www.amigafilm.com (http://www.amigafilm.com)
If anyone is interested in helping out, please contact me at vivaamiga@yahoo.com (vivaamiga@yahoo.com). One thing I desperately need is high-quality versions of things like Amiga commercials and promotional videos, (Youtube links and FLVs and such won't cut it.) Also need scans of magazine ads, sales materials, etc.
Help is appreciated, but mostly I just wanted to let everyone know! I figured this is fairly newsworthy here. Wish me luck, it's already been an adventure so far! I can't wait to show the world in glorious HD with badass graphics just how cool the Amiga was and still is.
-Zach Weddington
Producer, Viva Amiga
vivaamiga@yahoo.com (vivaamiga@yahoo.com)
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Great news!
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Thanks, I owe the Amiga, it did a lot for me, so it's payback time! :)
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that's very cool!
if you haven't already done so, contact Kermit of Novadesign
http://www.novadesign.com/
he's got the NoveDesign show reel that includes frames from a film where three Amiga's were used to create the special effects. The film was Hologram Man produced by PM (now defunct).
We continued to use those Amigas using mostly ImageFX but also Lightwave and some other programs for other films.
I wish I had those frames, but I don't unfortunately
I hope Kermit still does.
I also was able to have a career in graphics and films because the Amiga let me learn all about that on my own. In those days (early 90's) there was no such thing as classes in this topic. There were only Amiga groups which I attended obsessively.
the History of the Amiga is a story that has to be told.
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What's really needed is a good documentary about the Corporate insanity that took a cutting edge technology and squandered it. A how-to-not-destroy your company product. You could make a nice cloak and dagger Who-dunnit out of the post-Commodore rollercoaster, especially with Ryan and A.inc. 8) That stuff is right out of the cheeziest B-Grade mystery thriller, almost. "The Curse of the Commodore Corpse" would make a good title.
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Cool maybe this will make up for it being so hard to get a fair priced version of the rise and fall of commodore. Any idea of a release date.
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Good luck, would be great to see this underground machine's story told.
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Fantastic initiative, Zach! Wish you the best of luck. Eager to see it progress!!
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Thanks Cecilia, I will most definitely contact Kermit in the near future. Thanks for the tip! I have definitely come across Nova Design before, thanks for the memory jog. And thanks to everyone else for the good wishes! -z
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Good stuff, indeed!
I've got a mint Amiga World premiere issue if you'd wish to have me scan some pages.
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Maybe he is looking for people with large amiga collections to display them in the film and display some of the key software and technology that Amiga had to offer from the users perspective... For me it was all about the games... Also, Amiga was the computer I took to college in the early 90's. It blew away the early 386 pc's they were using on campus. Looking forward to seeing this film. Remember amiga is an international phenomenon, if you include the international scenes like Canada, UK, Germany, Norway, Sweden, etc. it will interest more people.
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What's really needed is a good documentary about the Corporate insanity that took a cutting edge technology and squandered it. A how-to-not-destroy your company product. You could make a nice cloak and dagger Who-dunnit out of the post-Commodore rollercoaster, especially with Ryan and A.inc. 8) That stuff is right out of the cheeziest B-Grade mystery thriller, almost. "The Curse of the Commodore Corpse" would make a good title.
that's ok and is certainly part of Amiga history, but what is almost Never seen or talked about is the effect Amiga and Amiga users had on the way things are NOW done in film / TV.
everyone who got an Amiga in the early days was a pioneer. and we did have an effect on how artists get their work out
for a long time if you wanted to do graphics and optical effects for film you had to be hired by studios. The equipment was expensive. only large studios could afford all that.
once Amiga's came out and were - relatively speaking - affordable for nearly anyone, that changed everything. I had to save up for my Amiga 2000 but it was worth it. I could see that films by the regular person could be done. I literally could see it back then. We didn't have to be slaves to corporations. We could create our own visions.
small groups of artists like the one I joined could buy a few Amiga's and start hiring themselves out as special effects shops. Not an easy career, but worth all the effort.
this is the real gift Amiga brought.
which is why I find all the whining about hardware THIS and Software THAT, and blah blah blah really boring.
Amiga's legacy is not about how many machines were sold. It was how it changed an industry.
and nothing anyone says can take that away.
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Great Idea, I want to help, I have a working Toaster and have a long history with the Amiga. Let me know what I can do to help. I want in.
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Do you have a marketing plan for the documentary? Targeted to television? or DVD direct to end user?
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@orb
Got a few different options on the table, it all just depends on how attractive to a general audience the film winds up being. According to the script it sure is, but we will see. Of course it will interest tech junkies and gamers...the fact that Wired even posted about OS 4.1 was pretty impressive to me, so I don't think we'll have too much trouble getting a sizeable audience of some kind. I have some connections with the G4 network.
so
1. We might sell it to a cable network, like "Chasing Ghosts" was bought by Showtime
2. We might try some kind of online distributor like E-Z Takes who lets you download a burnable DVD. Or a streaming indie movie site.
3. We might just sell it ourselves at a reasonable price along with merchandise. There will be some pretty cool t-shirts available. It will be worth owning.
Theatrical distrubution is unlikely, though one of my partners seems to think I'm underestimating the film's appeal. It is after all, a compelling story and will be very attractively made, given all my resources and partners who are established pros in television and graphics.
A big part of me just wants to keep with the DIY Amiga spirit and self-distribute. That would be most satisfying. Just gotta see what we wind up with. My expectations are pretty high!
-Z
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A new teaser of this documentary is up on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhLy8WOL73s
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Seems to me that it might be appropriate for certain independent film festivals as well. Looking forward to it.
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Theatrical distrubution is unlikely, though one of my partners seems to think I'm underestimating the film's appeal.
Not my "biz," so this is just my opinion, but I agree with the partner.. ;-)
Yes, you will have all the serious techies and Amiganuts, past and present who will be interested...
I think even the ST guys will want to see it so they can grumble.. ;-)
But I think that a percentage of the current Mac and Windows owners would be interested in a "what else was there" kind of thing..
ala Tucker.. (No, I don't mean you should get Jeff Bridges and go big budget... although.. hmmm.. :roflmao:)
I mean, people like to know that something else was out there that was better and didn't make it.. And they want to know why...
Of course, Tucker had the "Big guys kill the little guy story" that was nice, but the "Corporate greed killed the Amiga" might strike a cord today.. :)
Just thinking..
and if you have Jeff's number handy.. ;-)
desiv
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Anything in it about AROS or Morphos?
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The trailer was pretty cool :)
Couldn't help noticing a few Mac fans in youtube comments complaining that "well, technically MacOS was before AmigaOS", despite the fact it clearly said "Before OS X"...
Anyhoo, it'll be nice to see the finished product.