Update on I Dream of Wires Documentary Release

via Modular: the documentary on Facebook:

"When is "I Dream Of Wires" going to be released?

Hi,

My name is Jason Amm, and I'm the producer for "I Dream Of Wires" (IDOW), an upcoming documentary about the resurgence of modular synthesizers. If you're reading this, you probably already know all about IDOW, and have been anticipating it's release for quite a while. Chances are you may have even contributed money to one of our IndieGoGo fundraising campaigns, and have been wondering when you're going to receive your perk.

It was suggested in our IndieGoGo fundraising write-ups that the film would be completed sometime around Sept/Oct 2012. When we started this project, IDOW was in our minds going to be a small, straight-to-DVD niche film, and so this release date was a realistic goal. But the scope of the film, and the ever-growing interest in it, has gotten so much larger than we originally expected. We've been overwhelmed by all of the support from everyone following our progress, and it's largely this massive interest in the project that's ended up making it so much bigger than we originally anticipated. Though it has delayed the release, we are extremely excited by the wealth and quality of the material we've collected. With just two people working on IDOW (myself and director Robert Fantinatto), the task of sorting through over a hundred amazing interviews, and organizing those into a coherent and compelling film, has been daunting to say the least. We've really struggled to work out how to do this properly in a way that will satisfy the community of hardcore modular synthesizer fanatics (ourselves included), while also hopefully having an impact outside of that world.

So... "When is 'I Dream Of Wires' going to be released?"



We are releasing two very different versions of IDOW, with two different release dates....

IDOW will see it's festival premiere, May 2013. This theatrical cut is geared to a wider audience and will run approximately 85 minutes. A rough cut has been completed, and we've submitted it to several film festivals. We're optimistic, and expect it to be premiered at one of these festivals taking place in May. Hopefully this will land us some distribution deals, leading to a wider release date and further theatrical screenings, throughout 2013.

Now here is the part that most of you have been waiting for: The other version, "I Dream Of Wires (Hardcore Edition)" will be released as a 2-DVD set, and shipped to all IndieGoGo and pre-order customers, June 2013. IDOW-HE is for the hardcore modular synthesizer and electronic music fanatics, and will run approximately 4 hours long (!). It will also contain several new bonus Extended Interview segments. If you want more than a sentence or two out of many of your favourite modular synthesizer manufacturers, musicians, enthusiasts and community members, this is going to be the version for you! IDOW-HE opens with an hour-long historical primer, that has been removed entirely from the theatrical version. This section focuses primarily on the developing years of R.A. Moog Co. and Buchla & Associates Inc., and also covers their subsequent impact, influence, and the eventual decline of the modular synthesizer. Robert completed this segment of the film several weeks ago, and I can tell you that I watched it and was totally glued to the screen; an hour flew by in what seemed like 15 minutes. Our non-synth-nerd test viewers, on the other hand, were less compelled. This stuff isn't mass market material, apparently! Throughout the remainder of IDOW-HE, the film follows the same narrative arc as the theatrical cut, focusing on what is happening now - the resurgence of the modular synthesizer, and stories of the people behind this movement. But in IDOW-HE, instead of cutting out all of those techy, insider details that are sure to alienate the casual documentary film goer, we leave them in, and explore them to their fullest.

"I Dream Of Wires (Hardcore Edition)" will be limited to 2000 hand-numbered copies, available exclusively through us, via direct purchase. Through previous IndieGoGo pre-orders, contest winners, and promos/gifts, we already have approximately 700 copies sold and accounted for. The remaining 1300 copies will be available to pre-order from our website starting Mon Feb 11. This pre-order launch will be accompanied by the premiere of a brand-new trailer for IDOW-HE, that will give you an idea of what to expect from this epic 4-hour documentary! The pre-order price (in USD, shipping included) is $35 within North America, $40 everywhere else. Besides the 2-DVD set, every new order will also contain a set of IDOW modular themed postcards/stickers/buttons. If there are any unsold copies remaining after the pre-sale, they will still be available to purchase from our website, but the price will be increased after May 31, to $45 within North America, $50 everywhere else.

Most of you can probably stop reading now, but for those who want some more information, and have some unanswered questions, read on....

We're sorry that the delivery date on this DVD is so much later than we originally anticipated, and we really appreciate your patience, especially those of you who already pre-ordered through IndieGoGo. I hope that receiving this special limited 4-hour 'Hardcore Edition' in June will make up for the wait! I really think you're going to love it.

I want to let all of our IndieGoGo contributors know how crucial your investment into IDOW has been. We managed to shoot a stunning wealth of material - traveling throughout the US, Canada, UK and Germany - and to complete a rough draft of the film, all on a mere $50,000 budget. 80% of that budget was raised through our amazing IndieGoGo supporters. Thank you! For those who haven't worked in the film industry, $50K may seem like a lot of money, but working on a film, $50K goes fast! Robert and I have yet to receive a penny for the two+ years of significant time and energy we've invested into IDOW, and while we're not complaining, I want you to know that it is going to be essential that we have some money coming in over the next few months, so that Robert can invest 100% of his working hours into IDOW. Robert is a single father of three boys, paying the bills with freelance camera and editing work, but we really need him to be able to be able to turn down those freelance jobs in coming months, to concentrate on completing IDOW. In addition to this, we are facing many forthcoming post-production costs, including archival footage clearances (we're minimizing this as much as possible, but depending on what we need, this can get very expensive), colour correction, sound mixing, DVD packaging and production costs, the list goes on...

Just as IndieGoGo was such an invaluable resource for us during the pre-production and filming stages of IDOW, the money coming in from new DVD pre-orders during the coming months is going to be invaluable in our efforts to get IDOW onto the big screen in May, and IDOW-HE into your DVD players in June.

But this DVD pre-order is not the only trick up our sleeves.... We have something else to offer, which will also be available to purchase from our website: a one-off, limited "I Dream Of Wires edition" eurorack module! Designed by upstart Canadian DIY-kit and eurorack manufacturer hexinverter.net Electronics, the 'batteryACID (I Dream of Wires edition)' module will be available to pre-order from Feb 11 through till May 31, with the majority of the proceeds going towards IDOW's completion fund. It will be shipped in June, at the same time as the IDOW-HE DVDs. We really can't thank mr.hexinverter enough for this most-generous contribution to the IDOW cause! We also want to acknowledge Livewire Electronics and Intellijel Designs Inc., who have also generously offered to help us with securing some parts and with the manufacturing of this module. Further details about 'batteryACID (I Dream of Wires edition)' will be announced soon... In the meantime, be sure to check out hexinverter.net Electronics if you are into DIY-electronics &/or eurorack modules:

http://hexinverter.net

Finally, a few Q&As, below... I'm probably forgetting a few things that are bound to come up, so if you have any further questions, please leave a comment and we'll try to address it in the near future.

Thanks!

Jason Amm,
Producer, "I Dream Of Wires"

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Q: I would like to screen IDOW at my theatre/festival/shop [or] I would like to sell IDOW DVDs.

A: We appreciate the offer, and hopefully we can make something work in the future. But this isn't something we can answer right now - It is going to be something we need to determine with our distributor(s) after IDOW's festival premiere screening.
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Q: I'm a film sales agent / distributor and I am interested in potentially representing IDOW.

A: Let's talk - info [at] idreamofwires [dot] org.
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Q: I'm potentially interested in investing money in IDOW.

A: We've come this far without any outside investment, and we are confident that we can complete the film without it. So we are not going to entertain any offers from investors who want to change our creative vision for the project. If you are interested in investing money, or making a financial contribution, we can certainly use some financial assistance as long as we're not expected to compromise our vision of the film, so if that sounds like something you're potentially interested in, let's talk - info [at] idreamofwires [dot] org.
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Q: I pre-ordered a DVD through IndieGoGo - does that mean I will receive a 'Hardcore Edition' 2-DVD set in June?

A: Yes.
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Q: I pre-ordered a DVD through IndieGoGo - but I'm not a "hardcore modular synthesizer and electronic music fanatic" - I think the regular 85-minute theatrical cut of IDOW is better suited to me - Can I wait to receive that DVD instead?

A: Yes, we are happy to accommodate this request. Please send an email to info [at] idreamofwires [dot] org to request this. Though, please keep in mind that we have no ETA for the theatrical cut DVD release - it could take as long as 18 months before that sees the light of day.
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Q: I pre-ordered one of the other non-DVD perks through IndieGoGo (T-shirt, soundtrack CD/LP, DVD-R boxset, etc) - when will I receive those perks?

A: Unfortunately I don't have a definite delivery date for these perks. The soundtrack, in particular, will not have a confirmed release date until the official release date of IDOW's theatrical cut has been determined. We apologize for this, but we will definitely try to keep the wait time reasonable. I am going to estimate a September shipping date for these perks. Perhaps even as early as August, and definitely no later than November. I hope this is a reasonable answer for now - I will continue to update you on the progress of this.
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Q: Can I still pre-order some of those IndieGoGo package deals?

A: No - I'm sorry but those IndieGoGo pre-order packages/prices are no longer available. The DVD-R boxset is completely sold out. T-Shirts and soundtrack CDs/LPs will be available to order at a later date, when they are completed and in stock, but are not going to be made available to pre-order.
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Q: There was mention in the last round of IndieGoGo that people who pre-ordered IDOW DVDs would also receive a DVD copy of the follow-up historical modular film at a later date. Is this still the case?

A: No. Since IDOW-HE is going to be a 2-DVD project, approximately 4-hours long, and does include a lengthy historical primer, we have forgone that offer, and now all IndieGoGo DVD pre-orders will be fulfilled with the IDOW-HE 2-DVD set. We do intend to develop this historical section into a full-length follow-up commercial documentary, but this film is still in developmental stages.
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Q: I contributed/pre-ordered through one of your IndieGoGo campaigns, and I feel let down by the way the progress has developed. I'm sick of waiting for IDOW to be released. Can I have my money back?

A: I really hope that we can work something out to avoid this, but if you insist of getting your money back on any sub-$200 pre-order perks, we will certainly consider offering a full refund. Please email any refund requests to info [at] idreamofwires [dot] org, and please make sure to include a brief explanation behind your decision. Keep in mind, however, that we have no money available to offer refunds at the moment - refunds will likely have to wait until March 2013."