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Your new movie Adjust
Your Tracking - in a few words, what is it about?
Movie
love and obsession.
What were your inspirations when dreaming up Adjust
Your Tracking? And related to that, are you a VHS-collector
yourself, and what do you find so fascinating about the format/subject?
My
inspiration was really just loving the format and wanting to capture this
VHS culture/resurgance and do something on the subject that was actually
made by people who are apart of this subculture. I didn't want to be one
of the people just solely capitalizing on VHS and not actually loving it.
Who better to make a movie about the people who still love and cherish VHS
than the guy who travels the country buying VHS? I also soon realized that
it was an important enough and enjoyable enough topic to appeal to VHS
collectors and non-collectors alike. I love the format because I love
movies. There are so many weird and interesting things that you will only
find on VHS. You also can find different versions, unique cover art, weird
companies, etc. VHS is just a great thing.
What
can you tell us about your co-director Levi Peretic, and what was your
collaboration like? Oh, and how did you two hook up in the first place? Working
with him was great. We met in college and he was actually taking film,
whereas I was taking journalism. It worked perfectly because he had the
equipment and was able to shoot, light, etc. exactly what I wanted to get
while I was able to do the interviews, come up with questions, etc. Do
talk about your interviewees for a bit, and how did you find them?
We
interviewed over 100 while making the film. The initial group of people I
met through collecting, but then the rest were met either through word of
mouth (someone recommending we talk to someone else) or through reaching
out to us via the internet. It really was an organic process of how each
person we interviewed came to be in the film. It
seems most of the VHS-collectors in your movie are also die-hard horror
fans - any explanation for that? I
think the horror movie obsession for a lot of VHS collectors comes from
the fact that those titles were very memorable and unique on VHS. You got
a lot of horror/cult content with crazy covers that were burned into their
minds so now they want to buy and collect horror films. But, another
reason is because a lot of the obscure horror movies that were made are
still only on VHS so it makes sense that they would try to track those
down.
Adjust
Your Tracking mentions the obscure movie Tales from the Quadead
Zone as the ultimate in VHS collecting - you just have to talk about
that movie for a bit, and how it became such a cult item!
Well,
it's a very strange film that many people didn't even believe actually
existed or was released for the longest time. It was so rare and uncommon
that when one finally did pop up on eBay it went crazy and all kinds of
people were talking about it and after it. It's the second and as of now,
last film by Chester Turner, who also directed Black Devil Doll from
Hell.
The cult status of that film and the absurdity of it made everyone really
want to see and own his second movie. Any
VHS-anecdotes you'd like to share that didn't make it into the movie? Man,
there are so many. A lot of them are on the DVD so I'm not going to spoil
too much, but we talked with the guy who directed Faces of Death, we
learned all about the NYC shady video underbelly, visited some of the best
video stores in the country, etc., etc. Definitely pick up the DVD and
check all that out! Do
talk about the shoots as such for a bit, and how long did it take to
compile all the material? The
shooting of the film was insane. We did so many interviews in so few days
and traveled the entire country shooting. It was hectic, but the most fun
experience I've ever had (besides maybe touring the country screening the
movie). We did about 70 interviews in 21 days, and then 30 others here and
there. We had over 1000 hours of footage that we had to go through, which
was a very hard task. Me and Levi would watch through it all and take
detailed notes on every single thing we saw. We filled multiple notebooks.
It was a very crazy process (especially considering we were both full-time
college students at the time), but it all worked out in the end.
What can you tell us about
audience and critical reception of your movie so far? The
reception has been insane. We did the entire movie and promotion
ourselves. I set up all the interviews, the whole tour of the film, etc.
and to see all the love the movie is getting is really great. Whether it's
the Time Magazine article or all the festivals that we were able to screen
at for free it is truly an amazing feeling. I'm just glad and appreciative
that people have responded so well and done all they can to support DIY
film. I never thought it would have been possible, but for anyone else
reading this that made a movie or wants to, just look at what we were able
to do with literally no budget. It was really a great way to get the movie
out there, and if we were able to have a successful, oftentimes sold out,
screening tour, then anyone can!
Any
future projects you'd like to share? We
haven't 100% decided what our next movie is going to be, whether it's
another documentary or a horror movie, but we will let everyone know by
the end of the year. Besides that, I have a release coming out with Wild
Eye Releasing of a long-lost documentary called Invasion of the Scream
Queens. It was directed by Donald Farmer and is well worth picking up. It
is released the same day as Adjust Your
Tracking in stores and on Amazon!
Go check it out!
What got you into
filmmaking in the first place, and did you receive any formal education on
the subject?
I have always loved movies but I never
took any film classes. I was completely self-taught just by watching a
lot of film. I would say Criterion as a very young kid was a huge help
in making me want to make movies. I also think the Eerie Horror Fest in
my hometown was a huge help. I would get to meet other directors and ask
them questions and stuff. It made me want to make my own movies.
What can you tell us about your filmwork
prior to Adjust Your
Tracking? This was
my first finished film actually (feature or short). I had always messed
around making short films and helping other people out, but nothing really
came of it. This was the first movie that I was passionate about enough to
actually finish. How would you describe yourself as a
director?
I am a very fast director and have a
specific thing in mind a lot of the time. But overall, I would say I'm
half a marketer and half a director. I'm always thinking about ways to
get word out there about something or how to sell something.
Filmmakers who inspire you?
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Well,
the ones who inspire me and my favorite ones are much different. My
favorites are Cassavetes, Bergman, and Bunuel. The ones who inspire me are
people like Lloyd Kaufman, Corman [Roger
Corman bio - click here], etc. mostly for their marketing skills
and their ability to get their movie seen by people. Your
favourite movies? Fanny
and Alexander, Basket Case, Dazed and Confused. ... and of course, films you really
deplore? Boondock Saints, Million Dollar Baby.
Your/your movie's website, Facebook, whatever
else? http://www.adjustyourtracking.com
http://www.facebook.com/adjustyourtracking
Anything else you are dying to mention and I have
merely forgotten to ask? Please
go buy the movie and support DIY, independent filmmaking. You can get it
at most major retailers (Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, FYE, etc.), through
Amazon, or directly from us through our website. Thanks for the interview!
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amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
find Dan M. Kinem at adultvideouniverse.com
