upcoming Morton Subotnick documentary

[Cobramatic]

Bit late to the party but I just backed this - says only 7 hours to go and about $3k short of the first stretch goal (It's already fully backed to the initial funding so its all on).

Hope you get there!

[nickgrys]

Does anyone know where to get an update on this documentary (and the Indiegogo perks) ?

I looked around the Indiegogo and subotnickfilm.com websites but nothing has been updated.

[mutierend]

Does anyone know where to get an update on this documentary (and the Indiegogo perks) ?

I looked around the Indiegogo and subotnickfilm.com websites but nothing has been updated.

I've noticed they've been silent too. I backed them at the $3000 level so I'm really hoping some information gets shared soon.

[luchog]

I backed this as well, though at a much lower level. Would like to know what is going on with it too.

[nickgrys]

A little progress is being made. According to this tweet from a week ago, the vinyl and cassettes are awaiting signatures.

https://twitter.com/SubotnickFilm/statu ... 5874112512

[luchog]

A little progress is being made. According to this tweet from a week ago, the vinyl and cassettes are awaiting signatures.

https://twitter.com/SubotnickFilm/statu ... 5874112512

Good to hear. Wish they'd post that stuff to their page, for those of us who avoid Twitter like the plague it is.

[REcDeso12oi]

Remember this? Did it die? I donated money and never heard anything.

[sempervirent]

I was just looking this up. The latest update on their Indiegogo campaign page says that they're focused on the Moog documentary now but will be getting back to the Subotnick doc after that. Seems like the latter will pick up at the post-production stage so they have all the footage they wanted.

[REcDeso12oi]

OH yes. I should have checked Indiegogo first. Thanks for the update!

[mutierend]

They posted an update in May saying that the film is almost done: "It’s been a very long time since the last update but we are happy to announce that SUBOTNICK is now in its final stages of editing."

Looking forward to this film. Mort is an awesome guy to listen to.

[mutierend]

Two years later, and it seems this movie is never going to happen. From the July 2021 update a year ago:

we need some additional financing (at least $15G USD, ideally closer to $100G) in order to cover the remaining completion costs. Most of those costs are music and archival footage licensing.

I should have bought a Model D instead of backing this project....

[REcDeso12oi]

such a bummer

[mano 1]

I wish they would at least post what they have… maybe interviews etc.

[galanter2]

“ (at least $15G USD, ideally closer to $100G)”

How can the estimated finishing costs have such a wide range?

[enzyme00]

I really hope this isn't one of those things that never sees the light of day.

It would be a shame if the interviews are lost to the sands of time ... Slowly decaying from bit rot... When the memory is a feeling glimpse of what could have been.

Like my zip disks full of tracker music.

[szzdz]

hopefully a lot of this stuff gets released! that video with mort at mark verbos’ place is amazing

[Minimoog56]

I did receive a nice reissue of silver apples signed by Mort for my contribution to the film, but I agree a nicely edited rough cut or some incomplete edition for the donors would satisfy me at this point and provide an archive of the interviews and such. I treasure my copy of the mc5 a true testimonial doc. Saw the premier at sf film festival a long time ago before Wayne Kramer tied up final distribution of the roughly edited film due to expired licensing and an artistic differences argument with the director. Found a boot copy years later and a precious artifact of that band it is even in its unfinished state. Like cocksucker blues by robert frank. Better an incomplete work than none at all. Releasing a rough cut in a controlled format would be fine.

[luchog]

I did receive a nice reissue of silver apples signed by Mort for my contribution to the film, but I agree a nicely edited rough cut or some incomplete edition for the donors would satisfy me at this point and provide an archive of the interviews and such.

At the very least, they should do what they did with a handful of their IDoW interviews and release the footage via their Patreon (which I notice has been defunct for quite some time, though not yet deleted).

[mutierend]

I was passionate about this project and I figured Jason &co would deliver, based on IDOW, so I backed at $3000. That's a lot of money for some signed copies of Silver Apples of the Moon. Lesson learned on my part.

[jheronymo]

Man, what is it with these documentaries stalling in post?

This sucks cause clearly the community showed up to support these projects, and I'm sure all these interviews are fascinating and valuable as historical documents, they're all clearly nearly complete, and they're being held in limbo.

[mutierend]

Man, what is it with these documentaries stalling in post?

This sucks cause clearly the community showed up to support these projects, and I'm sure all these interviews are fascinating and valuable as historical documents, they're all clearly nearly complete, and they're being held in limbo.

They way, way underestimated the costs and I'm sure the scope expanded while they were shooting. They also spread themselves thin and worked on the Bob Moog documentary at the same time; at one point, they prioritized the Moog docu over the Subotnick one. I don't know if they used Subotnick-backer money for the Moog project. I'm not accusing them of that, and I don't feel like demanding to see receipts.

[synthbenji]

Eeesh, bummer to hear. Sorry Robert!

[jheronymo]

Man, what is it with these documentaries stalling in post?

This sucks cause clearly the community showed up to support these projects, and I'm sure all these interviews are fascinating and valuable as historical documents, they're all clearly nearly complete, and they're being held in limbo.

They way, way underestimated the costs and I'm sure the scope expanded while they were shooting. They also spread themselves thin and worked on the Bob Moog documentary at the same time; at one point, they prioritized the Moog docu over the Subotnick one. I don't know if they used Subotnick-backer money for the Moog project. I'm not accusing them of that, and I don't feel like demanding to see receipts.

Yeah, makes sense. I had originally posted a rant (then edited it out) about the IDOW synth-doc craze and how filmmakers chose to produce documentary portraits (rather than primarily focus on an array of the current industry folks) without considering the massive difference in scope and archival licensing costs.

Maybe there doesn't need to be a ton of archival footage/music in the final product I mean the audience will likely be well-informed already and it seems like a tug-of-war between wanting to hit an indie doc home-run for general audiences, and the synth community wanting access to unseen interview footage.

It's a shame, I feel your pain and I just hope they can deliver something of value (rough cut, etc) to the many people who supported the project.