Frank Zappa Documentary & Vault Preservation Kickstarter

[cazz]

Has anyone else ever noticed the style similarities of Frank's orchestra sound with Centipede's, Septober Energy (Pt 2)?

[unclemeat]

If still in doubt :

"I want this project to do what's most important to all of us, so I'm adjusting the plan: I won’t start using funds for doc work that’s separate from the preservation process unless and until we raise over a million. So, up to $1MM, every dollar we collect will be used to save, catalog and digitize the most at-risk contents of the Vault." (Alex Winter)

[Plasmatopia]

If still in doubt :

"I want this project to do what's most important to all of us, so I'm adjusting the plan: I won’t start using funds for doc work that’s separate from the preservation process unless and until we raise over a million. So, up to $1MM, every dollar we collect will be used to save, catalog and digitize the most at-risk contents of the Vault." (Alex Winter)

Good strategy. I like it.

[marblesmike]

If still in doubt :

"I want this project to do what's most important to all of us, so I'm adjusting the plan: I won’t start using funds for doc work that’s separate from the preservation process unless and until we raise over a million. So, up to $1MM, every dollar we collect will be used to save, catalog and digitize the most at-risk contents of the Vault." (Alex Winter)

Good call by him. I do think he's genuinely interested in doing FZ right by this project.

[Esoteric]

Just a comment from my end as it's something we have experience of, that's one helluva quote even for a ginormous archive, to catalogue and digitise , I would be interested who has been quoting them as I think it sounds pretty inflated, is this an outside company he has asked to quote, if so I would shop around a bit more. I wonder also if they said 'who' it was for , sometimes best not to in advance of a quote! Guess we won't know but I know the price of archiving and roughly time taken to catalogue. I guess for the people joining in it doesn't really matter , but at a glance I would say it is possible for quite a bit less than this , leaving funds towards the documentary. (Which if done well is I know expensive). Just as an example if anyone gives us charges or quotes mastering or artwork and are US based, it's nearly always much larger than a UK quote.

[unclemeat]

From the latest update :
"See, if we can reach $1,000,000, it won't just let us save more of the Vault. It'll also make us the biggest crowdfunded doc project ever… and aside from that being an awesome tribute to FZ, that will be really helpful when I go out to raise the rest of the funds we need for the movie (...) See, I want to make sure you understand how much amazing stuff we're fighting to save in the Vault, and there's only one way to do that: I need to start showing you some of this stuff. For our Final Countdown, we'll share brand new clips of unreleased material from the Vault every single day.
That's right, Freaks. We've got a dozen brand new clips that have never been released, featuring concert performances, interviews, news features, personal videos and more. (...)
Starting this afternoon, we'll have a brand new clip every single day for the rest of the campaign, which we'll release exclusively to our backers through PRIVATE Kickstarter updates.
If you haven't already joined the campaign, now's the perfect time… because even a couple bucks will get you access to these clips." (AW)

[marblesmike]

From the latest update :
"See, if we can reach $1,000,000, it won't just let us save more of the Vault. It'll also make us the biggest crowdfunded doc project ever… and aside from that being an awesome tribute to FZ, that will be really helpful when I go out to raise the rest of the funds we need for the movie (...) See, I want to make sure you understand how much amazing stuff we're fighting to save in the Vault, and there's only one way to do that: I need to start showing you some of this stuff. For our Final Countdown, we'll share brand new clips of unreleased material from the Vault every single day.
That's right, Freaks. We've got a dozen brand new clips that have never been released, featuring concert performances, interviews, news features, personal videos and more. (...)
Starting this afternoon, we'll have a brand new clip every single day for the rest of the campaign, which we'll release exclusively to our backers through PRIVATE Kickstarter updates.
If you haven't already joined the campaign, now's the perfect time… because even a couple bucks will get you access to these clips." (AW)

I'm curious what these clips are.

[Mister Triscuits]

I'm curious what these clips are.

The first clip (yesterday) was a live performance of "Titties and Beer" from 1976, with Bianca in the band.

[Phlakaton]

The first clip (yesterday) was a live performance of "Titties and Beer" from 1976, with Bianca in the band.

$25 dollar and up level right?

[Mister Triscuits]

You get access to the videos for any donation at all. It's just to view, not to download. Also note that it was a low-quality presentation of a raw, unrestored clip shot off of a monitor.

[Phlakaton]

You get access to the videos for any donation at all. It's just to view, not to download. Also note that it was a low-quality presentation of a raw, unrestored clip shot off of a monitor.

Ah. Cool. Thanks for the info Mister T!

[marblesmike]

Did they give a date?

[Mister Triscuits]

Did they give a date?

Date of the clip? He said it was from the Capitol Center in Largo, MD, and looking it up I see that gig was November 4, 1976. Or do you mean date for completion of the project? I think that's still up in the air at this point.

[marblesmike]

Date of the clip? He said it was from the Capitol Center in Largo, MD, and looking it up I see that gig was November 4, 1976. Or do you mean date for completion of the project? I think that's still up in the air at this point.

I meant the video clip, thanks!

[JKL2000]

If this guy puts as much time and energy into delivering the archived material as he does into writing Kickstarter updates, we're in good shape! I can't keep up.

[Phlakaton]

If this guy puts as much time and energy into delivering the archived material as he does into writing Kickstarter updates, we're in good shape! I can't keep up.

Agreed. I finally got paid and jumped in for $35 so I can at least get the download if and when the doc is done. Diggin the little vids and nuggets so far!

[unclemeat]

Less than 60 hours left...
An "oversized book" is also in the works, to include "Frank's artwork, photos, handwritten music, and personal letters"...
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects.../posts/1538900

[Gruno]

Just a comment from my end as it's something we have experience of, that's one helluva quote even for a ginormous archive, to catalogue and digitise , I would be interested who has been quoting them as I think it sounds pretty inflated, is this an outside company he has asked to quote, if so I would shop around a bit more. I wonder also if they said 'who' it was for , sometimes best not to in advance of a quote! Guess we won't know but I know the price of archiving and roughly time taken to catalogue. I guess for the people joining in it doesn't really matter , but at a glance I would say it is possible for quite a bit less than this , leaving funds towards the documentary. (Which if done well is I know expensive). Just as an example if anyone gives us charges or quotes mastering or artwork and are US based, it's nearly always much larger than a UK quote.

I don't think it is expensive at all. From the wording of the kickstarter project, it appears that the money desired for preserving the vault material is also being used to compensate the vaultmeister. There's no problem with that, as I am "keeper of a few vaults", and I know it is time consuming and requires ultimate and undivided attention.

http://www.zappamovie.com/faq/thevault/

How are you going to preserve and archive everything?

The archive exists on every conceivable form of media; 35mm, 16mm film 8mm film, sound tape, vhs, ¾”, D1, betamax, etc etc. We’ll use state-of-the-art transfer and conversion technology to digitize and preserve the archives, and we'll do the entire thing with the help and supervision of Joe “Vaultmeister” Travers, resident Zappa expert and – to date – keeper of the Vault for the Zappa Family Trust.

Ever since I started thinking about this, I've been studying and trying to understand all of the crazy complexities involved in proper preservation and archiving, but let's be honest: I'll never know as much as Joe. No one will!

So, since he'll be overseeing the entire preservation process, I asked if he could help me explain a little more about the process, and why it's so complicated. Here's what he said:

Audio & Video tape have a certain shelf life. Some longer than others. At a certain point, oxide just removes itself from its binding, resulting in a loss of data — forever.

Thankfully, manufacturers of tape realized that by a certain heat treatment (or “baking”) the oxide can re-adhere to the binding which enables playback without damage, for a small period of time. This does not mean you can just put your old tape into the oven at home, it needs to be a certain type of an oven, at a certain temperature, for a certain amount of time. And but also, not all audiotape is eligible for the heat treatment process, so you have to know which kind of tape formulation it is before you go for it, otherwise you’ll kill it. For the past ten years or so we have been baking tapes in-house and digitally preserving with much success.

Unfortunately, this heat treatment does not apply to film. Film, after a certain point, will actually emit a gas infectious to other reels around it, which results in “Vinegar Syndrome.” This is bad. Here in Los Angeles, there are specialists that deal with this problem and can actually get results from damaged film, or film which has fallen victim to this Vinegar Syndrome.

Sounds like they have the process down and are confident with the staff and people involved.

[Gruno]

As of 11pm Pacific:



Very impressive!

[Phlakaton]

and now... even closer!

we've set a record on this one too. Capture.JPG

[Esoteric]

Let's just say Gruno , I dont begrudge anyone doing a successful campaign and yes time is money and at the end of the day they can raise what they want and pay someone what they want and they have obviously factored someone looking after it for a good while into the cost. what I was trying to say is I would be careful that they don't get taken for a ride in terms of cost if it's not something they normally do.

[Gruno]

[Dan Marsh]

I'm in......

[unclemeat]

1 126 037 $

Coming "soon" according to Ahmet :

Complete audio of the Roxy performances
The Rage & the Fury
Zappa playing with Pink Floyd, 1969
Uncle Meat Project/Object
Hot Rats P/O
+ "some kind of ZINY release "

[Phlakaton]

1 126 037 $

Coming "soon" according to Ahmet :

Complete audio of the Roxy performances
The Rage & the Fury
Zappa playing with Pink Floyd, 1969
Uncle Meat Project/Object
Hot Rats P/O
+ "some kind of ZINY release "

Weeee!!