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Mike Ambs
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Ypsilanti, MI
i live in ypsi. i love to film things. and read on the subway. i'm pretty sure blue whales are my power animal.
Projects by Mike Ambs (2)
Mike Ambs is Backing (11)
Recent Posts by Mike Ambs
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Mike Ambs
Posted project update #18t.minus 55 days
Strange and redacted teasers on t.minus...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateLove the stills - can't wait to see more. Where was this filmed at? I might have missed that being answered somewhere else... but yea, the building works perfectly :)
a sneak peak
Some snapshots from the actual film. This footage has not been graded yet. But it looks good so far! Mac
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Mike Ambs
Posted project update #17do something different
I was going through my unread Instapaper list tonight - cleaning things up, watching videos I had saved for later, etc - and I came across a post by Ted Hope, from his blog, Truly Free Film, titled: 50* Ways You Can Do Something Different On This Production.
There were a few points that I particularly liked - that got me thinking about ways in which I could change the way we're doing things on Pedal. I thought I'd write about them here and get people's feedback.
#2: Do something stylistically just because you like it. Allow something to be “outside” the film, something that doesn’t fit so right and is only there because you dig it. Why does it always have to fit?
This is one of those suggestions that seems like it would come naturally - but I have found that there is an incredible amount of self-sensorship or filtering with ideas during the creative process.
I try to write everything down that comes to mind - and find ways of working it in, or at least discussing it with Amanda as an option. But many ideas get dumped too quickly because they don't "fit", and what does that really mean? Doesn't fit how? Doesn't fit with things I've seen done before?
Reading this suggestion helped remind me that there is a difference - albeit a fine lined one - between something not "fitting" and something not "working". As the story of FToM gets closer and closer to being locked down - I need to add in ideas that really feel creative and new... maybe they'll only make the deleted-scenes in a DVD extra... but at least I'll have tried hard to make them work.
#9: What would be a different business model? Could you give it away? Free it? Never plan to screen it theatrically? What if the movie was not the main event, but something else was?
Although we do have solid plans to release FToM freely - I want to think more about the idea of the film not being the main-event. What could we structure around the film that would give it more meaning... more interaction... more momentum?
I don't have an answer for this yet - but it's something I want to revisit often as we work through post-production.
#12: What if you built your audience base prior to shooting? And maintained significant communication with them throughout the process? How might that change your final work?
I feel like I've tried very hard to do this during every step of Pedal. Sometimes I've not done as good a job as I would like... I let things get in the way of being open and keeping a conversion going around the project - or around storytelling in general.
But I like how Ted ask, "How might that change your final work?", because this blog has lead to a back-and-forth that has dramatically changed the project itself and the final film. So much so I'm not quite sure I would even know where to start... I feel very fortunate for this site and the people that it's helped introduced me with.
I now know that, for me, storytelling will always be a very empty undertaking without this kind of community from day-one.
#13: Innovate. Try some new equipment on every production. Improve a simple process. Isn’t production about the communication of information in the service of art, as efficiently, economically, and aesthetically as possible?
I wanted to mention this idea for one specific reason - when the crew, The Black Sheep, flew from Belgium to Los Angeles, they brought a handful of different equipment with them to use on the road. They packed their main camera of course, an Fx1 with a SGpro 35kit, a 16mm hand-crank camera - but also several small mp4 cameras. These small low-quality cameras turned out to be incredibly helpful for both the 64 Days series as well as FToM. The jump in quality and frame-size really helps add another layer to the story... the footage feels personal in a way that the HD footage does not.
When Amanda, Karen and I leave for Northern California to film additional scenes with Larry, I intend to have a camera in my hands at all times filming little details.
I've been working hard to storyboards specific shots and have been busy editing those into a timeline with temporary voice-over tracks - and these shots will be the main focus, they'll be scheduled out and planned in detail. But there's so much I could miss if don't take the time to step back and record things the way I see them in the moment without the filter of "how is this going to fit into the film".
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Brian: Hey - sorry I forgot to reply to this comment. I saw it right after you posted it and meant to tell you I was going to be thinking of the easiest way I could do a public task list... without doubling up the amount of time it takes me to generally keep my to-do list organized ;)
Maintaining Momentum
The last week of work for Pedal has been a big multi-tasking challenge. It always seems like the holidays come with a traffic-jam of task and catching-up. I've been keeping myself overworked with r...
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Mike Ambs
Posted project update #16we ♥ karen abad ♥s dinosaurs
A few post back I mentioned: "Amanda and I are very close to working with two very talented people who's work we think is amazing". For some of you who follow the film on twitter, you might have come across the USA Today article that made the announcement a few days earlier than planned - which I thought was quite funny. But in any case:
In May, Amanda and I will be traveling to Northern California - we'll be doing this to film scenes with Larry that are from the perspective of both coming home and (then later in the film) prepping for his next 16,000 mile adventure. We've always known that we would need additional help with these scenes - unlike the strictly documentary part of For Thousands of Miles, these will be specific shots that involve a lot of planning and precision (in some cases). So, after a lot of thought, we approached our 1st choice for the posistion, Karen Abad. And she said "of course!".
I really can't explain how fortunate I feel about the history of this project - I think back to just weeks after this production blog launched (in 2004), when I talked with Amanda about my number one choice, out of *anyone*, for filming this documentary, being a small team of Belgians half way around the world. And by some odd and random string of events - it actually happened. I actually was able to spend two amazing weeks on the road with a team of three filmmakers who taught me so much about storytelling.
And now we'll be working with Karen, who's work on Vimeo I love so much - she's always been such a big part of the film's support structure for me. Has always been very encouraging... and even gone out of her way to self-design and hand-make buttons for the film! She's just been great - and she's immensely talented and Amanda and I are extremely excited to be working with her on this step of the film (above is a picture from our first group chat).
Well, that's one big announcement related to people that we're very anxious to be working with - and that leaves one left to go. But I'll save that for it's own special post. In the meantime I'd like to leave you with one of my favorite Memory Banks from Karen, Memory Bank 120394a.
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Mike Ambs
Posted project update #15Maintaining Momentum
The last week of work for Pedal has been a big multi-tasking challenge. It always seems like the holidays come with a traffic-jam of task and catching-up. I've been keeping myself overworked with re-writing / storyboarding / scanning those storyboards and editing them into the FToM timeline.
I've been recording new temporary voice-over tracks for pacing. Finishing our 64 Days production journal. Packaging up all the t-shirts, stickers, and (now) little owls that people have been buying from our new store. I feel like I've had great momentum this month and I hope I can find creative ways of keeping that momentum in the next four months!Which brings me to a question I wanted to ask: Do any of you reading have ideas about how we can be more open in what Amanda and I are working on from now until May (when we film in Northern California)? Are you interested in seeing a list of weekly task? Are you interested in simply seeing more Production Vlog Updates?
I suppose my thinking is, the next few months are going to require a tremendous amount of focus and energy... and I'm a believer in the idea that people's interaction and involvement, even oversight, is extremely motivating and sparks creativity.
Moving on. I wish I could go into details right now - but it's not time for a full announcement just yet, but I'm far too excited to keep it all to myself: Amanda and I are very close to working with two very talented people who's work we think is amazing. One will be (hopefully) involved with areas of filming, and the other will be (hopefully) involved with areas of design and illustration. More on that as soon as possible - we don't like to keep secrets from everyone.
One more small note before I go - we've been migrating all our hosting and registration to Dreamhost, and over the weekend I accidentally deleted the .css file for our main site. So I ended up re-writing it from scratch. Then I stayed up until 2:30 in the morning re-writing 64 Days from scratch. Let us know if you spot any weirdness of certain browsers. Thank you.
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateI was sad that this project didn't receive more love the first time out :( But! One thing I love about KSR is that they don't penalize you for trying - it cost nothing to run a campaign. I'm excited to see that you have no intentions of letting this kill your efforts. If it were me, I would re-evaluate some little details... change things here and there based on any lessons I learned during my 1st run. Maybe re-think the rewards - sometimes something as simple as that can have a big impact. In any case - think about taking a month off and re-launching this project after the New Year! :) I'll be right there to help back what you're doing! Keep it up!
NO RETREAT, NO SURRENDER
Yes, sadly we are nearing the end of our (First) attempt at success on KICKSTARTER. It has been a long but enlightening and informative run. We have seen a number of projects close to our hearts ge...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Brent: Love it :) That's a good idea - we're gonna do commentaries during the episodes, but yes, it would be fun to do little self-interviews about some of the things we couldn't squeeze into the 64 Days series. Thanks for the suggestion!
Crawling Out From Under the Bed Covers
On Thanksgiving morning I woke up with a killer sore throat - which by the time Saturday night hit, turned into a full-blown flu that kept me up the entire night in the bathroom. Three days after t...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateDouble luck! I'll be watching from Ypsi tonight :) I'm running the life streaming for DIY Days - so I'm hoping the uStream holds or I'll be left in the dark. But I'm looking forward to seeing you speak.
I Bought You Some Moon. Live Stream of My LOVELAND Talk At DIY Days
Friends, Romans, Inchvestors, lend me your clicks, If you check out http://7billionfriends.com you'll see some new stuff including some lunar property for you, a new premonition video, a new inc...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Leslie: Thanks :) that is very, very nice of you to say. And yes! It would be so amazing to go to Seattle to play FToM. I can't wait!
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project@Hedge: Thanks Mike! @Brent: Thanks for everything, Brent! Very, very awesome community support :) It's been amazing.
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Mark: Thanks!! It's been a really exciting campaign :) @Kieran: Thank you - especially for all the RTs, support, and even tech help! You are awesome, sir. @Colin: We do to - we would be blown away if we come even close! It's been really exciting to see that people are still pledging to the project after we hit 100%. Kickstarter is a special, special community. We're glad you dig the shirts :) we really hope we can make them.
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateNow I feel all paranoid :P
SCENARIO 51
There are things brewing with SCENARIO 51, some new developments that we can't talk about yet but all will be revealed shortly. In the meantime let me give you some food for thought.
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Mike Ambs
commented on a projectI concur with everything that Amanda says - I loved watching your shows on a regular basis :)
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateLoved this post - it sums up pretty perfectly the terribly conflicting emotions you go through when trying to do a KSR campaign :P You want to invite people to help out and be involved... it would mean you're doing something valuable or inspiring... but, like you said, every *other* second is self-doubting. I'm so damn excited about this campaign being 100% funded *high five x1,000*
We did it! We did it together! Yaaaaay!
This post is exclusive to backers.
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project@Jesse: Thanks so much! It's been a very exciting last few days - everyone's support has been amazing :) @Wayne: Exactly! With an entire 14 days left to go who knows what we could do on Kickstarter! Thanks for the link on the 501(c)3 - Amanda and I will look into that very seriously. @Mollye: Is has been a really great birthday :) Except for the whole getting older thing.
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Wayne: Oh yes, we definitely wouldn't just throw them away for good - bonus features of the interviews would be really cool to do for the DVD. We plan on packing the DVD with an insane amount of material - especially because the film will more than likely be given away online. So the DVDs need to have some serious draw to them :)
*this* meets *this*
Amanda and I had already been struggling to get Pedal off the ground for 3 years by the time we released Episode One (in Dec of 06). Even at that ...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Vegard: No more pledges from you! ;) You've already put an amazing amount of support behind the project. I've really been wanting to watch the DVD series - I've heard a few people say they enjoyed the narration in the series much more then they did the theatrical film. Thank you so much for leaving this comment though - that's one hell of a compliment and I hope all of Amanda and I's hard work pays off. We just want to move someone into taking their own adventures.
*this* meets *this*
Amanda and I had already been struggling to get Pedal off the ground for 3 years by the time we released Episode One (in Dec of 06). Even at that ...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Hedge: Thanks so much :)
*this* meets *this*
Amanda and I had already been struggling to get Pedal off the ground for 3 years by the time we released Episode One (in Dec of 06). Even at that ...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a projectI can't wait to see this take effect! Kickstarter is such an awesome, awesome site - a new design on all the stats is going to be all kinds of sexy ;)
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Mike Ambs
commented on a projectSo excited to see this project funded! Can't wait for the site to open up :)
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateYou can do this! I know it gets tough - the slumps in pledges kinda' make it seem impossible. But just keep pushing.
Another Pledge
MAD LOVE to Rich Lovatt for getting the ball rolling again! Spread the word - the more people hear about our project the better our chances of getting this project funded. Thanks to the 8 who alrea...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateThanks Amelia! :) For your support and for your comment.
leaps and bounds
There are days, weeks even, where this project can feel stuck in the mud. That no matter how hard I try; I just spin in place - and it goes without much saying that it's a difficult feeling to put ...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateI want to see video! ;) When are you going to post some of the footage you took here and on Vimeo?
thailand was amazing
so i totally started writing this long detailed blog about my trip and then i had to restart firefox and it all got lost. so.. i just don't know if i have it in me to do it all over again. i'd ...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateAhh! I love this project. I need to get some money set aside in the next few days so I can back this project!
The Badge (or button) of Gold
Since we've got rewards, I wanted to share one of my faves. The Gold Button. I drove down to meet up with the nice people at Busy Beaver here in Chicago, an...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Hedge :) Thanks - I'd love to hear what films you always have in the back of your mind when working on ATDS.
Five films that inspire FToM
Kickstarter is a special site - and it has fostered a special community. I've always loved the internet, if not simply for it's unique ability to inspire. Anyone, anywhere in the world, c...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Nike: Thanks for the support! I'm doing my best :)
Post Production - Week 92
Up past my bed-time getting some writing done - wanted to check in to update ...
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project update@Karen: We love you too *hug*
Buttons!
This post is exclusive to backers.
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Mike Ambs
commented on a project updateLooking forward to more updates! :)
thank you
finally getting things caught up. will be following up with everyone soon!!!
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Mike Ambs
commented on a projectI'm completely fascinated with your project! I wish I could back more right now (I'm without a job at the moment), but I twittered about your KSR campaign and I'll be keeping a close on your progress. Please don't give on this goal - it's truly, truly inspiring.
