Hello All,

It's been a while since the last update. We've been super busy but wanted to take a moment to let you know what's been going on in the world of Flood Tide.

ONGOING STUFF

In August and September Todd Chandler, Jeff Stark and a handful of other collaborators (including Robin Frohardt, Brett James and Ian Page) were in San Jose building Empire Drive-In at 01SJ Biennial. This was a work comissioned by the Biennial as a platform and theater for its film, video and performance programming.

At its simplest description, Empire Drive-In was a full-scale, indoor drive-in movie theater built out of salvaged wood and inhabited by 25 cars from a local San Jose auto wrecker. Movie goers sat in the wrecked cars and tuned in to low-power FM radio to watch films and performances, bought popcorn from the concession stand, and made out in the back seats. Check out Tod Seelie's photos below for a better idea (no, there are not photos of people making out in the back seats).

What did Empire Drive-In have to do with Flood Tide? Well, the idea for the project started with the question: What would be an ideal theater (thematically, aesthetically, experientially) in which to screen a cut of the film? Empire Drive-In was what we came up with. Flood Tide: Remixed (the live soundtrack version of the film) was the opening and closing events at Empire Drive-In, complete with a live soundtrack by Dark Dark Dark. It was truly magical.

You can check out some press for the project below:

http://www.metroactive.com/features/empire-drive-in-01SJ.html
http://www.sfbg.com/2010/09/14/drive
http://www.readymade.com/blog/culture/2010/09/14/nice_day_for_a_drive_in

While we were in California we also screened/performe Flood Tide: Remixed at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles and at Chicken John's warehouse, Chez Poulet, in the Mission in San Francisco.

THE FILM

We hope to have a final cut by the end of December, but that could shift. Why, you ask? Having preview/experimental screenings of Flood Tide: Remixed on rivers, in surreal and enchanted installations, and in theater spaces -- all with a live score -- has been informing and influencing the direction the feature version of the film.

This kind of experimentation has been a really unique part of Flood Tide's process and we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to experiment with advanced screenings in exciting and challenging ways (we hope for viewers as well). These screenings have also helped generate some buzz about the entire project.

Most importantly, though, the Remixed screenings have given the final iteration of the film some new direction. We've been sorting through our own experiences and soliciting feedback and impressions from viewers (if you were at any of the Flood Tide: Remixed screening, please do let us know what you thought). We're rewriting voiceover narration, restructuring sections and reworking some things to make the film breathe more organically.

Make sense? Let us know if you have any questions and we'll keep you posted on progress as it's happening.

REWARDS

-Everyone should have contacted by Rooftop Films (and if you didn't catch a screening this past season, your tickets or season passes are good for the 2011 season).

-Swoon books have been distributed to all recipients as well.

-Folks who were set to receive Fall Harbor's new CD Meet Me At The Water should have found that in their mailbox within the last week or so-- as well as a beautiful found glass bottle etched and sealed by C. Ryder Cooley.

-Fall Harbor's first CD, Songs from Fall Harbor, is being repressed and will be sent out by the end of this month.

-Dark Dark Dark releases our new full length recording, Wild Go, tomorrow, October 6th. In the next week or so donors with corresponding rewards packages will receive copies of Wild Go and the earlier EP Bright Bright Bright.

-As for the DVD/Soundtrack/Poster...they're coming. The timeline has shifted a little because of travel, related projects, budget constraints and, most of all, the rhthym of the creative process, but as I said, we plan to have a final cut by year's end and be releasing and touring the film in the winter/spring of 2011.

~

Thanks again for all of your support.

Todd

Hey, here's a rough clip from last Wednesday's screening/performance of Flood Tide: Remixed with live score by Dark Dark Dark. Video by Martha Shane.

4 more days left on this kickstarter campaign! Please please please spread the word to help us to the finish line.

Thank you again (and again!).

Hey there.

It's been a while since we've posted updates.
We'll explain below. But first, briefly:

There are 8 DAYS left in this Kickstarter campaign! We're so close to reaching the goal. Thanks so much to everyone who has helped us come this far. You've done so much already, but we're asking one more thing: please help get the word out in these final days. Post about this kickstarter project on facebook, twitter, your world famous blog, myspace, whatever you can do to spread the word would help tremendously. It would be a shame -- actually, it would be a huge bummer-- to not make the goal when we're so close. Here's the link. http://kck.st/9vG1ep

Now on to the update:

So, we haven't posted in a while because we've been working hard, preparing for last week's debut of Flood Tide: Remixed, the live-performance version of Flood Tide with live soundtrack by Dark Dark Dark. The band (with members from Minneapolis, Chicago, New Orleans and New York), convened in Brooklyn for 2 very hot weeks of intensive rehearsal in the garage at the Old American Can Factory (where Rooftop Films' has their offices). We worked with the 50-minute cut of Flood Tide: Remixed, experimenting pieces of music written for the feature version of the film, reworking themes and developing new ideas. Luckily the garage was cool-- it hit 106 degrees one day outside.

The screening was on July 7th at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, Queens. It was co-presented by Rooftop Films, the Museum of the Moving Image and Socrates Sculpture Park. We were a little concerned about the heat, but the park is right on the East River (a mile from where the Swimming Cities rafts docked two summers ago) and by evening it had cooled off. We also weren't sure what to expect attendance-wise, but over 1200 people showed up. Wow! The night went really well, and we all felt good about the first ever live screening/performance. Looking forward to more.

In the meantime, editor, artist, filmmaker Laura Hanna (http://hiddendriver.com) has recently joined up to do some editing work on the feature film, to finish it up for a Fall 2010 release.

Below are some images from rehearsal and from the event on July 7th. Screening/performance photos by the most talented, hardest working photographer we know: Tod Seelie (http://todseelie.com)

Backer-only video update coming tomorrow.

Thank you again,

Todd

We started out with 10 copies of the new Swoon monograph (courtesy of Abrams books). They sold out quickly.

Now we've got 10 more.

Just FYI:

$75 gets you:

Special limited reward! Swoon monograph (translation: beautiful, fancy, art book)! Abrams Books just released a 192-page book of Swoon's work and have generously donated copies to help raise money for Flood Tide. (This reward also includes a copy of Flood Tide and original soundtrack.)

Abrams Books just released a 192-page monograph (fancy art book) of Swoon's work. They've been kind enough to donate copies to help raise money for Flood Tide. While supplies last we've added a $75 reward that includes the book, a copy of Flood Tide (when released), a copy of the film's original soundtrack and two tickets to a Rooftop Films screening of your choice (2010 or 2011 season-- tickets not available until July 20th, after kickstarter campaign is complete).

From Abrams' website: This first monograph on the street artist Swoon is a crash course on the incredible range of her diverse artistic practices. Filled with brilliant color photographs, the book brings reader to streets around the world to see her life-size prints and paper cutouts that transform as natural elements slowly erode and destroy them. It travels across the waters to include striking images from her most recent projects, Swimming Cities, which show a team of volunteer craftsmen scavenging junk to create makeshift steamships that are part floating artwork, part performance, and part experiments in communal living. And it brings readers inside her art collective, Toyshop, which orchestrates organic public theater that includes everything from street parties to public demonstrations. Woven together seamlessly, and accompanied by essays from fellow artists and famed gallery owner Jeffrey Deitch, this book showcases the work of one of the art world’s brightest stars.

About the author 
SWOON has been creating street art in New York City since 1999. She studied painting at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and has traveled internationally to create exhibits and host workshops. Her work can be seen at the Museum of Modern Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Tate Modern, or on the streets of Brooklyn.