"Adjust Your Tracking" is a documentary about VHS fanatics. Read on to learn more about this project, which is gaining a lot of press at the moment:
Zach: To begin, can you tell us a little about "Adjust Your Tracking" and how it came to be?
Dan: Well, it all started with my love for the VHS format. I slowly began meeting other collectors and realized they were funny enough, interesting enough and worthy enough for a documentary. I also thought it was important to document this subculture/resurgence of collectors. We had the idea and did some pre-production work in 2011, but really started filming in January 2012. From that point on it really took off. We started a Kickstarter to raise gas money to get the rest of the interviews we needed and just interviewed and shot as much footage as humanly possible.
Zach: Are you pleased with the overall reaction to "Adjust Your Tracking," so far?
Dan: I'm very pleased with the reaction. I have gotten a lot of good feedback from everyone who has seen it and generally people seem to be enjoying it and understanding the purpose of the film. I'm excited for even more people to get to watch it as it screens around the world.
Zach: How long do you intend to screen "Adjust Your Tracking" and have you had any distributors interested in picking up the film?
Dan: I intend to do screenings of the film until probably late this year. We've had a few people interested in picking up the film so far, but we are waiting for the best offer. We might also try to send out screeners to a few places. We want to try to find a company who will get the film seen by as many people as possible but also one where we can make some money off of the movie and sales to help us post-college.
Zach: What is the ultimate goal you have in mind for "Adjust Your Tracking?"
Dan: I hope that the movie gets seen by as many people as possible and shines some much deserved attention on VHS and VHS collectors. I eventually want to see the movie released on DVD and VHS, as well as on Netflix. I hope that the response continues to be good and that it opens some doors for both me and Levi to do some things we love. We have already been tossing around an idea for a new documentary, too.
Zach: How did you meet your partner in crime, Levi "Dabeedo" Peretic?
Dan: I met him at school. He was one of the few people on campus that had somewhat decent taste in movies. He also was the most talented director in the film department. It was basically a no-brainer that we would become friends and eventually team up for something.
Zach: What was the hardest part about making "Adjust Your Tracking?"
Dan: I'd say the hardest was directing an entire feature-length film with only 4,000 dollars while still being full-time college students. In order for the movie to look the way we wanted and for us to get the over 100 interviews and over 1,000 hours of footage that we got we really needed to be frugal and plan everything out well. I think when people watch the movie and then hear how much money we had to work with and how little time we had they will be blown away. The whole movie was finished and edited in a little over a year while attending school and still trying to lead normal lives.
Zach: Which VHS in your personal collection is the rarest? Do you think you will continue to collect VHS?
Well, if you go by eBay prices then I guess it'd be "Black Devil Doll from Hell." That movie just sold on eBay for $666.67 so that's definitely one of the rarest. I will never stop collecting VHS. I will never stop caring about movies therefore I will never stop buying VHS. There will always be movies you can only see on tape and always be more stuff for me to find and buy.
Zach: As a counter-cultural movement, VHS collecting has gained some momentum. Do you believe there are other trends or movements analogous to VHS collecting?
Dan: People always drop comparisons to vinyl or cassette tapes and I can kind of see the similarities, but in general, I think VHS is in its own category. It was such a big and important piece of film history and there's such a deep catalog of content to still explore that it was bound to make a comeback. There's also certain new movies that try to emulate the look or aesthetic of '80s direct-to-video or shot-on-video movies so releasing them on new VHS makes sense and is a cool collectible for people so that was also bound to happen.
Zach: What are your plans for the future--are any other projects on the horizon?
Dan: I want to try to make the most of "Adjust Your Tracking" right now, but we have a few ideas, including a new documentary idea and a book idea. I can't go into depth on either but if they happen they'll definitely be cool.
Zach: Do you have any closing thoughts?
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