TimHansen

Government confiscation of private property is NEVER a good idea...

Don't forget, chaps, I can do a bit of the driving as well.

As far as music is concerned, I'm still not quite sure what the legality of everything is. As this is a documentary, incidental audio is fair use under journalism laws. I'm keen to see what I can drum up for original, royalty-free stuff. Now, Fox, don't think too much about how the lot of you will present yourselves on camera. More than anything, I want to capture the natural state of affairs for you guys. I'm also interested in rustling up interviews with other figures in your life to provide a running counterpoint to certain anectdotes. Your boss, your mom, certain officials from Gibault, etc. As far as how much will be done with the final product, there will be several permutations. First, there will be a 10-minute short for certain film festivals with time constraints. Second, the feature-length documentary, which will be around 2 hrs. in length and be sent to any and all film festivals it's eligible for. If they pick it for Sundance, we go to Sundance. If they pick it for Cannes, we go to Cannes. (Shoot for the moon, I say). Following from that, I'll be putting together a DVD and selling it through my website. The DVD will have special features like a Miles Fox art gallery, extra unused clips, some version of your web content (especially the history of your cars), maybe a lexicon of your lingo, and probably some other cool stuff. I'll work out an appropriate cut of the action for you once I know how the business will break down. I will also explore the option of a miniseries format for cable markets, unlikely as that is. But we'll see. The form of this, as with virtually all documentaries, depends on what we actually get shot. For the cop-chase scenes and other such "foreshadowing", what I was hoping, Miles, is that you could crank out renditions of your adventures in comic form. It wouldn't be animated (hand-drawn animation is ungodly expensive) but I think it's ideal; it puts the focus directly on you, your art, and your experiences. I mean, you're a heck of an artist. Let's use that, thematically. This is, after all, a portrait documentary of Miles Fox. Depending on how well things go, I'll probably get some T-shirts and posters printed up, too.

Ah! When I wrote the last post, I didn't know the RX was a hatch. I've since looked at a few more pictures. (I am assuming we'll be leaving the subwoofer box in Indiana...) I have, in fact, toyed with the idea of picking up a Subaru eventually (or some kind of Toyota 4wd) as I'm moving to New Hampshire in a few years with the Free State Project ( http://www.freestateproject.org ) and they get snow like you wouldn't believe. And I'm from Wisconsin! Hell, I'm even inclined to throw a set of rally lights on the front of my Camry. Bear in mind, I'm pretty heavily invested in the 1987-1991 Toyota Camry wagon. I have three of them, all navy blue. One driver, two for parts, one of which used to be my driver until a red-light runner nailed me. On top of this, I've talked five of my friends into buying them, for a total of eight among us. The week before Miles' swap meet in Indiana, I'm heading out to Washington to cover the first annual Toyota Van Rally. Remember those old Toyota forward-control vans? Turns out they made a 4WD version that's quite capable. See http://www.toyotavans.org for more info on that. For a rally vehicle you could camp in, you can't do much better than an old Toyota van. Plus, it's genuinely surreal to see these little spaceship-looking boxes trek over rough terrain. Also, I am fairly decent buddies with the owner of a small salvage yard not too far off our course (I believe you're planning on taking I-90 up thru Wisconsin, which goes through Janesville). I know he had a running, driving, fully loaded Brat a while ago. If a parts need turns up during the first day of travel, we have a solution. Hell, it's only ten miles from my folks' place, if Day One sets up that way. It may be more advantageous to make as much time as possible. I'm looking at the map and making a list of interesting things to see along the way. I know of, for example, a giant pink fiberglass elephant at a Citgo station just north of Madison... The DVD will be available through my website, which, sadly, is still in development (I need to register the domain). I will also be having a premiere, hopefully, at the UW/M Union Cinema sometime in May. If I can get it together. I'm also thinking of having the boys at Song Fight! ( http://www.songfight.org ) run a contest to generate original music for the soundtrack. From the pictures, I've ascertained that Mr. Fox has a taste for Nine Inch Nails...any additional stylistic preferences? (Most of the sound will be incidental audio. The Roof of Boom, for example, must be in the film) -Tim Hansen

CB radio. Awesome. Don't sweat the camera gear thing too much; that is, after all, my department. Anyhow, the threading should be the same as on your camera, it's a universal standard. I might also wind up investing in a "StickyPod" ( http://www.stickypod.com ), although the surface needs to be clean and smooth for the suction cups to stick (tested up to 110 mph!). If we have things correctly bolted and threaded though, no way will we lose a camera (I just don't really want to expose the GL1 to the elements). I haven't really been "lurking" on here, per se, you just happened to post an update while I was registering a username. As far as which vehicle; if possible, it would probably be more comfortable with four people, not to mention the aesthetic advantage, to take Trashwagon 6 over the RX. How dire is the TW6 situation presently? (I mean, at least with the wagon we can throw a rear seatback down and let rotating drivers nap in shifts...that, and I'd love a hood shot with that air filter scoop you built...) Are there any supplies you guys need that I could round up?

Greetings, all. I'm the filmmaker from Milwaukee who's tagging along on this mad excursion. Glad to hear things are still together on your end. The new camera arrived here yesterday (Canon GL1), and it is extremely sweet. However, I have a bit of a scavenger hunt for you guys- Try to track down a few used beater camcorders (preferably under $10) that we could, in theory, bolt to the outside of the Trashwagons. Miles, I get the impression you'll find a hard camera mount a useful thing far beyond this project. Also, see if anyone has any junk tripods or such to scavenge parts off of to build the camera mounts. It would be also good to have a spare camera to give to the second car team on the way back. Other logistical questions- 1. I am assuming both cars have working cigarette lighters? I intend to run the cameras off an inverter and power suppy. 2. Does anyone have a cell phone? I have one; it would be good to have another to communicate between cars. If not, I might be able to borrow one. 3. I need directions and such to get down to Butler. Street address and phone number, essentially. ( e-mail it to me ). At this point I'm not sure if I'm driving down or taking Greyhound. Yes, apparently, you guys in driving up through Wisconsin are going virtually right past my house, but I want to capture the start and finish of this vast undertaking. Anyhow, just figured I'd pop in and say hi. Departure is THREE WEEKS away, folks. Excitement is in the air! It is TANGIBLE. -Tim Hansen (filmmaker)