A film about the most popular home computer of all time
and the community that continues to keep its legacy alive.
Featuring interviews with:
Bo Zimmerman
The 8-Bit Guy (David Murray)
Anthony Becker
Leif Bloomquist
Join the Facebook group and get more content and updates at:
Kickstarter Film Preview
It's been a long journey (see the Production Updates section for all the details) but we're gratified to have released a ten-minute preview of the film. This, we hope, will not only help potential supporter understand what the approach and style of the film but also demonstrate it's high production values.
With this preview in place we're now working to expand our social media presence and following. This will help the film have it's best chance of getting funded when we launch the Kickstarter campaign.
Concept Teaser Trailer
It's been said that the victors write the history books. Names like Apple, IBM, Atari and Tandy are well known as the titans of the earliest days of the home computer wars. However, the lesser known Commodore 64 is, without question, the single most influential force in the birth of the market. The impact it has had on millions of people continues to be felt today.
Other films have focused on the history of Commodore and the main figures in the company itself. By contrast, I Adore My 64 will feature people within the communities that continue to keep the Commodore 64's legacy alive and well today.
The Film's Storytelling Approach
It's been said that the victors write the history books. Names like Apple, IBM, Atari and Tandy are well known as the titans of the earliest days of the home computer wars. However, the lesser known Commodore 64 is, without question, the single most influential force in the birth of the market. The impact it has had on millions of people continues to be felt today. Other films have focused on the history of Commodore and the main figures in the company itself. By contrast, I Adore My 64 will feature people within the communities that continue to keep the Commodore 64's legacy alive and well today.
The film will intertwine a series a of vignettes about individuals who have been impacted by their intersection with the Commodore 64. Collectors, hardware developers, video game and software engineers will all share their personal stories about why they came to love this unique machine. While some historical information will be presented for the benefit of the uninitiated the film's primary focus will be on the community that exists around the Commodore 64 today and their undying commitment to keep its legacy alive. It will not be a biographical film but a love letter to an incredibly influential piece of technology that was decades ahead of its time.
About the Filmmaker
A passionate visual story teller with over 25 years experience Jeff Schaap grew up with the Commodore 64 as his first home computer. From playing video games to programming and creating homespun videos much of his youth was spent interacting with his Commodore 64 and later a 64C. During his college career the video editing system he trained on was a NewTek Video Toaster based on the Commodore Amiga 2000.
Today, Jeff continues his work as filmmaker having shot in some of the most remote parts of the world. However, he also relives his youthful enthusiasm for the Commodore as he collects, repairs, restores and resells Commodore 64's and related hardware. Some of Jeff's previous film work can be seen here:
Shooting on location on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska
Latest Production Updates
May 26, 2023
One month and I'm absolutely floored. When we released the 10-minute preview I hoped that in the first month, it would reach 5,000 views on YouTube. I thought I could consider it a decent success if it did. As of today, it's been posted for a month and exceeded 60,000 views; far outpacing any video I ever created both professionally and personally. It's definitely a shot in the arm as I look toward the launch of a Kickstarter campaign to fund the rest of the film. It's also a testimony to how much the Commodore community wants to see this film made.
Oh, and I'm having way too much fun creating these social media ads. We've created a drawing for a free, original Commodore 64 breadbin and had more than 500 entries! The drawing will take place July 1, 2023!
April 25, 2023
Finally. As I write this, I'm rendering what I hope will be the final revision for the 10-minute preview of I Adore My 64. We hope to gather community feedback on it and move on to the Kickstarter campaign. Hard to believe this moment is here after so much work. It took far longer than I anticipated but the day has finally arrived.
March 30, 2023
Aaaaaaaaannnnnd action! Actors... in all my years of producing film I've not spent a lot of time working with them. But, the film preview (and final film) is definitely going to employ them. They'll be used mostly to recreate scenes that the interviewees talk about.
This past Monday we shot with our first actor. Well, second if you count my daughter (who is obligate to participate but she does love it). This young man, who is a classmate of my daughter's, did a great job and took direction really well. I was able to get his shots integrated into David Murray and Anthony Becker's segments and they look great.
On another front I am still working to research and understand all the details of running a Kickstarter campaign. One of the things I've discovered is that the tax implications of having a film funded can be very complicated. I spoke with a tax advisor earlier this week and he is helping me to understand the best way to handle the funds and minimize what I pay in out in taxes.
I am hoping to have news about the target date to for the Kickstarter launch soon!
February 13, 2023
I'm closing in. The Kickstarter preview of the film is about 90% complete! I have an Excel sheet of fixes and enhancements and am working through them. The preview, which is comprised four segments, each featuring one of the interviewees, is coming in at about 9 minutes and 30 seconds. That's longer than I had originally thought and am gratified that I've been able to complete this much,
I've also begun doing more intensive research on running a successful Kickstarter campaign. I'll need to create the campaign, finalize the amount I am hoping to raise, set reward tiers and other details. Another very important decision is exactly when to launch the campaign. I definitely don't want to do it during spring break when people are on vacations. That's something that Kickstarter highly recommends that you not do. In any event, it's really amazing to have come this far and be preparing for the funding phase!
December 21, 2022
The Christmas vacation continues and so does the work on the film! The last couple days I've been cutting responses from the fascinating interview I had with Leif Bloomquist. He's a longtime member of TPUG (Toronto PET Users Group) and a C64 software and hardware developer who has done some incredible things. They include developing a WiFi modem for the 64 and games that can be played collaboratively over the Internet. He credits his career in the aerospace industry to the experiences he had early on in life with Commodore computers.
Also, it's still really cold here in southeast Michigan!
December 21, 2022
Officially on Christmas vacation and visiting family in Michigan (bbbrrr!) but also working on cutting the footage from our shoot with Anthony Becker.
December 6, 2022
I've just returned from filming at World of Commodore 2022 and it was an amazing time. There was an incredible group of Commodore enthusiasts nerding out together and there was a ton of computers, software and hardware. Some of which I had never seen in person. They also had many speakers throughout the two-day event. I was one of them!
TPUG (Toronto PET Users Group, tpug.ca), organizers of the annual event, asked me to speak about the film. I was honored to be given the opportunity! If you'd like to catch a portion of my talk you can view it here: https://bit.ly/3XZgs5U. I believe that in a week or two TPUG will have the entire talk posted on their YouTube channel.
I also had the opportunity to sit down with Leif Bloomquist. He's a long time member of TPUG and has been a part of their all-volunteer leadership team. We had a great discussion about his experience with the Commodore 64 and how it's impacted his life. Today, Leif works as an Senior Software Systems Engineer in the aerospace industry but he has also greatly contributed greatly to the modern day Commodore community. From creating one of the very first Commodore Wifi modems, to writing multiplayer retro games that can be played collaboratively over the Internet, Leif has helped keep the 64 and its legacy alive.
Click here for past production updates
COPYRIGHT © 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I ADORE MY 64 - A HOME COMPUTER DOCUMENTARY