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:
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
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.
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.
This was the main floor of the show. there were a lot exhibitors, vendors of all kinds. I saw everything from Commodore PETs to Ultimate 64's Various Amiga models were also represented! There were vintage machines and new versions of Commodore machines based on FPGA designs. As you can see, there was also a lot of software up for sale, some of it still sealed!
An ultimate 64 running Leif Bloomquist's multiplayer game, Dungeon of the Rogue Daemon.
An ultra-rare Amiga CD32!
A Commodore MAX!
C64's everywhere! Some were in pristine condition and others needed some love.
A horse of a different color! Lots of reaction to the color of this 64.
Gregory Naçu giving an in-depth presentation on his amazing new operating system, C64OS.
Former Managing Director of Commodore UK, DavidPleasance.
A pretty rare piece of tech! The controller for the Commodore CDTV.
We had a great interview with Leif and were able to hear all the ways that he and TPUG have contributed to the Commodore community over the years. The best story was about he and Jeri Ellsworth (of Commodore DTV fame) creating an animatronic cat that was controlled from a Commodore 64.
So what's next for the production of the film you may ask? Well now that we've captured interviews with four well known Commodore community members as well as footage from this year's world of Commodore we're ready to build the final preview of the film and use it in a Kickstarter campaign. It's been a long road to get to this point but I'm so glad to finally be at this stage. Watch for updates here and on the new Facebook page, facebook.com/iadoremy64film.com as we prepare to launch!
Click here for past production updates.
COPYRIGHT © 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. I ADORE MY 64 - A HOME COMPUTER DOCUMENTARY