Thank you everyone who donated and supported our indiegogo campaign.

Rest assured, we will continue to pursue the film that we originally envisioned, full of artists all over the country (and maybe world), musicians, filmmakers, bloggers, gallery owners and more. To give you a sense of what we've been doing, and what we plan to do, check out the new promo clip above.

To get information about our film from here on out, including when we might be coming to your city, check our website: http://www.justlikebeingtheremovie.com

The site is currently under construction, but it will be up and running within a week, with announcements of more Emerging Poster Artists, sketches of in progress posters, a travelogue of our filming experiences and more.

Again, thank you! And we hope you'll continue to support us as we move on to the next step!

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Amazing Slashfilm article about us, including the premiere of a new clip, and the unveiling of our title! Check it out!

SLASHFILM ARTICLE ON JUST LIKE BEING THERE

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        Dan McCarthy Works at His Studio in Cape Cod, Preparing   

        for His Upcoming Joint Gallery 1988 Show with Jay Ryan

           

What is a Gig Poster?        

That is the first question we ask.

Traditionally gig posters referred to "gigs" or shows played by rock bands. The meaning, however, has expanded and evolved. When we first told people about our project, some thought we were saying "Geek Posters," and, truthfully, that's not too far off.

Gig Posters are an homage to the art we love, the art that touches us to our very geeky cores. The books we grew up with, the films we anticipated or never saw coming, the bands we hopped three trains to watch from a rooftop a block away from the venue- all of these passions are reinterpreted through the imagination of talented artists and devoted fans. And these fans have now become fans of the poster artists themselves.

There's something inherently extraordinary there- a dialogue formed between artists and fans, art form and art form. More importantly, perhaps, there's something inspiring there. We first met and became collaborators at a Gallery 1988 show for John Hughes titled "The Road to Shermer." This trailblazing Gallery has nurtured and recognized the growing gig poster community, curating works from all three of our featured artists, as well as many others. Somehow, surrounded by the bright and irreverent, delicate and painstakingly detailed artwork, we realized not only a mutual love of gig posters, but a desire to do something about it. And that, perhaps, is what makes a gig poster tick- it's not enough to merely love something, you have to create something with that love.

That is why we are here today.
 

                Director Scout Shannon Interviewing Katie Cromwell, Owner of Gallery 1988 Venice

So, What Are You Going to Do About It?

So far, actually, we've done a lot.  We've followed Kevin Tong's BLACK KEYS poster from inception to creation. We've documented Gallery 1988's "Wet Hot American Gothic" show, celebrating the film, the artwork inspired by the film, and everyone who participated in both. We've visited Danny Askar's printing press, gaining rare insight into how a one man, "by hand only" printing operation works. And we've made contact with countless artists, both well known and just beginning, LA local and across the country.

But, of course, we want to do more. The funds we are asking for will allow us to visit Daniel Danger in Boston as he makes final preparations for his solo show at Tara McPherson's Cotton Candy Machine in New York. We'll then drive down to New York to catch the opening, meet the fans, see how Daniel responds to the reception, and, of course, show the artwork. Your help will also allow us to travel to Cape Cod to meet with Dan McCarthy as he works on pieces for his upcoming joint show with Jay Ryan at Gallery 1988 Melrose. Then we're off to Chicago for the Flatstock and Pitchfork Festival, meeting with the many, many artists who travel from all over the nation and abroad to participate, as well as the amazing musicians they commemorate with their artwork. Finally, we'll be heading to San Diego to meet the iconoclastic artists at Tr!ckster, and maybe spend a little time at Comicon, too.

And this is just July.





Throughout the following months we hope to visit:    


Jay Ryan in Chicago                           
Jason Munn in San Francisco
Mitch Putnam of OMG Posters and MONDO
Justin Ishmael and Rob Jones of MONDO in Austin
Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle
Daniel Danger's show at ROTOFUGI in Chicago
The Threadless Guys
The Delicious Design League
Cannibal Flower
Gallery 1988's Crazy for Cult Show
APE, The Alternative Press Expo
Inside the Rock Poster Frame
The Fox is Black
The Silent Giants
Gigposters.com


And many more artists, bloggers, fans, shows, galleries
and fests along the way.

                                                                                                                                                      

And How Are You Going to Do That?

We're using a combination of DSLR cameras such as the Canon 7D and 5D with the Panasonic HMC 150. For lights, we're using Flexfills, Devas and Panels. For sound we're using the H4n Zoom Recorder with a Shotgun Mic and Wireless Mics.

We're crashing at our friends' houses, collecting our coupons and generally relying on the kindness of strangers.


The most important things for us, however, are:


1. We want to visit and document as many people, places and events as possible.

    Translation = Planes, Trains and Automobiles


2. We want our film to be beautiful, almost as beautiful as the art it documents.

    Translation = Top notch "shoestring budget" camera quality and the crew to run it.


We're doing this project because we love it, and because we've teamed up with a bunch of fantastic artists who believe in it. That said, we want to do the film justice, which means we need your help.

                                     

               Kevin Tong turns the camera on us as we shoot him at his studio in Los Angeles.

Why Should I Care?

Gig posters are an emerging and compelling art form. Whether or not you are already a fan, the fact that you even visited this page means that you understand why art is important. Similarly, you can understand why new and accessible art is important. Gig posters are affordable, intelligent and current. Supporting current art communities is a way that you can ensure that art will continue to grow and change.

To show our support of the gig poster community, we have invited 5 emerging artists to create a gig poster for our film. Each artist is starting out in the community, each artist shows tremendous talent and promise, and each artist needs a little boost to get going. We call this our EMERGING POSTER ARTIST project.

Every couple of weeks we'll profile one of the five artists, giving you insight into their lives, their passions and their work. We'll also document their progress periodically through photographs and journal entries, giving you, the fans, the opportunity to see how they create the final posters from beginning to end.

Every fan who donates to the campaign will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite artist, and the winner's artwork will be one of our featured posters. In addition, every fan who donates $50 or more will receive a signed, dated and numbered print from an EMERGING POSTER ARTIST of their choosing.

To get the ball rolling, we'll introduce our first EMERGING POSTER ARTIST, Jessica Deahl.

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        J  E  S  S  I  C  A          D  E  A  H  L

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1. What is your Hometown?

Torrington, WY


2. What city do you currently live in?                               

Long Beach, CA


3. What was your first commissioned work?               

Well, if you really want to get into it, my first REAL commission was for         decorating cakes when I was probably ten years old. In more recent life, my first commission was illustration for a local band's album art.


4. What was your last commissioned work?

"The Mountain Goats" at the Fillmore in San Francisco


5. What are your greatest influences

I am influenced by so many things, this is hard to answer. There is
beautiful illustration and design everywhere- it would be impossible to
just name a few things. I love looking to vintage packaging, children's books, magazines, etc. for typography design and style. My dad has a substantial record collection, so I grew up around album art. I was greatly influenced as a child by Shel Silverstein, Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland illustrations, Edward Gorey, Bill Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" watercolors... yada yada yada.




     6. What is your dream project?

     I want to say something cheesy here, like "isn't every project
     a dream project?" but I'm honestly not sure that I have ever  
     thought about a "dream project." I just want to keep making
     things, and hopefully get to work with and meet some cool
     people along the way.


    7. What do "gig posters" mean to you?

    I like the idea that gig posters are accessible art. They are
    more than just an image printed on a piece of paper
    commemorating a show.







8. What is something strange/ interesting that
few people know about you?


I exclusively chew Orbit peppermint or Orbit spearmint gum.
I rarely break this self-imposed rule. Is that interesting? Probably not...





           CHECK FOR UPDATES ON JESSICA'S PROGRESS,
           AS WELL AS HER ADVENTURES WITH ORBIT GUM.



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I love you and want to help in every way imaginable - what should I do?

Facebook, twitter, blog, paste the link to this page anywhere and everywhere. Plaster it all over the internet like so much cheap wallpaper. Seriously. It seems like a small thing to do, but it will help us enormously. We rely on our fans to be vocal about the project and thereby bring in more fans, and so on and so on. So recommend us to a friend.

We promise we won't embarrass you.



                                  

*Please include an additional $2.50 shipping and handling per screenprint for each screenprint that you would like to claim as a reward. In addition, please note that this reward is only available within the US. For non US residents, please contact us at films.avalanchefilms@gmail.com and we will do our best to work something out.