An amateurclass in DIY documentary filmmaking,
DIY marketing, and DIY lots of other things

About the documentary

I Really Get Into It is a feature length documentary that I began making in the summer of 2018, and released independently on November 28, 2020. I am not a professional filmmaker. Prior to the summer of 2018, I wasn't even an amateur filmmaker. It's wild that this movie even exists. The fact that it turned out pretty well is kind of mind-boggling. This site is meant to document the process of making and releasing the film.Here is the official synopsis of the film:Largely ignored and left to their own devices, a group of unassuming teenagers in Sioux Falls, South Dakota created their own culture, community, and economy. And when they moved out into the world at large, they brought what they learned along with them.I Really Get Into It is a documentary about the tenacity and ingenuity of youth, finding and following your convictions, and how the kids you least expect often make the most noise.The movie features interviews with Larry Livermore (Lookout! Records), Ian Mackaye (Fugazi, Minor Threat), Mike Park (Skankin' Pickle), Terry Taylor (Hammerlord, Nodes of Ranvier), Rebecca Hanten (Cadillac Blindside, The Cardinal Sin), Shawn Kock (Blood Drugs, Absolute Monarchs), and many more.Here is the trailer:

about me

My name is Brian Bieber. I'm a writer by trade, with a day job in marketing & advertising. In 2013 I self-released and distributed a collection of short stories called Nickel Plated Gold.When I was a teenager, I was very active in the Sioux Falls punk rock scene. I went to shows, made zines, and wrote, recorded, and performed original music with my friends.This period of my life was not only the inspiration for I Really Get Into It, it defined me as a person. It's the reason I had the audacity to attempt to make a movie when I had so little filmmaking experience.Because if a 15 year-old kid and his buddies could produce and sell vinyl records in the 1990s, he should be able to make a movie as a 40 year-old man.Right?

Process

I conducted the first interview for I Really Get Into It in late June, 2018, but production didn't begin in earnest until late that Fall, when I began conducting interviews in Seattle, Portland, Lawrence, Omaha, Minneapolis, and Sioux Falls.For the next year-and-a-half or so, I collected b-roll and live music footage, digitized old VHS footage, and spent most nights after my daughter and wife were asleep teaching myself the ins and outs of Final Cut Pro.As I wrapped up the first cut of the film in the summer of 2020, it was becoming pretty clear that COVID would make traditional screenings impossible. So my co-producer (and wife), Brienne, and I started planning a home DVD release instead.We launched the trailer and opened the online store for pre-orders in mid-October 2020, with orders shipping out about six weeks later, in time to make it a solid holiday gift.

PROMOTION

I Really Get Into It began as a website archiving analog music released by Sioux Falls punk musicians.The site had a decent following on Facebook and Instagram (a few hundred followers for each account) before the documentary was announced to the public, and because both the original website and the documentary were located in a pretty deep niche, our audience was very passionate from the beginning, which made for a lot of enthusiastic, organic social engagement.

A few days before the official launch announcement, I also sent personal emails and text messages to each of the forty-odd people interviewed for the documentary, asking them to share the announcement and links, which further boosted engagement online.The trailer and pre-order links were shared very enthusiastically, resulting in thousands of dollars worth of orders in a matter of days and an average conversion rate of 4.9%, which my more savvy ecommerce friends tell me is very good.

GEAR

VIDEO

Camera
Panasonic Lumix GH2. Purchased on eBay. Included 4 batteries and 2 lenses. At that price, it was "almost certainly stolen," according to my professional photographer friend, Walter.Cost: $200Lighting Rig
No name, basic soft box lighting kit, ordered from Amazon. Terrible quality, no longer works.Cost: $147Tripod
Lightweight traveling tripod.
Cost: $55

AUDIO

Recorder
Zoom H6 recorder (I already owned this; I use it to record podcasts and as an interface for my computer when I need good sound for online meetings). I can't say enough good things about this recorder. Sounds great and is very easy to use.
Cost: $300 with my friend Jim's employee discount at Guitar CenterMicrophones
Comica wireless lavalier microphone set. Not the best quality, but pretty good for my purposes.
Cost: $185

PRODUCTS

I have enough professional musician and artist friends to have learned that if you really want to move units of whatever it is you're releasing, you've got to sweeten the deal with cool bonuses.So, I made some additional merch, and sold it first in pre-order packages with very cool and compelling names, and later, a la carte.

DVD

It would have been more expensive to press Blurays, and also pointless, since I shot in 1080p, not 4K. Manufactured by Atomic Disc (atomicdisc.com).Cost:
$647 for 500 discs and sleeves
Sells for $18

VHS

Inspired by the format from which so much of the movie's b-roll was pulled, I had the good folks at Cryptic Carousel (crypticcarousel.com) produce an extremely short run (25 tapes) of the movie on VHS, complete with alternate, period-appropriate artwork. These were included in the highest level pre-order package, and were probably the reason that package sold out so quickly. I dug out my VHS player to check out the final product, and it looked pretty good.Cost:
$200 for 25 tapes
Each sold for $35

SOUNDTRACK

Vinyl is prohibitively expensive for a project like this, and in addition to being pretty boring, I was afraid there might be some product confusion with the DVD itself if I put the soundtrack on CD, so I went with audio cassettes instead. It wasn't cheap, but it definitely made sense as a value-add to the higher end presale packages.I wasn't comfortable making any money from other artists' work, so any money I get from digital downloads of the soundtrack are donated to Children's Inn. When getting artist permissions to include their music, I made sure everyone was cool with this arrangement.Cost:
$347.55 for 100 tapes
Each sold for $10

ZINE

In lieu of a proper "making of" featurette or Q&A sessions following public screenings we couldn't hold, I put together a short zine explaining, in broad strokes, how I went about producing the documentary, and why.This product was slightly controversial, because I included a photo of human feces on a park bench that I took in Seattle. I still stand by my decision to include the photo, even though it serves no real purpose to the broader mission of the zine or the film.Cost:
$199 for 230 zines
Each sells for $7

POSTCARDS

Since the movie was launched as a home release during the height of COVID-19, and I knew people wouldn't be able to watch it in large groups initially, I made a series of nostalgic postcards that also nodded to our physical separation.I designed them myself (thanks again, YouTube Photoshop tutorials!), and had them printed at GotPrint.com.Cost:
$32.50 per 250 postcards (x3 designs)
$97.50 total
Pack of 3 sells for $5

BUTTONS

You can buy custom 1.5" buttons for fairly cheap from a lot of places, but I thought it would be fun and cost effective to buy my own button maker, and do it myself.It probably saved me a little money, ultimately, but it turns out making buttons isn't that fun, and it is extremely time consuming. Would not recommend.Cost:
$64
Button making machine and supplies for 1,000 buttons
Each sells for $1

STICKERS

Sticker Mule (stickermule.com) regularly offers pretty deep discounts on their products, so I keep an eye out for their email promos, and whenever my stock gets low, I re-up my inventory at sale prices.Cost:
varies - about $30 per 100 stickers
Each technically sells for $1, but I throw in one or two for free in each mail order

ACRYLIC PINS

Another fun Sticker Mule product. Much less costly than enamel lapel pins. I knew I wanted to make these pretty early on, so I bought my inventory over about 3 months and 2 Sticker Mule sales promotions.Cost:
$50 per 100 pins
Each sells for $10

POSTERS

Atomic Disc offers some pretty good 11"x17" gig-style posters on heavy cover stock. These were great for hanging in record stores and bookstores in the lead-up to the DVD release, and a surprising number of people buy them from the site.Cost:
$59 per 100 posters
Each sells for $5

BEER

I've known Beau from Look's Marketplace (and Beer Co.) since high school. Beau also went to shows as a kid, and so he was immediately amenable to Look's brewing a special beer for the State Theatre screening in June 2021.Chad McKinney, the brewmaster at Look's, came up with the recipe. Look's brewed, canned, and kegged it. They distributed cans to the State and kegs to a handful of local bars, where it sold out almost immediately.No money changed hands between Look's and me for this. It was purely organic PR.Cost: No idea. I left that to the brewery, venue, and bars carrying it.

COLLABORATORS

BRIENNE MANER
PRODUCER
Story consultation
Logistics and PR direction
General consultation throughout creative and production process

WALTER PORTZ
CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Professional photographer & videographer
Produced Larry Livermore interview in Queens
General consultation throughout creative and production process

HANNA PETERSON
ART DIRECTOR
Designed DVD, poster, and digital art
Established visual language for promotion

NATE JEDLICKA
ANIMATOR
Illustrated and animated a 3 minute sequence in the film
SD Arts Council grant funds paid his fee

SOUTH DAKOTA ARTS COUNCIL
Support for this film was provided with funds from the State of South Dakota, through the Department of Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts, in the form of a $2000 Artist Project Grant

MARC WAGNER
GRAPHIC ARTIST
Designed State Theatre premiere poster
Provided art direction recommendations

RAE BENSON
GRAPHIC ARTIST
Assisted with b-roll photography
Provided art direction recommendations
SD Arts Council grant funds paid their fee

screenings

SOUND UNSEEN 2020
Online Feature
December 4, 2020
Minneapolis, MNSIOUX FALLS STATE THEATRE
June 24-27, 2021
Downtown Sioux Falls, SDSEATTLE FILM FESTIVAL
Official Selection
July 2, 2021
Seattle, WATHE CAVE COLLECTIVE
July 16, 2021
Rapid City, SDSOUTH DAKOTA FILM FESTIVAL
Official Selection
September 16, 2021
Aberdeen, SDSIOUXPERCON
Official Selection
October 2, 2021
Sioux Falls, SDDAKOTA INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
Best Feature Documentary
Official Selection
October 9-10, 2021
Sioux Falls, SDL.A. PUNK FILM FESTIVAL
Best U.S. Feature Documentary
Official Selection
October 9-11, 2021
Los Angeles, CADECIBELS MUSIC FILM FESTIVAL
Official Selection
October 28-November 7, 2021
San Francisco, CASOUND UNSEEN 2021
Official Selection
November 11, 2021
Minneapolis, MN

press

NO BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Issue 1: Power Colors
Spring 2020SIOUXFALLS.BUSINESS
Preorder Launch
October 26, 2020KELOLAND NEWS
Eye on Keloland
October 30, 2020BACKLOT 605 PODCAST
Guest Appearance/Interview
November 5, 2020ARGUS LEADER
Business Journal
November 30, 2020WASHINGTON TIMES (VIA A.P. NEWS SERVICE)
Sound Unseen Virtual Screening
December 5, 2020TIGER MEAT
South Dakota Music Zine
Spring 2021605 MAGAZINE
"Meet the Creative"
June 2021ARGUS LEADER
Front Page
June 2, 2021ARGUS LEADER
"Sioux Falls Brewsletter"
New beer round-up featuring "I Really Get Into It" Hazy IPA
from Look's Beer Co.
June 16, 2021IN THE MOMENT WITH LORI WALSH
SDPB Radio
June 21, 2021FORUM NEWS SERVICE
June 27, 2021SDPB NEWS
SDPB Radio
July 15, 2021KELOLAND NEWS
Eye on Keloland
August 22, 2021FILM THREAT
Review (8.5/10)
October 28, 2021

giving

There is a long tradition in punk rock of raising money for people and organizations in need.With that in mind, Brienne and I decided that when it comes to local screenings, we would donate our portion of proceeds to local non-profit groups.

Children's Inn
In December 2020, we donated $600 from our DVD preorder sales to Children's Inn, a domestic violence and child abuse resource in Sioux Falls.As luck would have it, we donated on a day when a local business was matching donations, which stretched our contribution further.

Transformation Project
We agreed to a 40/60 ticket split with the State Theatre for our screening weekend in June 2021, which yielded just about $800. We donated that to the Transformation Project, an organization that supports and empowers transgender youth, young adults, and their families.

The Cave Collective
We were very excited when the folks at The Cave Collective--a youth-driven community space in Rapid City, SD--invited us to screen the movie in their space. It seemed like a no-brainer to give our cut of the door directly to the venue, so we did.The Cave Collective is a pretty small venue, so between actual ticket sales and waived admission fees for kids at that didn't have money for a ticket, we think our contribution was about $75.

VITAL STATISTICS
(as of 9/1/21)

IREALLYGETINTOIT.COMTrailer views: 3,121
Unique site visitors: 6,511
Conversion rate: 4.9%
Product orders (website only): 306
Gross revenue: $16,929.98

PRODUCTION DATA
42 individual interview subjects
17 hours of interviews
8 cities
230 gigs of data
20 months from first shot to home release

ORDER LOCATION DATA79 cities and towns
27 U.S. states
4 countries

PROCEEDS DONATED
Children's Inn: $600
Transformation Project SD: $800
The Cave Collective: approx. $75

TOTAL ADVERTISING BUDGET$0.00

Contact

This project pretty much dominated my life for two years, and my wife is sick of talking about it, so if you have any questions, I'd be happy to chat with you.