Austin to Boston
PRODUCER / EDITOR / ART DIRECTOR / CAMERA
5 old VW camper vans. 4 bands. 3 thousand miles. 2 weeks. 1 gloriously backwards tour. The adventure starts after a fire-fuelled final night at Austin's SXSW Festival, where the bands (Ben Howard, The Staves, Nathaniel Rateliff, Bear's Den) pile into their rides and head northeast.
They play everywhere from bars to barns, rooms to rooftops, packing out tiny venues and wowing crowds with their unique sounds. But heavy rainstorms, multiple breakdowns, and cramped conditions remind them that to push through sometimes you need to pull together.
Featuring Mumford & Sons' Ben Lovett and narrated by Gill Landry this documentary is about a modern tour, done the old fashioned way.
TYPE: FEATURE FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION COMPANY: SIDESHOW ALLEY / COMMUNION MUSIC
JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME
In 2012 I traveled to Austin Texas for SXSW. There I met up with Ben Lovett & friends from Communion Records and director Marcus Haney.
Following the amazing experience of sharing life on road with these talented lovely people, what began as a camera operator role led to myself and Sideshow Alley producing the complete post production of what became the feature film music documentary Austin to Boston.
Having experienced the tour first hand, there was no convincing needed to take onboard my first feature film as a labour of love. Working collaboratively with Ben and Marcus across the pond, I led my team in Melbourne developing the film throughout the first half of 2014.
FILM FESTIVAL OFFICIAL SELECTION
In June 2014 we began to showcase the film to audiences around the world, receiving official selection at many notable film festivals including Sheffield docFest, BFI London Film Festival, IDFA & Nashville Film Festival. In total the film had 17 appearances across 2014/2015.
MARKETING
As the film completed production my attention switched toward the film’s visual identity and marketing strategy. This involved creating the logo, key art poster, titles, online experience and social media strategy along with commissioning artist Peter Strain for alternate artwork.
DISTRIBUTION
We partnered with distributor Monoduo Films to release worldwide on June 12, 2015 with a special launch screening at Bonnaroo Festival. The film then streamed through Netflix, Apple, Amazon, Google Play & Vimeo.
THANKS
The experience working on this film was life changing and one of my proudest achievements. Listening to this talent day after day was a pure blessing. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make it happen. x.
A Communion / Sideshow Alley production
CREDITS
DIRECTOR
James Marcus Haney
PRODUCERS
Ben Lovett, Ty Johnson
EDITORS
Kitty Green, Ty Johnson
CAMERA
James Marcus Haney, Ty Johnson, Cid Salcido, Kelly Teacher
SOUND
Jed Palmer, Emma Bortignon, Rich Matthews, Timothy Dutch Vannette, Barrie Pitt
CAST
Ben Howard, The Staves, Nathaniel Rateliff, Bear's Den
NARRATOR
Gill Landry
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