The Smart Studios Story

The Smart Studios Story
Directed by Wendy Schneider
Produced by
  • Kerry Brown
  • Wendy Schneider
Cinematography Wendy Schneider
Edited by Wendy Schneider
Production
company
Coney Island Studios
Release dates
Running time
 90 minutes
Country United States
Language English

The Smart Studios Story is a 2016 documentary film directed and co-produced by Wendy Schneider. The film chronicles the history and impact of Madison, Wisconsin-based recording studio Smart Studios, founded by Butch Vig and Steve Marker in 1983. The film premiered on March 16, 2016, at the SXSW Film Festival.

Appearances

The documentary features interviews with artists associated with the studio as well as producers, engineers, and label executives, including:[1][2]

Members of the bands Killdozer, Die Kreuzen, Bongzilla, Tar Babies, Young Fresh Fellows, and Appliance also appear in the film.[1][2]

Production

After it was reported in January 2010 that Smart Studios would be closing later that year,[3][4] Schneider announced that production for the documentary was underway. She requested materials such as video, pictures and audio from studio sessions or live shows, along with submissions of cover art, flyers, video testimonials and written stories about the recording facility.[4] Schneider began funding the project via Kickstarter on February 24, 2014, seeking to raise $120,000 by March 30th.[5][6] The crowdfunding campaign was a success, raising $122,230.[7][8] Schneider shot 70 hours of footage on 16 mm film.[9][10]

Release

The Smart Studios Story was selected as the official film of Record Store Day 2016.[11] A promotional cassette featuring more than a dozen bands recorded at the studio will be available at participating record stores across the United States on Record Store Day 2016.[11] The film had its world premiere on March 16, 2016 at the SXSW Film Festival.[12] It opened the Chicago International Movies and Music Festival (CIMMfest) on April 13, 2016,[13] and will screen at the Wisconsin Film Festival on April 17, 2016.[14]

Reception

Dennis Harvey of Variety considered the "fond, unpretentious feature" a "whirlwind tour of a busy if largely subterranean epoch whose long, often fleetingly glimpsed talent roster should pique the curiosity (and/or nostalgia) of alt-rock archaeologists."[1] Writing for Consequence of Sound, Michael Roffman praised Schneider's "fine job" of bringing the stories to life with archive footage, and, with the amount of media presented, "cleverly match[ing] the vintage footage by lensing the newer interviews in a similar fashion." He, however, deemed the 90 minute length "all-too-lean" as it does not allow the filmmaker to comprehensively "trace the roots of [the Alternative] movement back to not only Smart Studios but the Midwest in general", but considered the film "still an enjoyable and enlightening watch" and "a breezy music lesson".[15] Nick Allen of RogerEbert.com called the film "a really solid documentary that should satisfy music fans and Killdozer enthusiasts alike."[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Harvey, Dennis (March 29, 2016). "Film Review: 'The Smart Studios Story'". Variety. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "The Smart Studios Story (2016), Full Cast & Crew". IMDB.com. Retrieved April 11, 2016.
  3. ↑ Wahlberg, David (January 9, 2010). "Smart Studios closing March 1". Madison.com. TownNews. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  4. 1 2 Koch, Bob (February 19, 2010). "Madison Music Scene & Heard: Smart Studios documentary; reuniting bands, Smart tapes". Isthmus. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  5. ↑ "About this project". Kickstarter. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  6. ↑ Steinhoff, Jessica (March 6, 2014). ""The Smart Studios Story" will show how Butch Vig and Steve Marker made music history in Madison". Isthmus. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  7. ↑ Gordon, Scott (February 2, 2016). "Smart Studios documentary to screen at Wisconsin Film Fest". Tone. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  8. ↑ "The Smart Studios Story". Kickstarter. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  9. ↑ Young, Clive (March 6, 2014). "Smart Studios Documentary Hits Kickstarter". Pro Sound News. NewBay Media. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Old school production elements… 16mm shoot for Smart doc". Kickstarter. May 30, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  11. 1 2 "The Smart Studios Story: The Official Film Of Record Store Day 2016". Record Store Day. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Smart Studios Story". SXSW. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  13. ↑ Gregula, Count. "Opening Night Chicago Premiere at CIMMfest 2016: 'The Smart Studios Story'". ChicagoNow. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  14. ↑ Worland, Gayle (March 13, 2016). "Legendary Smart Studios stars in new documentary". Madison.com. TownNews. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  15. ↑ Roffman, Michael (March 18, 2016). "SXSW Film Review: The Smart Studios Story". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  16. ↑ Allen, Nick (April 13, 2016). "Chicago International Music And Movies Festival 2016 Preview". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
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