The Entertainment Corner: "Thanks For Your Support"

Recently The Entertainment Corner had an opportunity to chat with 4D4Films about their upcoming feature length documentary"Thanks For Your Support", which they tells us is a working title and might be changed.

Synopsis

One man's 20-year journey as an independent record store owner
Take a journey inside the life and mind of the man behind the music. Richard has run Recorded Memories, an independent record store located on Hamilton and Indiana, for the last 20 years in Spokane, WA. In this documentary we'll explore his passion for music, his definition of wealth, and his zest for life.

Questions/Answers

How did Richard Terzieff’s story come to your attention?

Will met Richard in college a year or two before he bought Recorded Memories. When we were in town (Spokane) last summer Richard mentioned that the upcoming weekend would mark 19 years he had owned the store. We had talked many times about what a great story Richard had and how we would love to do a documentary about him and the store. When we realized we had the opportunity to capture Richard’s 20^th anniversary we knew it was time to finally get started on the documentary.

What was the most appealing part of Richard's story?

There are many aspects of this story that fascinate us. First and foremost is Richard’s zest for life. Richard is truly an original “character” and just about the nicest person you’ll ever meet.

Richard’s experiences in the music industry are also quite interesting. He has met so many artists and acts through the years and those stories coupled with the changes he has seen in the industry from the early days of his business which consisted of used records and tapes to the popularity of CDs to modern day legal and illegal downloading have led to some great conversations. He has seen it all and has had to adapt at every turn.

Another aspect of his story that really resonates in the current state of world affairs is that he has been able to adapt. Independent record stores are a dying breed and the fact that Recorded Memories has survived, if not exactly thrived, through all the ups and down of the past 20 years is something that, quite frankly, amazes us!

Do you share the same passion for music as Richard and was that something that influenced your decision to make this documentary?

No one matches Richard’s passion for music! We enjoy music as much as the next person. Will, a musician himself, actually enjoys it quite a bit. But our decision was based entirely on Richard’s enthusiasm.

Is this the first film in which you've used crowd source funding (KickStarter) to get your film funded?

Yes, it is. We self-financed our first four short films on shoe string budgets. One film was shot in a friend’s basement. One was shot literally in our back yard. Our mini-doc about Crater Lake was based on footage we shot while on a family vacation.

“Thanks for your support!” is a much bigger project than any we have taken on in the past. We know we are up to the challenge. But to capture this moment in time (Richard's 20th anniversary and the rapid demise of indie record stores) we need an actual budget. This documentary has much higher than usual (for us) post-production costs and with our subject 300+ miles away we will be doing a lot of traveling!

The idea of crowdfunding, more specifically using a site like Kickstarter, appealed to us because we wouldn’t just be asking people to give us money. Through crowdfunding everyone who pledges gets a reward and gets to be a part of this great adventure.

What is the most important message you hope people will walk away with once they've watched "Thanks for the Support"?

Great question! With a documentary you never know exactly what kind of film you’ll end up with. Richard has had some incredible life experiences. But one of the things that inspired us to choose Richard as a subject was that although he is not wealthy or famous, he works way more hours than he ever thought he would being his own boss, and he’s rarely been on stable ground as far as his business is concerned; he is living his dream. Every morning he wakes up and gets to do what he loves and has made a living at it for the past 20 years. How many of us can say that?

We know that anyone who watches this film will have a greater appreciation for music in all forms. You can’t spend five minutes talking with Richard, let alone the length of a feature film, without catching some of his enthusiasm. But we also hope to convey the message that you don’t need to make a lot of money to be rich.