DIY often involves not just doing it yourself, but having your friends help. I had help making this film.

This is my first movie. I had no training, didn’t go to film school, and don’t even own a camera. I just learned as I went along. I read books, asked a lot of questions, and got great people to help.

The documentary was originally based in San Francisco and later I moved to Los Angeles. Interviews were conducted in both cities.

The project started as an eight-page query to San Francisco's Intersection for the Arts, requesting umbrella non-profit status. The query was approved, and we set about the task of submitting proposals to over 300 foundations. One responded, donating enough money to cover some expenses and buy one plane ticket to the East Coast to conduct more interviews.

The New York and DC interviews were conducted three weeks after the World Trade Center and Pentagon bombings of Sept 11^th, 2001. The tickets were booked a month prior, and I considered not going, but went anyway, to complete the project.

Any available method was used to get to the subjects’ homes and studios: planes, subways, taxis, city buses, interstate busses, borrowed cars, and even a bicycle.

I crashed with friends in different cities while completing various phases of the process.

The camera operators, who had their own three-chip mini DV cameras, and the editors, worked for free in exchange for tax write-offs and the enjoyment of being involved in the documentary. The were found mostly through the Internet, often on Craigslist, run by Craig Newmark, one of the interviewees.

When people with three-chip cameras were unavailable, I did the interviews myself, using a borrowed one-chip camera, with only camera sound.

Interns helped with phone calls, typing and carrying equipment. They were also found on Craigslist, mostly film students wanting some production experience.

We received in-kind donations of goods and services from a few local and national companies. A couple friends also chipped in a little money. And I spent about three thousand out of pocket.

Copies of the final movie were sent out to festivals using recycled VHS tapes donated by a friend at public television.

I said "thank you" to everyone involved, and absolutely meant it.

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