Storm Chasing: The Anthology Documentary Project

[Blake Naftel]

Hello! My name is Blake Naftel, a fellow storm chaser, visual journalist, and filmmaker from Grand Rapids, Michigan. I currently am in the process of raising funds via Kickstarter to complete what will become a six-part documentary anthology series focused on the full history of storm chasing culture.

The project has been a long time in the making, beginning initially in 2003 as a simple film on the humanity of storm chasing. I re-initiated the project in November 2013 following the personal losses we experienced within the storm chasing community last year, and have since been building up to initiate a public fundraising campaign. The plan, in brief, is to spend three to five weeks this fall traveling through 31-states, sitting down with storm chasers and meteorologists from every decade that storm chasing has been an activity (1956 to present). The result would be individuals sharing their experiences and memories, eventually building an in-depth visual chronicle of the activity we are all so passionate about. The anticipated release of the completed documentary would be in October 2015.

Please visit the currently ongoing Kickstarter campaign, which concludes on Friday, July 25 at 11:10 a.m. ET.

The primary website for the Storm Chasing History Anthology Project is: http://stormchasinghistory.net/

A Facebook page has also been created, please feel free to share this far and wide on!

Any form of donation will help further this collaborative documentary and archival project.

Thank you to everyone who has already shared interest, encouragement, and enthusiasm for this project thus far!

Blake

 

[Mark Blue]

Thanks for letting us know about your project Blake. It seems Reed Timmer is front and center on your YouTube video from the brief visit I made to your website. I was curious if he will be the focus of the film for current chasers that you are planning?

 

[Scott A. Kampas]

This will cover various periods of chasing starting in the 1950s and will not focus on Timmer. I'll leave Blake to expand on any details.

This is an ambitious project but one which I know Blake has been mulling over and collecting material for many years. Many seasoned chasers and meteorologists are behind this and have contributed to make it happen. There really is no documentary or book of this scope regarding chasers. Blake has voluminous knowledge, aptitude, and technical ability such that I really look forward to seeing what comes of it.

 

[StephenHenry]

Hi Blake, this sounds like an interesting and ambitious project! In scoping out the travel costs of the project, did you consider optimizing the route of your 35-city tour? This would be a classic Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP), and with this many cities you might end up shaving off quite a few miles from the trip total.

So ok I got nerd-sniped and spent a couple minutes looking at your trip itinerary. Google Maps can't handle 35 way-points at once, so I split your planned route into two halves in the following links:
Route Part 1 (5776 mi)
Route Part 2 (5899 mi)

Your currently planned route will be about 11,675 miles. Making a couple manual tweaks, I was able to shave off 626 miles by reordering the cities visited.
Tweaked Route Part 1 (5354 mi)
Tweaked Route Part 2 (5695 mi)

A true computational TSP optimization might shorten the trip by few hundred more miles, and every penny might help with the budget. Of course, you might have other considerations like scheduling the interviews in certain orders or when certain people are in town (which might not logistically allow you to take the optimally shortest route). But I thought I'd at least point this out

Good luck! Certainly interested to see how this turns out!

 

[Blake Naftel]

Hi Mark:

The focus of the documentary will be to present each decade of storm chasing in anthology style (1956-1966, 1967-1977, 1978-1988, 1989-1999, 2000-2012, and present). It will be told by and feature individuals from every decade, some of whom are no longer with us (past interview material will be utilized in those instances). In terms of "modern-day" storm chasing, no specific individual will be the focus on this project, rather, a collaborative mix told through the words, stories, images, art, and music of those whom have been associated with storm chasing since 1956. Recently it was re-discovered that the term "tornado chaser" was being used even prior to 1956; however in terms of what everyone associates storm chasing as an activity, the bench mark year (1956) begins with David Hoadley.

It was pure coincidence that the still image frame YouTube selected landed on a group image of present-day storm chasers, including Reed. The photo was taken by Dave Lewison this year, and was contributed for use in the project. As every decade is to be represented, I needed a balanced flow of old and new material throughout the video. In terms of representing "modern" storm chasing, there will be a host of individuals to represent the activity of where it is, and potentially may go. Please visit the website for full details on the project and proposed budget.

This documentary project is a broad journalistic undertaking, comprised of all aspects (good and bad) the culture has witnessed over the decades. There will be no intentional slant to the story, rather, an honest approach - pieced together through interviews from everyone who wishes to contribute. I want to create a visual history lesson that in time, can grow into the long-term archival/preservation project of creating a university-based "cloud" multimedia archive of all storm chase/severe weather related material for academic and non-profit use. That idea is far down the road and presently just a dream; but accomplishing this anthology would certainly bring that a few miles closer to a reality!

Stephen: Thank you for plotting the "tweaked" routes! I will check them out on a more cooperative computer verses this aging Macbook with a dated Safari browser I'm typing on at the moment. The 31-state route was specifically coordinated using GasBuddy.com and Rome2Rio trip estimators; combined with individual schedules that I need to work around. There will likely be a few changes to the route path when this project does get rolling, but certainly - I'm always up for conserving the budget and saving money wherever I can.

Thank you for your interest in the project! Look for updates as the days roll along.

Blake

 

[Mark Blue]

Thanks Blake and Scott for answering my question so thoroughly. It sounds like you have all of the bases covered and I sincerely hope you accomplish the goals you have established for this project. After perusing your website, I can see from the pictures that you have a ton of footage on storage media. In light of that, the cloud approach to warehousing the data is an excellent idea and is right in line with current technology for media storage. From the chaser names I saw in the credits, you have a solid foundation to work with and I am excited to see the final product (already - I know ) . You can look forward to receiving a donation from me to support this effort in the very near future.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Thank you for doing this. This sounds like a very interesting project, and I can't wait to see the finished project. Even though I only recently started chasing (compared to just about all of the people you look to feature/interview in the anthology), I still feel like I'm a part of it. I left you a small donation to help out (I can only afford to give so much).

 

[Jeff Wright]

I'd also like to see a history of twisters on film and television "The Tornado--an All American Icon."

We've seen them in the animated spin off from Emergency, TWISTER, Natural Born Killers, Something Wicked This Way comes, Poltergeist, etc.

Until then enjoy Mobile's latest waterspout--double core from the looks of it http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/ID/2468316544/

 

[Bill Hark]

I think this is a wonderful and very ambitious project. I can't imagine the time it will take to put his together. I've also made a donation and I am wishing Blake the best.

Bill hark

 

[Blake Naftel]

Thank you, Bill! It certainly will take quite a bit of energy to put together, but I'm very much up for it. To provide an slight idea of how the visual story-telling will go, the following are two quick excerpts from older material that has been re-mixed to serve as an example for the full anthology:

http://youtu.be/6s3WLUwEuQo = David Hoadley, "Why I Chase". This is an excerpt from the excellent interview Roy Britt conducted with Dave in 2013, mixed with original video material.

http://youtu.be/tXIExs5A3XI = Retired research meteorologist, Don Burgess, (in brief) the 17-May-1981 "Sound Chase" intercept with Erik Rasmussen. Yet another classic interview excerpt, shot by Roy Britt in 1998.

Pending successful Kickstarter funding, I would be on the road conducting on-camera interviews to bring this project fully to life. So far, the backing of support of the project has been consistent, over 50% towards the goal of $7,000. If you have not had an yet, please take a look at the website stormchasinghistory.net and the attendant Kickstarter funding campaign (which ends at 11:10 a.m. ET, July 25, 2014).

Thank You!

Blake

 

[Blake Naftel]

On Sunday July 6th, the $7,000 benchmark was reached with the Kickstarter campaign for Storm Chasing: The Anthology!

Watch video >

The project will be officially funded and move forward this Fall. This is fantastic news! Thank you to everyone who has backed and shared the purpose of this project! One important fact addressed in the video above is the continued backing and sharing of this project. Kickstarter and Amazon deduct a combined 10% from the backed funds, leaving the remainder going towards the initial project. $7,000 is the bare minimum an independent documentary anthology of this magnitude can be accomplished with. In the eyes of Kickstarter, this is a successfully funded project. In the reality of production costs, there is still a bit to go before it balances out to $7,000.

As it stands, the project will only receive slightly over $6,000 (per this update). An additional $1000 to $3000 would highly benefit the production results. This includes completing vital travel and interviews, coupled with the long-form post production editing, updated computer equipment/software, design, premiere location fees, and formal DVD/BluRay release required to meet all backing incentives by October-November 2015.

This remains an independent effort for the moment. No production crew is involved. I will be traveling solo across the United States conducting interviews during the September-October 2014 time frame, returning to Michigan in order to edit the series together. The documentary anthology is the first of it’s kind, with the goal of preserving storm chasing culture for future generations of aspiring meteorologists, weather enthusiasts, and those with an ever-flourishing curiosity towards the turbulent atmosphere.

The anthology will showcase the full evolution of storm chasing from 1956 to present, told by storm chasers and meteorologists from every decade. This is not simply a documentary on storm chasing, nor are any raised funds going towards such activities. This is about my passion to present an accurate story of an activity that I remain deeply invested in every year, and visually showcase the unique blend the characters storm chasing as an activity has created.

Please consider backing this project if you have not already. We have come this far in such a short time, it really has been wonderful watching this evolve! The Kickstarter campaign concludes on Friday, July 25, at 11:10 a.m. Any amount will help further this production!

Thank you again to everyone who has backed thus far, along with those whom continue to share and promote this documentary.

Storm Chasing: The Anthology would not be a reality without your support!

 

[Blake Naftel]

For anyone who may be interested in listening -- Storm Chasing: The Anthology, the ongoing Kickstarter fundraising campaign, and the project’s overall evolution will be discussed with co-host Bill Murray on the Monday, July 14 podcast of WeatherBrains. The show itself is 45-minutes of everything weather, a must listen/viewing for anyone with an interest in the atmosphere, and the happenings surrounding it. Thank you to Bill Murray and James Spann for taking a direct interest in the project!

 

[Blake Naftel]

Less than 24-hours before the Kickstarter campaign concludes for Storm Chasing: The Anthology!

As a limited-time stretch goal for production funding, a backer of $30 or greater will receive an autographed BluRay/DVD copy of the six-part anthology (once completed). Full information can be located via: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/blakenaftel/storm-chasing-the-anthology/posts/924511

Thank you to everyone who has supported the Kickstarter campaign! Without you, this documentary project would not be made possible.

The Kickstarter campaign for Storm Chasing: The Anthology concludes tomorrow (Friday), July 25 at 11:10 a.m. ET.