First, The Good News
The last time I put out a full project status update was in October, 2025, with a full “State of the Project Address” video.
I’m pleased to say that the video was received very well, and the vast majority of the goals laid out at that time have been achieved, including a 26-day road trip to Southern Oregon, California, and Arizona.
At the conclusion of that trip, Principal Photography reached 95% completion!
Since that time, there’s been an additional, unexpected trip to Wisconsin to cover a significant breaking story relevant to the documentary, with airfare and lodging covered by one backer, and expenses covered by another.
There are still a few optional shoots that would enhance the film, but aren’t strictly necessary, some local pick-up shoots, and one final trip to Massachusetts is required to cover a new development which will provide a feel-good ending for the film. (No, it’s not another Organ Grinder, but there is a direct connection to the Organ Grinder’s history.)
Editing of the main feature has commenced – the summer of 2026 will be all about editing, and trying to get a premiere or film festival showings lined up in the fall/winter.
Now, the… Frustrating News
Thus far, the entire production has been crowdfunded (and self-funded). People have been incredibly supportive and generous, and that has gotten the project to where it is today.
But just because most of the footage has been shot, doesn’t mean that the we’re close to the finish line. Have a look at the Transparency page, which shows what has been accomplished, along with what still needs to be done.
It’s an unglamorous fact that most of a film’s budget goes to bureaucratic affairs – Licensing of footage and music, legal work, and insurance. While there some creative items remaining in the budget, in the areas of music composition and graphics, plus a few more potential shoots, most of what remains consists of paying other entities what is due. It’s not enough to simply edit a film – in order to get it released commercially, and not get sued, you have to “pay the piper”. A lot of pipers, actually.
And without a steady stream of reports of interviews of exciting new people and photos of fascinating locations, crowdfunding revenue has fallen dramatically, just when it is needed most.
There will be occasional spinoff and bonus videos published from time-to-time, which usually helps get fresh attention for the project – one just went up yesterday – but there will be fewer of these, as new material isn’t being gathered, and because there are good things that could be bonus features, or wind up in the main film, a decision that can’t be made until the film is nearing completion.
This is tough to write – I try to avoid making my personal life public as a part of this, but it’s also been a rough time financially for us – my spouse faced over four months of unemployment. He’s got a good job now, but it will take is many more months to climb out of the financial hole that resulted. (The mortgage company doesn’t seem to be interested in visionary documentary film projects.)
Because I’ve been devoting most of my time to the documentary, my roster of clients has thinned, and there isn’t much work that I can pick up on a moment’s notice.
As of this writing, crowdfunding revenues for May were just $808, not even a third of the 2025 monthly average of $2,700, from just four contributors (including a new sponsor – thank you!).
If things don’t turn around soon, I will have to pause work on the project and return to serving video production and web design clients and/or picking up a part-time job.
The situation isn’t completely dire – I just don’t want to set the project aside when we’ve reached the home stretch. There are grants available that help documentary projects with post-production, completion funds, and distribution. You can see the list of the many grant applications on the transparency page.
But thus far, no grants have been awarded. And the application processes have consumed many hours of time, which could’ve been spent working on the film. Still, I won’t give up on the grant route – one large documentary grant could single-handedly allow for the completion of the project, but competition is fierce.
So, that’s why I’m writing this post. To try and enlist your help in keeping the project going at a reasonable pace.
How You Can Help
Direct Contributions
I dislike talking about money almost as much as I dislike asking for it – but the harsh reality is that cash is the thing that is most needed for the production right now.
If it is within your means to contribute to the project, please consider one of the Direct Contribution options in the Crowdfunding Shop. (Contributions can also be accepted manually via other means such as Venmo – please use the Contact Us form if you have questions.)
Contributions are not tax-deductible, BUT, large contributions (typically over $5,000) CAN be tax-deductible through a process called Fiscal Sponsorship. Several nonprofits that support filmmakers and artists, including Portland’s Hollywood Theatre, offer Fiscal Sponsorship. The donor makes a tax-deductible contribution to the nonprofit, which takes a small cut, and then the nonprofit provides the support to the production. Please contact us if you are interested in contributing using this approach.
Contributors can receive credit in the film and on the web site, including being listed as an Associate Producer or Executive Producer – this will carry through to the IMDB (Internet Movie Database) once the film is released.
* Please note the project does not solicit monetary funding from people who are principal interview subjects in the film, for reasons of journalistic ethics.
Sponsorships
Businesses and organizations can sponsor the film and have their logo appear in the credits and on the web site. We currently have two sponsors, with plenty of room for more. Do you or does someone you know own a local eatery, or a music shop? It’d be fitting to have a pizza parlor as a sponsor!
There’s even an opportunity for a “Big Monkey Business” sponsor to have their logo displayed before the start of the film, just like a major Hollywood distributor.
In-kind contributions also work for sponsorships. For example, if you have a company that produces promotional merchandise, something we can put in the shop, you can help front-load our inventory, which will benefit the project in the long run.
Merchandise Perks
As you probably know (and are probably a bit tired of hearing about!), the Crowdfunding Shop offers items including CDs, Posters, Postcard Packs, Commemorative Certificates, and T-Shirts.
Most of these items have already been produced (and paid for), so your purchase will directly and immediately benefit the project. (We’ve roughly broken even on the CDs and T-Shirts so far, so any additional sales are pure profit, minus shipping.)
Equipment Loans/Contributions and Volunteer Labor
There are specific items in the camera and computing department that are needed for some of the remaining planned shoots – such as a gimbal. If you’re involved in the production community and can help on some upcoming shoots, that would help to reduce the project’s budget.
There is currently one very overworked volunteer assisting with cleaning up and formatting transcriptions. (AI doesn’t do the trick, a human touch is required.) The budget currently includes paying additional people to complete the transcription work, but more volunteers would alleviate this issue.
Now that the main feature is being edited, there is a need for fast online storage for the editing workstation. And, unfortunately, due to the boom in AI and data-center construction, prices of SSDs have nearly tripled in the last 2 years. But the need hasn’t alleviated – if you happen to have a fast external or PCIe (Mac Pro compatible) 8TB SSD that we can borrow for up to a year, please get in touch!
The Amazon Wish List
Do you have some store credit or a gift card at Amazon that is lying around?
You can help the documentary simply by supplying items from our Amazon Wish List. The project goes through a lot of backup hard drives and camera memory cards, and there is a big need right now for the aforementioned SSD.
In Conclusion
I don’t want to leave people with the impression that the project is in jeopardy. The film will get edited. It’s the timeline that’s in jeopardy – I’ve been at this for 2.5 years, and I don’t want to be at it another 2.5 years.
And getting it ready for commercial release requires funding, but once it is in a near-complete state, it may be possible to show it to investors who take on projects in need of finishing funds (in which case they get an ownership stake in the film, which has its own complications).
So many of you have kept me going this long, and brought me this far. I owe it to everyone to get this done. I’ll keep plugging away at it, even without funding, because the story is important.
The world needs to know the fascinating history (history that is still being written today) of the theatre pipe organ and its evolution into the “pizza and pipe organ” cultural phenomenon that was so well represented by the Organ Grinder.
Thanks for reading, and thank you all once again for your continued support.
– Bob Richardson
You can help support the project by purchasing from the Crowdfunding Shop.
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