PRODUCTION NOTES

Synopsis
Confessions of a Burning Man investigates the evolution of a generation driven by technology and social/environmental responsibility. The object of this documentary is to raise awareness of Burning Man in a positive light. The media today is notoriously sensationalistic, focusing on appearance rather than content.

Our focus, in conjunction with Larry Harvey, the founder of Burning Man, is to explore Burning Man on two levels: Community and Art. (An event where no money is exchanged and absolutely no corporate sponsorship.) 

Production Notes
Making a documentary on any subject is challenging because so much is out of the filmmaker’s control. When the subject is Burning Man, the out-of-control factor goes off the charts. In these ten days in the desert, the filmmaker is surrounded by more film-worthy phenomena than could ever be captured by even a dozen film crews. And the challenge of finding a story is complicated by the fact that there are far more beginnings than endings at Burning Man.

This was the challenge that made producer/directors Paul Barnett and Unsu Lee decide to collaborate on a project that was still dark and mysterious in its early stages of conception. When Jonathan Miller, a veteran of the Burning Man event, brought the project to Barnett and Lee, the only thing the team had going for it was a direct line to “Maid” Marian, one of the chief organizers of the event. One of the things critical to success was the filmmakers’ ability to persuade Maid Marian to champion the project to Burning Man founder Larry Harvey and other members of the organization. Without her support, the documentary would never have gotten off the ground.

Barnett, who is Irish, and Lee, who is Singaporean, may seem like an unlikely pair to make a film about a fundamentally American phenomenon, and yet they share much in common that made the collaboration friction-less. They both believe in the importance of story, and having engaging characters that audiences can identify with. They both love working in a collaborative and inclusive atmosphere. And they both gradually came to believe that they were uniquely positioned to bring the Burning Man story, not only to a wider American audience, but also to an international audience.

Just how did the team find their subjects? Barnett met Michael in a cab en route to see Samantha, who was writing a project called The Cinderella Complex. "Have you ever been to Burning Man?" Barnett asked, when Michael quipped, "Never!...Although that's not to say I would never go..." A few weeks before this, Kevin had approached Barnett for some help on his film, Straight Outta Hunters Point. When asked if he would like to join the group, Kevin was reticent to join in on what he perceived as a "white hippie event." Just 10 days out from leaving for Burning Man, Kevin landed in jail. Anna was in town visiting Samantha and the crew went down to visit Kevin. It was the first thing the subjects did as a group, and Kevin remarked, "Nobody's ever been to see me in jail before." With a cluster of new and oddly matched faces, Kevin's trust in the group was sealed. He decided to give Burning Man a chance.

Conveniently, the theme of Burning Man that year was the Seven Ages of Man, based on Shakespeare’s As You Like It. Barnett and Lee decided that it was as good a place as any to start looking for a narrative structure. They felt that the seven life stages consisting of Birth, Infancy, Childhood, Soldier, Justice, Enlightenment and Death were powerful themes that would resonate with people, and represented successive chapters that could build on each other. The choice of subjects was determined much as a painter selects his paints, with an eye towards balance and contrast. Michael, the cab driver, possessed a rare cynicism, whereas Samantha seemed emotionally vulnerable. Kevin grew up in a poor neighborhood challenged by gang violence, while Anna’s background is mostly misunderstood as an adopted member of the Getty family.

Once a narrative structure had been chosen, the filmmakers went about assembling their equipment and crew under the guidance of unit production manager Christopher Hall. Hall had just finished working on the Matrix sequels, and was eager to tackle a very different challenge ... working with an extremely low budget in an unforgiving environment. Not only did he have to perform the regular functions of a UPM, he also had to deal with the logistics of setting up a camp. Because there is no vending at Burning Man, every group has to plan for its own survival. Food, water and shelter must all be planned and transported. (Recommended allowances are 2.5 gallons of water per person per day.) Ironically, while the filmmakers brought a big RV, this was reserved for the equipment, and the crew had to sleep in their own tents.

The shooting conditions were arduous. Harsh weather conditions, altitude, and a demanding schedule left the crew exhausted. One member had to be flown out due to heat exhaustion, and several crew members suffered frequent nose bleeds (due to the alkaline base of the desert floor).
One of the fundamental challenges of filming at Burning Man is the toll it takes on equipment. A fine layer of playa dust accumulates on everything in a matter of hours. Dust storms can strike within minutes. The entire crew had to take extra precautions to protect their sensitive gear (which came down to obsessively wrapping ziplock bags around every camera). An extra two hours had to be budgeted every day for equipment maintenance and cleaning. The production had very little margin for damage or failures.

While crews are used to working long hours on a film production, they do not customarily work ten straight days, eighteen hours a day, which is what they almost had to do on Confessions. Because directors Barnett and Lee knew that they only had ten days to get a story, they had to push the crew beyond their normal mental and physical limits. More than one crew member suffered some form of emotional breakdown, which is apparently not an unusual experience for many at Burning Man.
That doesn’t mean the crew spent every hour of the day carrying camera equipment around.

Part of their assignment at Burning Man was to participate, for how else could they capture the experience of the event? Paciano Triunfo, the gaffer, found opportunities to practice his martial arts. Nathaniel Miller, the first AC, found time to DJ at his brother’s camp. On a particularly memorable Thursday night, the whole camp took a much needed break, and returned to work a little more refreshed the next day.

Although there is no vending at Burning Man, there is plenty of trading, and whenever the filmmakers needed something (like a cherry picker or crane), the crew managed to work out a deal to return the service. In the everyday world of filming, these deals usually come down to a monetary exchange. But within the gift economy of Burning Man, there is an inherent generosity of spirit that enabled the crew to catch shots over the Labyrinth and at the Burn in exchange for some filming. In hindsight these exchanges were among the best experiences at the event, as they remind us of how much we CAN do without money. Burning Man empowers artists to realize their own potential without financial constraints.

A defining moment for Lee was when he found himself in the inner circle surrounding the Man on the night of the Burn. Only twenty other photographers were allowed inside. Inches away from a parade of flaming art cars and fire dancers and surrounded by a rabble of 30,000, Lee rushed towards a row of fire cannons. There were people standing there so he thought he would be safe. But when he got there, he realized that they were all wearing full-body fire protection suits, and that he was in mortal danger. He ran back as fast as he could just as the fire cannons exploded into the air. Huge flames were just feet away from searing his back.

Meanwhile, 40 feet up in the air on a crane, Barnett captured the moment on the 16mm motion picture camera. For Lee, adrenaline pumping through his body, it was the moment when he realized the truth in the inherent risk one takes at Burning Man.
For Barnett, it was the beginning of a new chapter in film and in marriage...

One of the themes of the documentary is that the journey out is every bit as important as the journey in. At Burning Man, every camp has a responsibility to bring everything out with them. For the filmmakers, the journey out was also a time of reflection, and by the time they got back to San Francisco, they realized that they might as well have taken a trip to Mars, so strange did the whole experience seem. At the same time, it only took ten days in Black Rock City to make the real world seem violently saturated with media. They were definitely returning as different people, and as filmmakers, much more conscious of their role in society.

Post-production was put in the hands of Robbie Proctor, an editor at Phoenix Editorial who had worked with Hotbed before. It is impossible to think of a better person to edit the documentary than Proctor. A part-time DJ as well, Proctor has an unerring sense of rhythm and music. But perhaps the most elusive quality of any editor is his ability to discern connections between seemingly unrelated shots, and not a minute goes by in the documentary without an interesting or powerful concatenation of images. Proctor worked out of his house in Berkeley, where the directors would meet regularly to supervise the editing. Proctor, being the good Englishman he is, always offered a cup of tea. And this, perhaps more than anything else, gave the whole process a refreshing civility.

Now that the film is complete Lee, Barnett and the entire team at Hotbed are focusing their energies on getting exposure for the film, which they believe to be the most important film on Burning Man out there because it shows the ethos behind the event. Burning Man is a party to many and a ritual to some. It's a chance to explore your own potential and an opportunity to share what you've learned with others. But really, as every journey is unique, you really would have to go to see for yourself...