Discover the Magical Process of Printing Vinyl at 'Gotta Groove Records'
Vinyl is back! In the beautiful “Gotta Groove Records” , step inside the eponymous Cleveland vinyl factory that has seen a stunning resurgence in recent years and discover its beloved magical printing process.
Director Nick Cavalier explains how the film came about and the creative choices he made in the production of his film, our latest Free of the Week:
Edit: ‘Free of the Week’ is now ‘Short of the Week’.
In 2009 I met Vince and Matt at a SXSW showcase. They were just starting the company and were clear supporters and fans of music. What struck me most was their transparent love of music and their midwest work ethic. They approached me in 2016 to make this short and Cinematographer John Pope, and his AC Mike Bacanu (who are both music fans) dove in headfirst along with me.
The goal was to create a high production value character portrait using their company as a microcosm of the vinyl resurgence as a whole, and to beautifully showcase how vinyl is made, and what is special about the tangible form of music through the underground story of two music fans.
Behind the scenes at the Gotta Groove pressing plant.
We shot for 3 days in the factory and John and I really tried to push the cinematography including the sweeping 1m:30s one-take nod to Martin Scorsese towards the end. It was important to me that the film be as beautiful of a thing as the records they were making. Although mass produced, each record is unique and I viewed them as snowflakes, not one is ever exactly the same.
Working with music producer Michael Seifert, we also showcased lots of local Cleveland music in the soundtrack, because after all the record resurgence isn't possible without a scene, and it all starts with kids going to shows. That’s how I grew up and what inspired my love for music, so I thought let’s pass that torch to the audience if we can.
Free of the Week is our series dedicated to showcasing the best short documentaries available online. Get in touch to pitch yours.
