Makers need $ for pipe band film
The makers of an unfinished documentary film about the non-competing Vancouver Police Pipe Band are hoping to get funding from the piping and drumming community through Kickstarter to complete the film.
Saying that the band is in crisis due to a lack of personnel, Co-Producer Michelle Smith of filmmakers Munro Media, said that The Queens New Guard “follows the band on their centennial trip to change the Queen’s Guard at Buckingham Palace, becoming the first civilian band in history to do so breaking royal traditions. It’s a story about brotherly love, legacy, and adventure.” The film is about the journey to England, and Smith describes it as “an inspiration brotherhood story.”
The filmmakers have invested their own money to get the project to the rough-cut stage. If completed, all proceeds from The Queen’s New Guard will go to the Gordon Sinclair Fund, a charitable cause set up in memory of Vancouver Police constable and band member Gordon Sinclair who was killed in the line of duty in 1955.
“The band will use these funds to focus on succession by recruiting new members and continue their efforts in the community and abroad,” Smith added.
The trailer for the project states that, at 100 years old, the group is “the oldest police band in the world,” even though the Glasgow Police Pipe Band dates back to 1883, when it was originally the Burgh of Govan Police Pipe Band.
“The Greater Glasgow Police Pipe Band has a rich and accomplished history, however, it is also one that has seen them go through many changes due to amalgamation,” Smith said when asked about the claim to being the oldest police band. “The reason the Vancouver Police Pipe Band is honoured as the oldest continually serving band is that Greater Glasgow Police Pipe Band has changed their name since inception. The Vancouver Police Pipe Band have remained steady as a continual service band.”
Recognizing that recruitment is a challenge for just about every pipe band, she said that “We would love to inspire new members for all bands globally.”
There have been other Kickstarter-funded documentaries by professional filmmakers, most notably John Mcdonald of Pasadena, California’s One the Day in 2009 and Pipes & Sticks on Route 66 in 2011, both of which were completed and made into commercial products.
+ 51 theatres confirmed for “On the Day” Canadian screenings
+ All-stars going for concert, teaching kicks on Route 66
Munro Media needs approximately $25,000 to meet its $50,000 Kickstarter goal.
The difference between this and the McDonald movies is that there’s no competition or road trip around America. This is a historic pipe band that did the impossible for a non-military outfit. That’s a big deal!