Two weeks ago, I released the trailer for my upcoming documentary short film, Internet Legends: Duct-Taped Gamer. The internet took notice, as the YouTube video racked up 100,000 views in its first two days and was featured in dozens of articles around the web and around the world. It was exciting to have something “go viral,” but also not entirely unexpected, given the subject matter and its built-in audience. In this post, I’ll share how the film came to be, what you can expect from it, and also clear up some “fake news” that I read in a few of the articles.

Internet Legends: Duct-Taped Gamer explores the story behind the viral image of a gamer duct-taped to the ceiling at a LAN party in 2003. The photo made (and still makes) its rounds on various gaming forums and websites and has been the subject of innumerable memes since it hit the web nearly two decades ago. It spread to the far reaches of the internet before the onslaught of social media and smart phones. Over time, many myths built around the photo; meanwhile, the friends involved in the fabled prank mostly watched from afar as the stories took on a life of their own. In 2017, Eric Van Allen tracked down a chunk of the friends and wrote an article for Kotaku that revealed more details on the photo and the backstory. The world learned the time (March 29, 2003) and place (Mason, Michigan) and a few names of characters; however, one very important voice was missing from the story – the duct-taped gamer himself, Drew Purvis.

Just over a year ago, I found myself working on writing a feature-length script. I mulled over different ideas that qualified as “write what you know” and started remembering something my high school friends and I enjoyed in the late-1990s and early-2000s – LAN parties. We were very interested in technology and some PC gaming, but none of us had high speed internet in the home (yet), and multiplayer games were best played in person. LAN parties emerged as a fun way to hook computers together with network switches/hubs and play games or share files. Especially fun because you’re in the same room as the people you’re competing with, or against. I remember many hours spent playing Duke Nukem 3D, Starcraft, Warcraft 2, Command and Conquer, and the most popular one – Half-Life: Counter-Strike. I began a screenplay that revolved around a group of friends, a “LAN clan,” that enjoyed the LAN party lifestyle during the golden era of LAN parties. As I was researching, the duct-taped gamer photo kept appearing. I learned that these guys were also from a small Midwestern town, they were close to my age, and their story was relatable to me. I figured it must be relatable to others as well.

Considering I lived about fifteen miles north of Mason, in Lansing, I decided the best option for me was to table the script and instead pivot to a film that explores the photo, it’s history and mystery. This became something I could actually pitch and make! The first thing I did was create a sizzle reel, something that gave me inspiration and direction, but also something I could use to pitch the guys to appear in the documentary. The sizzle waxed nostalgic to the time of dial up internet and throwing back energy drinks and pizza during an all-nighter LAN party and touched on the photo’s place in internet lore.

With the new sizzle video in tow, I connected with Drew Purvis first. I learned Drew lived in the area and I figured not only would he be the main character of the film, but he’d also be able to connect me to others. Drew was interested! We met up and he gave me a tour of Mason, showing me where the famous LAN party took place and a few other spots that he used to “LAN” at. As the autumn season rolled in and the colors on the trees began to change, I took the opportunity to fly my drone all over Mason, getting relevant b-roll for the documentary. Unsure if the colors were at absolute peak, I did three different days of flying and got some great stuff each day. The more footage I collected, the more excited I became!

Drew connected me with Brian Schaeffer. Brian was the friend who helped spot Drew while he found his home in the duct tape cocoon and Brian was also the photographer of the photo. A couple of the boys were in a photography class and had some 2.0 megapixel Nikon Coolpix 2000 cameras on hand. 2.0 megapixels equates to a resolution lower than a 1080p HD screen puts out, which is pretty funny considering the 4K and above resolutions we’re seeing everywhere today.

So far, I have interviewed Drew and Brian and I have several other guys prepped for an interview, but the COVID-19 outbreak is postponing any scheduling for those interviews to materialize. There were about a dozen guys at the LAN party, but not all of them will appear in the documentary. The doc is being filmed with a Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K.

Viewers of the doc itself can expect a good dose of nostalgia and some answers to lingering questions about this particular LAN party, the prank, and the photo. We’ll break down some easter eggs that exist within the photo and respond to some questions and comments from the internet. We’ll also explore LAN party technology and LAN party culture, c. 2003. Similar to the teaser and trailer, the film itself will take an over-the-top approach, but with less Star Wars references.

A definitive release date is not yet set, but I expect it to be early-Summer 2020. As of now, the short film will be released on my YouTube channel and play in some film festivals. Check out ducttapedgamer.com and sign up to receive the newsletter for more information.

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