A few years ago, John Pope got a new camera, and we decided to test it out by embarking on a spontaneous road trip throughout Appalachia. With no concrete plan beyond the general areas we intended to visit, we embraced the uncertainty of letting the camera capture whatever unfolded before it. Admittedly, some of our ideas didn’t pan out.

I've never really shared the piece I put together from that trip before, largely due to my own self-criticism. However, upon revisiting it recently and watching it again, I sense a meditative quality to the footage. Despite never completing the project, the attempt itself holds value in hindsight. Over the years, I've had several projects fall short of completion, including an Xbox/Gears of War documentary and another documentary titled The Terrorist Son, both well into production. While failure initially loomed large in those moments, the wisdom and experience gained from each endeavor are invaluable, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

We had beers one night in a dive bar. It was super intimidating to just walk in to a handful of people's regular joint. They ended up buying our beers and one guy told us he was the crane operator in a Robocop scene because no one knew how to use it. There is a shot of him in the piece.