Start Your Own Guerilla Drive-In

Guerilla Drive-Ins are springing up everywhere from LA to NY, in big cities and little towns. People are rejecting the idea of the $10 movie (twenty with popcorn and a soda) and embracing the idea of the do-it-yourself movie free to the community.

Additionally, you get the pleasures of participating in a gift economy, bringing together a broad community, providing a place to meet unmediated by commerce, and reclaiming public space.

To say that Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In operates on a shoestring budget is an understatement. We've gotten by soley on generous donations for several years now. It really doesn't take much to make it happen. The most expensive piece of equipment we own, the LCD video projector, was until recently borrowed from a compatriot.

1. Picking a Location
2. Choosing the Movies
3. Getting the Word Out
4. Showing the Movie
5. Equipment You'll Need
6. GDI and the Law

Picking a Location

Here's what you need: A big blank wall that is dark at night. A smooth white wall is best, of course, but any light wall will do, even a lightly textured brick or concrete wall.

You will be amazed at how few dark places exist anymore. Apparently, the prevailing thought is that bad things happen in the dark, and that if you light every nook and cranny of our urban landscape, homelessness, crime, drugs, and unsanctioned sex will disappear. However, it is still possible to find the odd corner of creation that is not lit with a billion watt floodlamp. And if it is near a smooth light surface, you have a location for guerilla drive-in.

Lights can be covered with cardboard boxes, but it is kind of a pain in the ass and people are naturally sensitive about this. Don't break anything or start a fire or your GDI location is doomed.

Check areas that are full of warehourses, under bridges, under freeways, parks, parking lots, ruins, and, if you are willing to hang a big screen, the woods. Here are other places to look: high schools, junior high schools, elementary schools, backs of suburban shopping malls, backs or sides of grocery stores, concrete retaining walls, and warehouses.

Keep in mind that unless you are using batteries, you will need power from somewhere.

Get To Know Your Neighbors

If you have a regular spot to show movies, get to know your neighbors. Bake them coookies. Invite them to your showings and give them copies of your schedule. Write down phone numbers they can call if there is a problem and promise them sincerely that you will be responsive to their complaints or comments.

Good neighborly relations are an important element of DIY culture.

Choosing the Movies

The Guerilla Drive-In collective is a loosely-knit group of folks who love movies, are involved in radical change, and are interested in reclaiming public and unused space.

Choosing Movies

We maintain a master list of films that we've all contributed our favorite subversive movies to. We are constantly adding to and subtracting films from the master list. Maybe someday we'll post it here.

The first year we did Guerilla Drive-In, we met the week before the event and chose a film from the master list. This worked well enough, but was a little hectic and didn't give our audience a chance to plan the movies they wanted to see.

The second year we opted to plan out our entire summer schedule. We adopted a kind of quasi-bastard blend of democratic and consensus-based decision process that has evolved over the years to a reasonably workable and satisfying process of choosing films.

Going into the end of our third year of GDI, the process of choosing movies involves several round of "infinite voting" and looks something like this:

• Step One, Add or subtract movies on the master list. For a movie to get added, it needs someone to second the film.
  
  
• Step Two: First Round of Infinite Voting. We go over the entire master list of movies, voting for each. Each member of the collective can vote for as many movies as they like. We tally up the votes and make the first cut.
  
  
• Step Three: Second Round Voting. We get infinite votes again but in a considerably slimmed down pool of films. People step up here to advocate films (and volunteer to host if it is chosen). More argument, negotiation, pimping of the films, consideration, and satisfaction of objections. The list that emerges from this round makes a good final draft film schedule.
  
  
• Step Four: Final Series Emerges. We look at the list as a whole and swap some movies out, some movies in, and suggest double-features and short accompanying films. We order the films in the series, choose hosts, and so on.

Note that all of this often is dragged out over a couple two-hour meetings and represents much beer and ice-cream consumed.

Multi-Round "Infinite Voting"

We do multiple rounds because there are just too many films on our master list to seriously consider all at once. To individually advocate several hundred films would take an eternity.

The infinite voting system has several advantages over, say, each person picking their top n films, or preferencially ordering their list of films. In the top-n system, for example, because you have a limited number of votes, it is entirely possible none of your films will ultimately be selected, possibly creating frustration, disenfrancisement, and bitterness. With inifinite voting, the films that emerge are the ones that have everyone's support.

Breadth and Balance

As much as possible, we try to balance the films we show in the winter or summer series. Looking over a series, we don't want a dozen films all with protagonists who are white, young, straight, well-heeled males. We don't want all slow, artsy films nor all frenetic, action films. We look at watchability, quality of a film, gender balance, sexual preference, class, documentary vs. narrative, classic vs. contemporary, age, and the underlying subversive message.

Getting the Word Out

Publicizing an upcoming movie is an important step when we produce a guerilla drive-in event. In general, we use the GDI email list, a few local event lists, posting to several internet sites, and fliers and handbills.

For each GDI event, we send emails to the GDI email list, which, at last count, has well over 700 members. Through the list, we also let people know about a few related events, press coverage, or breaking news.

We also post notices to several noteable websites and event lists -- indymedia, squidlist, craigslist, tribe, etc. If you are obsessed with details and want a sneak peak at our submission stuff, take a look at Guerilla Drive-In pre-Movie Submission Sites.

We usually create fliers for each event and post them all over town, at cafes, laundromats, the university, bus stops, restaurants, whole food stores, and other community boards. Most importantly, since word about Guerilla Drive-In spreads primarily through word-of-mouth, we give handbills to everyone we meet. See our examples of past handbills we've created.

Showing the Movie

Hosts

For each movie chosen by the GDI collective, we also choose a person who will not only host the event but bottom-line all the stuff that makes a GDI film successful.

"Bottom-line" is a verb, not the more familiar corporate noun. It comes from collective-process and means to take full-responsibility for something and get it done come hell or high-water.

Here are the things a GDI host is responsible for. He or she doesn't have to (and maybe couldn't) personally do everything, but they are responsible for finding someone who'll do it.

• create fliers & handbills - 2 weeks before GDI
• distribute fliers and handbils - 1 week before GDI
• email notice to GDI list - 1 week before GDI
• post on various sites - 1 week before GDI
• find another member to tech - 1 week before GDI
• get film - a few days before GDI
• plan for some interactivity during intermission
• host at event
• collect donations
• clean up - after GDI
• remind next host

Shorts and an Intermission

We always start off Guerilla Drive-In with shorts and previews followed by a ten minute intermission. The shorts are often activist short movies, of funny or weird stuff found on the net or submitted to us. (Feel free to talk to us about submitting your short film for consideration.) Previews for upcoming guerilla drive-in films are usually pulled off the internet or ripped from DVD.

The intermission gives people a chance to mingle, get to know each other, and see old friends. To us, the most important aspect of the drive-in experience is coming together, sitting outside under the stars, and meeting old and new friends.

Community Announcements

Part of our mission at GDI is to build community. For some folks this is their first experience with radical and do-it-yourself community. For many folks this is an opportunity to get more connected with other people and events in their community.

During intermission, we promote other events and projects we're involved with and invite others to tell us about other upcoming commnunity events. If you are in Santa Cruz, see Other Projects You May Not Know About.

Donations

At the intermission and before the main feature, we ask for donations to support the project. This pays for flyers and handbills, as well as pays for some of our equipment. We are currently saving for backup equipment.

Generally, someone goes around at intermission and passes out GDI or related literature and collects any donations.

If you dig the idea, and want to support Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In, feel free to talk to us about donating money, equipment, or energy to the project.

Equipment You'll Need

Here's a list of the equipment you need to do your own guerilla drive-in:

• Video: LCD video projector
• Sound: audio amplifier & speakers, or alternately, low-power radio transmitter
• Player: DVD player or VCR
• Power: several hundred feet of extension cords, or alternately, deep cycle marine batteries and an inverter

Donated Equipement

Nearly all of our equipment we have was donated by the good members of our guerilla drive-in community. Currently we are looking to put together a complete backup system.

So here is our equipment wish list. If you have the resources, consider helping us with this list. This is somewhat in order of priority:

1. Speakers, two compact rugged-ized 100 watt minimum ($150 - 250)
2. Video projector ($800 - 1000)
3. Spare projector bulb ($400)
4. DJ-style rack system for AV equipment ($100 - 200)
5. DVD/CD player (free! we want your old one)
6. VHS VCR from this decade (your old one)
7. Stereo Amp (your old one)

Yes, we can provide a non-profit tax deduction receipt for you to take the donation off of your taxes.

Video

Low-power, high-luminosity LCD video projectors are dropping in cost. Good projectors can be found new for a thousand dollars. Used, you can get even better prices, though you have to take into account the life of the bulb and the not inconsiderable expense of replacement.

Sound

All of our sound equipment is second-hand donated equipment. We are not blasting out the neighborhood, so our sound requirements are modest. We have all of our audio and player equipment mounted in a "rack" (actually a milk crate!), so we never have to be fiddling with wires.

We blow out speakers on a regular basis, so we have a constant stream of donated and scrounged speakers on-hand.

Alternately, if you are doing an actual drive-in theater where people will have cars and the benefits of their car radios, you can assemble or buy a low-power radio transmitter to broadcast sound. Here is the Free Radio Berkeley site that holds workshops and has info on building micropower FM radio transmitters.

Power

We have several hundred feet of power cord that we plug into whatever power we can find nearby. Thanks goes to the organizations who have unknowingly donated power to Guerilla Drive-In. Occasionly, we'll get power from generous neighbors who support the project.

Alternately, we've also relied on two deep-cycle marine batteries and a 400W inverter to provide power. This will get us through pre-show music, shorts, intermission, and an entire movie (as long as we don't try to run the intermission and post-show floodlight off of the batteries).

GDI and the Law

The Authorities

While you are showing your movie, the police will undoubtably be curious about what you are doing, but may only hassle you if they get a complaint. Two things you may run up against, is laws restricting amplified sound and rules restricting access to public space after dark.

But in general, you aren't doing anything wrong. In fact, you are providing free entertainment and building community, so proceed with righteous confidence. These draconian and short-sighted laws, like all bad laws can and should be challenged. Our current attitude about civic control of grassroots projects is fuck 'em. The civic authorities certainly haven't helped and often hinder.

Public Spaces

If in your town, like ours, all public space is closed after dark, the police may kick you out of parks, schools, and other public spaces.

A few years ago, we were showing our movies under a downtown bridge. Mid-summer, we were booted out of this location during the showing of The Third Man by a half dozen police officers. They informed us that we were in a city park area and were violating park hours.

In our fair city, a community focused on art and connection, there is no place to meet in public that is unmediated by commerce. All the parks, beaches, the wharf, the boardwalk, the levies, state parks, the University, and the Pogonip are all closed after dark. If you want to meet friends or strangers at night, your only option is to dive into the stream of commerce -- bars, cafes, restaurants, or movies.

We've heard the reasons for closing public spaces at night -- drugs, homelessness, and crime. However, closing public spaces, doesn't solve the problem, only drives it underground, and in the process takes away our own ability to provide safe, legal nighttime alternatives to crime.

Only in America would we think to close public gathering places after dark. In other countries, public spaces are where people spend their evenings, hanging out with friends, flirting, playing, drinking, singing, dancing. A vital nightlife is the sign of a live and thriving community. From the point of view of merchants, having public places that draw people out of their homes at night is good for nighttime businesses as well. If we want to maintain a healthy connected community, we are going to have to draw people away from their televisions out of the malls into the night, to public places where people can talk and picnic and dance and look at the stars. We think ultimately in our community, if we want to have any public life at all, we are going to have to challenge laws that keep the public out of public spaces.

Noise Ordinances

Your local authorities may also claim you are violating noise ordinances. Our best advice there is read the laws carefully. Often the police do not understand the law that well and use it as a blunt instrument to bully people into compliance to their narrow ideas of normalcy.

We've been challenged on the noise ordinance repeatedly, and when we show the officer the printed law, demonstrate our understanding of it and our willingness to hold our ground, and demand to see a printed complaint, the officer usually backs off and works with us.

9.40.010 Sound Amplification Permit Required No person shall use or cause to be used at any place in the city whether on public property or private property any sound-amplifying device or equipment without first having secured a permit to do so from the police department, except as provided in Section 9.40.60. 9.40.60 Exception The permits otherwise required by this chapter shall not be required of sound-amplifying equipment or devices under the following circumstances: (a) Sound-amplification equipment or devices used on privately owned property, whether indoors or outdoors, where the sound produced does not carry beyond the property line or does not unreasonably disturb any person outside the property where the sound is generated; (d) Radios, record players, TV’s, and tape players wherever used, when the volume does not exceed the volume of normal conversational speech;

You can consider your knowledge of the law another tool in your toolbox of fighting tyranny. Laws are complex and usually have many parts and conditions. These exceptions and minutia are often written very carefully to ensure that the laws don't apply to "ordinary people" doing ordinary things, but strictly to ne'er-do-wells and ruffians. Knowing the minutia of the law can be a useful tool.

Just as an example, let's look at the Santa Cruz law regarding amplified sound.

We have is a Draconian law passed by the Santa Cruz city council that outlaws all amplified music on both private and public property (SC 9.40.010). Then you have the permit process (SC 9.40.020), which is a big yawn and just another mechanism for control. Then by and by, you have a whole bunch of exceptions to ensure that the cops are not obligated to crack down on people listening to music on their home stereos or a boombox by their backyard pool, etc. (SC 9.40.60).

Reading the fine print, what the law says is that if the sound does not carry beyond the property line OR if the sound does not unreasonably disturb any person, then there is no infraction and they have to back off.

We keep a copy of the law in our pocket and now and then get to show it to law enforcement in a conversation that goes something like, "See, according to subsection (d) of Muni Code 9.40.60, we don't need an amplified sound permit since our volume can't be heard above a conversational level at the edges of this private property, so thanks for your concern, but I'll have to ask you to leave."

Cop Wrangling

If you anticipate problems, it helps to have a few people on hand who are good at dealing with authority. We call these folks cop tamers. A cop tamer serves as police liaison, de-escalates occasionally angry cops (or others), assuages police concerns, as well as stands up for your rights.

A good cop tamer will have experience with non-violent communication, a cool-head and a cool temper, a strong personality, and a good understanding of applicable laws.

Copyright

We suppose someone could get on our ass about that. But man would that make them look stupid, busting a community event. We don't ask for no permission. Those copyright lawyers, they can bite us. And my guess is that unless they were pressured from someone else, our local cops could not care less about copyright.

Copyright is brain theft. See Creative Commons for an infinitely more civilized, humane, and socially beneficial system of dealing with intellectual property.

Your Turn

It doesn't take much to create a guerilla drive-in wherever you live. Some gumption, some resourcefulness, and a desire to see people enjoying life together unregulated by commerce. If you need help, advice, or want to tell us about your experiences, please drop us a line.