Pinball Donut Girl

PBDG visits Pin-a-Go-Go

pinballdonutgirl — Mon, 21 May 2012 14:50:27 +0000

Associate Producer Lily Achatz and I attended our first Pin-a-Go-Go in Dixon, CA. We got to meet up with lots of Pinball Donut Girl supporters, play great games (there were around 200 pins, I heard), and enjoy some perfect central valley weather. I will definitely go back next year; I had a really good time.

It’s always the first Sunday after Mother’s Day — mark your calendar now

Lily plays Bowling Queen in the back room.

Bowling Queen backglass detail.

I was totally taken with Star-Jet’s art.

Star-Jet playfield detail.

Star-Jet backglass detail.

More Star-Jet playfield.

I also got to see a Palooka Dan Kramer had restored. Very cool.

Palooka backglass.

Palooka playfield detail.

I love the speed bag with a face!

The turnout was strong with people enjoying both EM and SS games.

Lily and Eight Ball Deluxe.

Bounty Hunter backglass art.

This young lady was part of the fun tournament.

And this little guy was making the rounds with his dad and a step stool.

I was happy to see Wade Krause and meet Dirty Donny Gillies, the artist behind Hellacopters and other custom art games Wade has worked on. Donny, Wade, and Tanio Klyce were so generous to let us use Hellacopters in the Pinball Donut Girl tournament scene.

Wade and Donny at Pin-a-Go-Go 2012.

Lily and I also got to visit with the folks of Planetary Pinball.

I can’t get enough of taking pinball photos…

Foto Finish playfield detail.

Star Pool backglass detail.

Star Pool backglass — seems like this should be a poster!

Going to Pin-a-Go-Go?

pinballdonutgirl — Fri, 18 May 2012 14:17:51 +0000

I’ll be heading over to Dixon, CA this Saturday (5/19/12) to Pin-a-Go-Go. I hope you’re going too!

This will be my first time, and I’m excited! I’ve heard lots of great things about the show from Wade Krause, Dan Kramer and Matt Christiano. Actually lots of folks from the fixathon will be there, and I look forward to seeing everybody again.

A couple photos from Matt’s Fixathon, where I had the pleasure of watching part of a Gottlieb Hi-Score restoration.

Bust out the work light…

…and the Novus cleaner.

Take off the old flipper rings….

…and carefully remove the plastics.

The roulette wheel without its cover.

Much better after a cleaning!

Sam Harvey says, Ten Spot is ready to go.

See you all at the show!

PBDG Meets a Young Pinball Ambassador

pinballdonutgirl — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:54:24 +0000

Meet Brian and Chris. Long time supporter of the Pacific Pinball Museum, Brian brings his son Chris on regular visits.

Nine year old Chris is an excellent docent and pinball ambassador. Cinematographer Charlie Kuttner and I were at the PPM to film some more clear game footage, and Chris introduced us to Adventures in the Development of Pinball, the new exhibit. The show includes one of the Bally Freedom clear games built with Wade Krause.

Chris is pretty good at the clear game — he had moves!

On display are a set of images and interactive exhibits that explain the development and workings of pinball machines. Chris walked me through several of them with great expertise.

Be sure to stop by the PPM when you are in the Bay Area to visit the exhibit, check out and play the new visible pin, and of course play the other hundred plus games at the museum. Michael Schiess and his crew have everything set it up to be very hands on, and as you can see, kids will definitely enjoy it.

Adventures in the Development of Pinball
ART AND TECH SHOW, runs April 6 through July 6, 2012.

Physics, mechanics, art and history exhibits:

An art and tech show about the internal workings of the machines, and their art and design as they change over time.

PBDG visits the Ed Beeler Collection

pinballdonutgirl — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:59:50 +0000

Come inside Ed’s 8,000 square foot custom building with me and check out some of the pinball and arcade games he has collected. Wade Krause and I were thrilled to take the tour when we visited Pittsburgh.

In addition to pinball machines, Ed also collects arcade games.

I loved the older shooting games.

Wade went for the more recent.

I had a great time looking at all the artwork.

I made some new friends…

and visited some old…

Thank you so much for sharing your collection, Ed!

PBDG at Pinburgh

pinballdonutgirl — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 21:17:19 +0000

A few photos from the PBDG trip to Pinburgh….

photo by wade krause

click image for larger version

It was great to see PAPA world headquarters and meet everyone in person. Special congratulations to the PBDG supporters who made it to final rounds of the tournament (did I miss anyone?): Julie Gray and Mark Czarnowski (C division) and Erik Holverson (B division).

Wade Krause goes to Pinburgh

pinballdonutgirl — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:39:23 +0000

Wade Krause, pinball artist and PBDG supporter, let me tag along with him in Pittsburgh as he attended PAPA’s Pinburgh tournament, checked out Dave Baach’s amazing custom games, and met with local artists.

Wade and Brian Holderman

Wade collaborates with Dave, and I was able to go behind the scenes to find out what they are up to, including a chance to see the Brian Holderman custom Luther’s Vendetta and Freak Out by Mike Budai.

Dave showed us all around Pittsburgh, going above and beyond as a host. Thank you, Dave!

Another highlight was a visit to the amazing collection of Ed Beeler (more photos coming of Ed’s place). Wade and I had a great time exploring 8,000 square feet of pinball and arcade games.

No weekend in Pittsburgh is complete without a quick day trip to Philly (yes, I am crazy), where we met with wonderful PBDG supporter Rob Loring and the folks at PinRescue and Harry Snodgrass, the PBDG sound designer.

Back in Pittsburgh, Wade checked out the work of fellow screen printer Andy Warhol at the Warhol Museum.

Always ready to lend a hand, Wade helped Director/Cinematographer Don Starnes and me with PBDG filming.

Is Wade contemplating the Trinity Cathedral, or wondering how his El Dorado boards are drying back in Clovis, CA? Thank you for the great company, Wade!

Filming Surf Champ

pinballdonutgirl — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:23:17 +0000

This weekend I got to return to the Pacific Pinball Warehouse to film some material for a piece on the Clear Pinball games created by Wade Krause, Michael and Christian Schiess, and others at the PPM. DP Charlie Kuttner (who also worked on PBDG) and I were trying to capture some of the magic of the visible games.

They are pretty magical.

Michael has been such a huge supporter of PBDG — I’m really excited to be working on this small video for him and the museum. It will be included in the bonus material of the PBDG DVD.

It’s tricky to light all the reflective surfaces in the games, especially the clear pins.

photo by Charlie Kuttner

Unfortunately manipulating the playfield directly is not only the way to get the sounds that I want for the footage, but also the only time I ever get a free game .

Even the new artwork in progress at the warehouse is impressed by Surf Champ’s beauty.

PBDG Behind the Scenes with Anna

pinballdonutgirl — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:43:35 +0000

While Director Don Starnes and Editor Rick LeCompte get PBDG ready to ship on to sound design, I’m working on the bonus material captured by Audrey Daniel during the PBDG shoot.

Here’s a little interview where I talk about pinball and PBDG.

Speaking of documentary footage, check out a clip from the work in progress by technology historian and filmmaker Jason Scott of Get Lamp

PBDG Headed to Pinburgh!

pinballdonutgirl — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:58:20 +0000

You think only California events will be in PBDG? Nope.

Director Don Starnes, game designer Wade Krause and I are heading to Pennsylvania for Pinburgh! We’ll be there doing some filming the weekend of March 30.

Stop by and say hi. We’re really looking forward to the trip and meeting more folks from around the country.

Photo by Don Starnes

PBDG: Hot Editing Action!

pinballdonutgirl — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 17:11:48 +0000

This week Director Don Starnes has been meeting with our wonderful editor, Rick LeCompte to bring PBDG to life!

photo by Don Starnes

Posters from some of Rick’s other indie films hang in the background of his studio.

Some people say editing is the final re-write of the script. I agree.

photo by Don Starnes

Rick is editing PBDG with Final Cut Pro, and he uses a logickeyboard. I’ve gotten to try one of these recently and wow, what a difference it makes. Who knew?

photo by Don Starnes

That’s great, Anna, you’re saying. But when do we get to SEE IT?

photo by Don Starnes

We still have to do sound and mixdown after we lock the picture, but I should have a trailer before Pinburgh. More exciting news about Pinburgh next week!

photo by Don Starnes