We’re elated to release the short documentary film “Pinheads: The Story of the Pacific Pinball Museum” today. Please give it a watch and let us know what you think by posting a comment here.
Shoot the left ramp! Hit those three drop targets in order! Lock this shot for multi-ball, but be careful nudging that machine…
To most who remember it, Pinball is considered a dusty relic of a bygone era. The only places you’ll find Pinball machines today are home game rooms of private collectors or dark corners of seedy bars. As far as the general public is concerned, it has all but faded into obscurity.
However, one group of dedicated men and women have decided to right the ship and save Pinball from extinction. Their goal is to preserve Pinball for what it really is: a national treasure of pure American engineering, art, and design. The Pacific Pinball Museum was founded in the late 90’s by Michael Schiess, a multi-disciplined artist and an avid fan of museums. Over the years Mike has grown the non-profit organization into 13 board members and an army of dedicated volunteers, as well as amassing and restoring a staggering collection of Pinball machines.
Every fall since 2007, the PPM gathers over 400 of their restored and fully playable Pinball machines to host the annual Pacific Pinball Exposition in San Rafael, CA. The Pacific Pinball Expo gives other pinheads the chance to meet the board members of the PPM and attend seminars with renowned Pinball historians, game designers, artists, and vendors. Oh, and they also get to play a lot of Pinball.
With an unprecedented collection of machines and a high-spirited drive to further the art, science, and history of Pinball, the Pacific Pinball Museum is well on the road to becoming “the Smithsonian of Pinball.”
First and foremost, I have to give a shout out to my old friend Salvatron who helped me every step of the way in post production on this film. He’s also the man who provided us the title sequences, so if you dig those make sure you post some comments and let him know. We sure like them. Without his help, this film would have only been maybe half the level of quality it is now. Thank you T-Diddy.
Got a Pinball story to share? Post it in the comments! Here’s my story:
As a child of the 80’s, I grew up playing video games and Pinball. There’s no denying the powerful influence of video games in that era, and while Pinball didn’t necessarily feel “old” it certainly didn’t drain my quarters like Mortal Kombat did. Still, when I felt like no games in the arcade left a challenge there were always a handful of Pinball machines in the back staring me down. Those were games I knew I could never beat. As I grew older the arcades faded away, and I hadn’t seen or played a Pinball machine outside of a few in bars.
Sometime around 2005, I read this New York Times article by David Kushner – “It’s Still a Mean Pinball, but Video Glitz Is Edging In“. It was the first I had heard of Stern, and I was shocked to learn that they were the only company left in the world still manufacturing Pinball machines. A lot of the memories came flooding back, particularly ones regarding Medieval Madness. I continued to read more articles like this – “Game Over“. The more I read, the more I was convinced that Stern’s days were numbered and Pinball was about to become obsolete. More importantly: Pinball was about to die and nobody cared. So I began developing a film around it with the idea that at least somebody will be there to see it off.
Then the fall of 2008 arrived. It was a bedlam of economic turmoil: industry declines and the massive retreat of consumerism threatened the entertainment industry on all fronts, and I believed this was the death knell for Pinball. I reached out to Tim Arnold, founder of the Pinball Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, after hearing him give an interview with Shaggy from the “This Old Pinball” podcast. Tim was an interesting guy, and I knew he’d be a good connection to have as my film idea was developed. In November 2008, I visited him in Las Vegas to get an idea of the status of the Pinball industry and to gather more information about certain key members of the Pinball industry. Tim showed me some numbers from the Stern production line that month, and it looked grim. Rumors of mass layoffs at Stern also fueled the fire that was burning down the only standing house of Pinball.
Alas, that’s where my Pinball adventure was to end. In March 2009, we dropped everything to go make “The Woods Belong To Us” in Oregon. The time was right for that film, so we had to act on it. While working on that film I hardly thought about Pinball. We were neck deep in mountain bikes, trails, biting flies, allergens, and golden dirt. All we could think was “free riders, single track, sweet jumps, and stoked”.
I think David Lynch said it best though: ideas are like fish.
As we soldiered on through production on Woods, one evening I decided to check in on the state of the Pinball industry. I came across a Twitter account called Pacific Pinball and picked up on an exposition happening somewhere in California. It just so happened that we would be spending two weeks in California to finish filming Woods at the same time.
Well, I guess my adventure wasn’t over yet. It only took me about ten minutes of research before I fired off an e-mail to the Pacific Pinball Museum asking for more information. A few days later I was on the phone with one Larry Zartarian, and we spent about 45 minutes waxing poetic about Pinballs, pinheads, and whether or not the Pinball industry would be pushing up daisies within the next year. Larry was adamant that this would not be Pinball’s fate, even with the collapse of our economy. I told him I was game, and we’d come down to film them and include them as part of our Pinball film.
In late September 2009, we left an unusually warm Oregon for the sunny mild breeze of the San Francisco Bay area. It wasn’t long after we arrived that we met Mike and Larry, who introduced us to all of the people you’ll see here in the film. I’ll let the film speak for itself, but we had a great time and met a lot of really nice people.
It was at PPM3 that we learned about Special When Lit, and decided that their documentary covered too much of the same ground that we wanted to. However, those filmmakers never interviewed the PPM, so I hope our little film can fill in the gap they left with that oversight.
Enjoy.
Posted In: Commentary, Featured, Films
Tagged: California, documentary, excited, Film, Pacific Pinball Museum, pinball, Pinheads, ppm, short, video
James K
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Nice work guys, was super interesting!
Turd Ferguson
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Very intriguing. Just goes to show there are factions that follow any and all facets of tech. Man, they are the original gamers and they are still gamin’ away. Great pinball Jesus picture…oh wait. I want to know what Larry is doing at the 4 minute mark? Also , Black Face at 5:28! HA. My Pinball story? None..I never enjoyed it, what was the thrill of losing out on a quarter with only like 3 minutes max of play time. It was like a slot machine but worse because you never got your money back. Plus street fighter had a bigger draw obviously. Still good to see those keeping it alive. Great work men.
Frank Fhurter
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Larry looks to be shaking a can of something (paint maybe?) @ 4:00’ish.
Jon C.
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Awesome film. My only complaint is that it isn’t longer.
This is a really interesting subject, and really strikes a nerve with anyone who grew up with arcades. Our childhoods have died, and future generations of kids won’t have tales about how they got away from their parents for the weekend, to engage in these social activities.
What depresses me the most is: these are the last guys who give a shit. These guys are forever going to be the only people who know how to, or are willing to, fix and preserve these machines. The ‘Pinball Doctor’ is the last of his kind. It just drives home the idea of mortality, for me. At some point in the future, we are going to be these guys, trying as hard as we can to preserve the things that we grew up with. And just like with Pinball, most will not bat an eye.
I disagree that “Special When Lit” edges out this film in any way. I feel like both films focus on different topics, and each serve a purpose. If the desire to ever continue this story came to pass, I would definitely be on board.
Ricardo
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Looks awesome, excellent work. Def brought back some good memories of playing pinball.
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Mike Page
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I’ve been a EM Pinball Collector for just over 20 years and I thought it was a Great movie I just wish it was longer. I was shocked to see these so called pinball history experts not knowing the date of the Gottlieb Jumping Jack at the very end of the movie. they thought it was from the late 60’s. it a 1973 model with the Beautiful Classic art of Gordon Morrison.
Greg
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They had a brief argument over the date and arrived at the accurate one, however it was cut from the film in the interest of time
Frank Fhurter
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I couldn’t agree more with you, Morrison produced some (if not all) the great art from that era. Truly wonderful stuff! I’m about to take possession of the 4 player Jack in the Box and can’t wait!
Salvatron
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Rocknroll! Perfect pacing! Excellent score! Love how the colors pop! w00t!
Jeanette
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pretty awesome, of course it made me nostalgic for a space in time that does seem to be lost, I grew up playing pinball, started at the bowling alley….there were no computers, video games only pinball and skee ball, I guess you can say they were a precursor to some of today’s electronic games….just like the “real” slot machines have now been replaced by computer slots, a lot of the “art” is lost. It makes me happy that these guys are preserving the pinball legacy, it really is an important part of “Americana” and this film greatly depicts the lost art, I would love to see more…kudos to all!
Greywolf
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I have not yet seen the film (work machine doesn’t do flash/movies), but I will stand with Chris Kuntz (D.V.A.), Clay Harrell, Chris Nash (D. S. Ag.), Michael Schiess and Larry Zartarian (Ce. S. Ag.), et alumni as an avid hobbyist-Doctorus Sphera Argentum, “preserving the hobby, one machine at a time”.
I was exposed to pinball at age 8 but didn’t really start to appreciate it until a year later. The years were 1974-1976, and man, was pinball trouble. Even at that early age, it began to consume my thoughts to the point that it was detrimental to my schoolwork. My span of active interest in pinball was in games from 1972 thru 1984, and you could not ask for a richer era to sample in terms of sound, artwork, rulesets and innovation. It was a beautiful time.
I am looking forward to watching this sometime this weekend.
[D.V.A. = Doctorus Venatus Arcadia – Doctor of Arcade Games
[Ce. S. Ag. = Curatoriae Sphera Argentus – Curators of the Silver Ball
[D. S. Ag. = Doctorus Sphera Argentus – Doctor of the Silver Ball
Debbie Hierath
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Good Job Uwe, We have two machines in our basement. Next time you are home come out and play a few games.
Mike W. from NJ
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Outstanding, I got the chills watching this. I’m with the poster above with the thought that a longer (50 minute?) segment would be a perfect length. I’ve been on the edge of my seat waiting for the release of some of Gordon’s presentation from last year to hit the airwaves. He’s the velvet fog of Pinball and the people demand more (the people have spoken!).
Dondi B
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Great job! We need a part 2! I know Michael and i just realized how much work and sacrifice he puts into his work! When i meet him he seems really cool, happy and relaxed (obviously fueled by passion) The video shows how much of himself he has given to the cause. A big thank you for that!
I am building my collection in the Philippines and will spread the word here.
Great video great job!,,,,
Aaron M
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Nice job. I am glad that you made the effort, because there is something pasionate about people who collect. You want to learn more all the time. You bee-line towards a table that you have never played like a cute girl at a dance. You search craig list and ebay to see where you next fix will come from. Thanks for putting it together and I hope you cover this years edition of the show.
jsd
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Fantastic job guys. I have been to the expo the last 3 years running but I never made it to the Museum in Alameda until just this past weekend. Spooky timing that I would discover your film only a few days later!
My thanks to Larry, Michael, Gordon, Richard and anyone else who has contributed to the Museum/Expo. I wish I could do more myself but it’s great to see the people who are keeping the flame alive.
Flip on.
Jeff Miller
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I have been restoring olf classic pinball machines for about 5 years now. I have restored about 15 machines and have 8 in my collection. Keep up the great work guys. Maybe someday I will donated one of my fully restored machines to the museum!
Jeff Miller
aka Pinball Pimp
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Frank Fhurter
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My earliest exposure to pinball was through the Who’s Tommy when I was only seven years old. I recall playing the newest games when I was eleven at the local 7-11s. I was often found by family or school teachers enjoying the latest games. With cigarettes in pocket I was being a dedicated truant.
Your short documentary brings back fond memories for me personally and professionally. Thank you for telling a story which still matters to so many, but forgotten by so many more.
Its possibly ironic how my father years later would establish some on the first Pinball Parlors in Seattle during the mid to late 70s. By the early 80s our family business had shut them down due to video coming and problems with clientele and locations.
After many years of never even remembering pinball, my personal collection has grown to eight restored machines, and one that is in need of some help.
These treasures of fun deserve their stories be told.
Paul Le Brett
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I really think the video does a great job showing and telling the wonderful work and passion of all the people who make the museum and the Pacific Pinball event such a great success!!! I have gone to the
show every year and will never miss one as long as I live!! I hope I can help in the future when I retire.
Thank You very much for all you do to save this “art form”. Cheers, Paul Le Brett The Table Valley Arcade.
Heaven
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Wow I must confess you make some very trhcaennt points.
Andy D
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Being fairly new to the pinball collector / restorer scene , I am totally stoked that people around the world share the same passion and don’t want to see this beautiful thing called pinball slip into the unknown . I share my 5 pinnies with family and friends and get a real high watching them smile and play , from as young as 3 to my dad who is 78 ! It is not only a static art form but can also be an engaging one too !
Mesmerising video and truly a pleasure to watch . Keep up the fantastic work you do at PPM and lets hope we can have a museum here in Australia one day if a group of guys want to pool their collection .
AWESOME .
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Good Job Uwe, We have two machines in our basement. Next time you are home come out and play a few games.
totobo
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Thank you very much. Nice article.