Documentary on organ building at St. John's Abbey

Greetings – My name is David Klassen, producer of "Full Stops”, a documentary about pipe organ building at St. John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota.

For 160 years, monks and lay craftsmen at St. John’s have created furniture from wood grown sustainably on Abbey property in central Minnesota – desks, chairs, cabinets and statues – all built to encourage life, learning and prayer.

“Full Stops” details a new venture at St. John’s – the sensational woodworking studio for a new generation of organ builders – under the direction of Master Builder Martin Pasi.

Watch as ingots of tin and lead are melted and hammered into lengths of pipe; Listen as all those pipes are tuned to make beautiful music together; See waves of sound oscillating to the beat of classical scores; And feel what happens inside you when the organ at St. John’s Abbey is played – at full stops.

LENGTH

30 minutes

FORMAT

4K resolution, color graded, 24-channel audio, mixed for broadcast.

LOCATIONS

Pasi Organ Builders, Roy, Washington; Abbey Woodworking, Collegeville, Minnesota; St. John’s Abbey Church, Collegeville, Minnesota; Audio engineers in Minneapolis. Others TBD.

BUDGET

$70,000

CREW

Emmy Award-winning writer/producer David Klassen has developed "Full Stops" – with help from extremely talented shooters, grips, jib operators, lighting directors, engineers, animators, editors, mixers and color graders in Minnesota.

DISTRIBUTION

A 10-minute version premieres Spring, 2024 on PBS affiliates in Minnesota. The full 30-minute version will be available for national distribution, Summer, 2024 – with additional distribution by web and social media.

YOUR SUPPORT

I love producing stories about pipe organs. This film is well underway. Welcome your help bringing "Full Stops" to the screen, Spring, 2024.