Meet the Small Production Team Behind the Films of Song of Sunset: Underground
The films featured in Song of Sunset: Underground were not created by a sprawling production company or a large crew moving from location to location. They were made by a small group of filmmakers and collaborators who believe that intimate stories are often best captured by staying close to the people and places at their center.
That approach became especially important while creating Cosmic Heirloom: Buried 400 Years and Salvaged Reverb: Inside the Legendary Robert Lang Studios. Although the films explore very different subjects, both are built around hidden histories, personal discovery and people preserving stories that might otherwise disappear.
Brian Craig Hinderberger — Director and Producer
Song of Sunset creator Brian Craig Hinderberger directed the films and developed them as part of a larger live cinema and music experience.
As a filmmaker, musician and professional content creator, Brian’s goal is not simply to produce documentaries and place them into a traditional screening program. Each film is created with the live audience in mind—designed to lead naturally into music, conversation and an opportunity to hear directly from the people behind the story.
Brian also appears on camera in Salvaged Reverb, walking through Robert Lang Studios with Robert Lang and allowing the studio’s creator to explain the building in his own words.
Jordan Chamberlain — Director of Photography
Director of Photography Jordan Chamberlain helped establish the visual language of both films.
For Cosmic Heirloom, Jordan captured an intimate conversation with writer and featured subject David Moss as he explored the suppressed history and modern rediscovery of psilocybin.
For Salvaged Reverb, the challenge was entirely different. Robert Lang Studios is a handmade maze of stone, reclaimed materials, recording rooms, hallways and decades of accumulated music history. Capturing it required more than documenting a building. The photography needed to communicate the personality, scale and texture of a place Robert has spent nearly five decades creating.
Jordan’s camera work gives audiences the feeling of moving through the studio alongside Robert and Brian.
David Moss — Writer, Featured Subject and Co-Producer
David Moss wrote and appears in Cosmic Heirloom: Buried 400 Years. Drawing upon his interests in longevity, science and human history, David guides the audience through the long and frequently suppressed story of humanity’s relationship with psilocybin.
David also serves as a co-producer on Salvaged Reverb, extending his collaboration with Song of Sunset into the development of another story about history, preservation and rediscovery.
His involvement reflects the collaborative nature of these productions. The people behind Song of Sunset are not confined to a single role; they contribute ideas, research, production support and creative perspective wherever the story needs them.
Benjamin Chia — Executive Producer
Executive producer Benjamin Chia helped provide support behind the production of Salvaged Reverb.
Independent documentaries depend on people who recognize the value of a story before the finished film exists. Executive support gives a small filmmaking team the ability to move from an idea into research, travel, production and post-production while protecting the intimacy that made the story compelling in the first place.
Robert Lang — The Story at the Center
Although Robert Lang is the film’s featured subject rather than a member of its production crew, Salvaged Reverb could not exist without his trust and generosity.
Robert opened the doors to the extraordinary recording studio he has built largely by hand and without formal blueprints. As he guides the filmmakers through the space, he shares the friendships, sacrifices, setbacks and determination behind a studio connected to artists including Nirvana, Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Peter Frampton, Dave Matthews Band and Death Cab for Cutie.
The film ultimately became more than a record of music history. It became a portrait of an individual who continued building because he believed extraordinary creative spaces still matter.
The official trailer’s cover photograph was created by photographer Brandon Voges.
Small Crew, Personal Stories
Working with a compact production team allowed these films to remain personal. There were fewer barriers between the camera and the subject, greater freedom to follow unexpected moments and more room for genuine conversation.
That same philosophy shapes Song of Sunset itself. The technology, filmmaking, music and live production are all designed to serve the story without overwhelming it. Audiences do not need to see every mechanism operating behind the scenes. They only need to feel the result.
Cosmic Heirloom: Buried 400 Years and Salvaged Reverb: Inside the Legendary Robert Lang Studios will be featured as part of Song of Sunset: Underground in Bend and Seattle this fall. Each screening will be presented within a live sequence of film, music and conversation—bringing the filmmakers, subjects, artists and audience together in the same room.
