On April 1, Plexifilm will release the DVD of first time film director Sam Jones's featurelength documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart." The critically acclaimed film follows the Chicago-based alt-country band Wilco as they record their fourth album "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot." During the 18 months of shooting, Jones managed to catch the group parting ways with their former label over artistic differences, band member changes, touring, and signing with their new label.

Director Sam Jones was online to discuss his documentary, Wilco and its DVD release.

A transcript follows.

Jones is a professional photographer and commercial director living in Los Angeles.

Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.

Sam Jones: Hi, this is Sam. Just wanted to say that I am new to this whole online chat thing, but I will do my best to answer as many questions as possible. Thank you to everyone who is logged on and writing in. This is an exciting day for everyone that has worked so hard on the film, because the DVD is officially in stores (a day I thought would never come!) So here we go....

San Francisco, Calif.: Was there any time where you felt like you had crossed the line and invaded the band's privacy more than what you felt was necessary to tell the story you were trying to tell?

Sam Jones: I had a talk with the band at the beginning of filming about this very issue. The band agreed to give me complete access, and they also agreed to having no say over the final edit, and in fact, the band didn't even view the movie until it was too late to make any changes. In light of all of the turmoil that happened throughout filming, I was relieved that we had worked this issue out up front, but I think the band would have stayed out of the way regardless. I don't think they wanted a movie that they were in control of.

Arlington, Va.: Hello Sam --

Love the film, I'm just about to go out and get the DVD.

Just wondering if you've turned much profit yet on the film? I know it must have been expensive.

Sam Jones: I'm afraid I am a long ways away from seeing a profit. It is amazing to me how thinly the pie gets sliced when distributors, licensing, marketing, advertising etc. get involved.

Silver Spring, Md.: Hey Sam,
I loved the movie and am looking forward to picking up the DVD this week. Here's my question: In the scene in which Jeff Tweedy and Jay Bennett argue over the transition into "Heavy Metal Drummer," there is a distinct lack of communication going on between them. In your experience, was this "normal" for them at the time? If so, I'm surprised that musical partnership lasted as long as it did. After seeing the film in a theatre, I heard people actually making fun of Bennett for nearly crying during the interview following his firing. But I felt sorry for the guy -- that he had to put up with Tweedy for so long. I love Wilco and am glad Tweedy has the creative unit around him that he wants now. But I think Bennett's invaluable input will always be missed. Secondly, I read where you did some selective editing in that part of the film and that Tweedy running to the bathroom to throw-up (due to a migraine) actually happened prior to the argument. If true, do you feel that was deceptive to the audience? Thanks and thanks for the film.

Sam Jones: I certainly don't want to go into discussing my take on Jeff and Jay's relationship, but I will say that I made every effort to represent honestly both sides of the situation. I will say that in retrospect it seems as though Jay was ganged up on because there are five voices to his one in the film. I agree that Jay was an incredible musician that contributed hugely to the band. As for the vomit scene, I can attest to you that it was edited in sequence, and in fact right after throwing up Jeff is pale and sweaty, and drinks a Diet Coke. That scene is shown at the end of the argument, and if you look at Jeff, you can tell how miserable he feels. I don't know where you read about the scene being out of sequence, but I can assure you it is not.

Conductus, Wash.: Given that in an early Southern California interview you were quoted as saying "KISS is the greatest rock band in the world," I'm curious why Wilco was your choice as a documentary subject?

Sam Jones: Unfortunately, KISS was not touring when I started thinking about making a film, so I had to choose Wilco.

Arlington, Va.: Two questions: Considering the cost implications, why did you decide to use film rather than video? How many cameras did you use?

Sam Jones: I love the look of film, and I had no idea I would shoot as many hours of footage as I did when I started out. We used two cameras sometimes, and one camera at other times, due to budget constraints. Also, we were often in too small of spaces for two cameras!

Charlottesville, Va.: Mr. Jones, I saw your documentary a few months ago and thought it was great. The story also turned out to be more dramatic than you must have anticipated. Did the members of the band ask you to turn off the camera at any crucial point, and did you agree to it?

Sam Jones: I can only think of one time when Jeff asked me to turn off the camera, and it was fifteen minutes before he was supposed to go on stage at the Great American Music Hall. I think he was having a tough time and wanted to be alone for a few minutes before he had to go face a crowd. But that is the only time I can remember.

Far Far Away: Loved the movie and was lucky enough to see it in big screen glory (at high volume)

Is Jeff a collaborative writer, or does he present a batch of songs to the band for them to learn? The movie presents the YHF songs as fully-realized pieces that are available for deconstruction by the full band. That seemed to be where Jay (and now O'Rourke in Loose Fur) had the most latitude to contribute.

Did you have any access to the songwriting process?

Sam Jones: From what I observed, a song usually started in one of Jeff's many notebooks. He seemed to be writing all the time, and would often have an acoustic version of a song together. But I think that there are probably as many different ways of coming up with a song as there are songs on Wilco's records. I know that Jay and Jeff collaborated on songs for YHF, but I didn't see a lot of those songs being written.

Why See Your Movie?: I am not a Wilco fan simply because I do not know them. Why would I go see your movie? What makes your film transcendental for us non-Wilco fans?

I would hope you didn't make a movie in order to pander to Wilco fans (I am thinking Led Zeppelin and The Song Remains the Same).

Sam Jones: I can't promise a transcendental experience, but I will say that my Mom loved the movie, and she doesn't like that loud rock music.

New York, N.Y.: How difficult was it to finance this film? Also, if you were doing it over again, what would you do differently?

Sam Jones: It was as simple as cleaning out my savings account. No, really, it was very difficult, and I am lucky that two people, Peter Abraham and Gary Hustwit stepped in and put their own money up in good faith because they believed in the project. If I was to do it again I would definitely find a financier first!

Alexandria, Va.: What advice would you give to someone who wants to make a movie about a band?

Sam Jones: Find one that is about to be dropped before they make the best album of the year. No, just kidding. I think it's very important to establish the band's role in the film up front, and to work out the music licensing before you start shooting. It is also really important to have a theme for the film going in. Or else you will just find yourself shooting everything and never feeling like you are getting enough footage. You really have to focus on one topic, and let the rest go.

Univ. of North Carolina: How long does it take documentary subjects to get comfortable being filmed ... put another way, how long before the camera becomes invisible to them?

Sam Jones: I'm sure everyone is different. I think as a cameraman you have to adapt to the situation, and try to figure out how you can make yourself blend in with the situation. I was lucky because I have a music background, so I was able to fit in the studio a bit more than someone who had never been in that situation.

Washington, D.C.: Hi Sam. I'm another person who loved the film and plans to pick up the DVD. What can we expect from it? I've heard there will be lots more footage, lots more songs.

Sam Jones: There are 17 extra songs on the DVD, and I tried to include the best performances and most intimate moments. Soon there will also be four more songs on the wilcofilm site. These are Woody Guthrie/Wilco songs that we could not secure licensing for on the DVD, but for some reason we can give them away for free on the web. You can see them as Quicktime clips at www.wilcofilm.com/dvdextras.htm

Washington, D.C.: Sam --

If you shot 80 hours of film, even the DVD extras (thanks, by the way) don't come close to using it all. What's going to happen to all that other stuff from the cutting room floor?

Us Wilco fanatics would love a shot at seeing even more. Any chance?

Sam Jones: Well, that's a good question. I suppose someday down the road if there was interest we will put out a special 25 year anniversary edition and charge people all over again! Of course, I will be really old then, and will need all of your money. Ha ha.

Manley, Va.: I saw in the booklet that came with the DVD that Jeff took a few pictures with your cameras. Conversely, did you throw in any ideas for Yankee Hotel Foxtrot?

Sam Jones: I suggested that they call the album "now go see the movie" but they didn't like that title, for some reason.

Down by the River, Va.: I would just like to express how much I enjoyed "I Am Trying To Break Your Heart." It was very interesting to see a band having to struggle with the corporate machine, and come out winning in the end.

While almost every music critic in the country had 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' listed in their Top 10 Albums of the Year, at last month's Grammy awards, the band was shut out of every major category. Do you see this as just an extension of the corporate industry pushing product over art? And if so, how do we explain the "O' Brother Where Art Thou" phenomena of the previous year -- when outstanding music trumped modern 'country' mainstream?

Sam Jones: I don't think that the Grammy's has much to do with musical taste or is any indicator for what is good or bad. I know that most every album that gets nominated already has sales of over 750,000, so that could have something to do with it. But I am just speculating. I know it didn't bother the band to be excluded.

Alexandria, Va.: Your film has been grouped by critics with a number of well known and well received band-documentaries. When you were making this film, were there any documentaries you were trying to emulate -- either by feel or style?

Sam Jones: I have seen many music docs, and the ones I love attempt to get as close to the artists as possible. I was really trying to do that, so I suppose in a way I was emulating things like "Don't Look Back," "Let it Be," Sympathy for the Devil," and such.

Baltimore, Md.: Hi Sam, I'd just like to THANK YOU for making a film about my favorite band. My favorite scene on the whole DVD was the one with the camera spinning while 'I'm the man who loves you' is playing. Did you consider putting that in the original release (it was on the bonus).

Thanks, great job.

Sam Jones: Thank you. I didn't put that in the original film, but I always liked that scene because it started out as the band trying to "mess up the continuity" and it ended up being a sweet moment. It was nice going into initial editing knowing I could save some things for the DVD that didn't fit into the movie.

Washington, D.C.: Sam -- How much influence did other rock documentaries have on your movie? Any covert (or overt) homages to others? Do you have a favorite?

Sam Jones: I already kind of answered this, but I will say that the moments backstage on Jeff's solo tour are a pretty dead-on imitation if not homage to some of the moments in "Don't Look Back." The harmonica doesn't hurt either.

Arlington, Va.: What equipment did you use to edit the film, and how long did editing take?

Sam Jones: Ah, yes, another scintillating equipment question. Well, we used an Avid, about 1500 3x5 notecards, and lots of highlighters. And it took a long time. Months.

Washington, D.C.: Hi Sam, Thanks for the film. The city of Chicago seems to have a starring role in your film and it looks amazing in black and white. Did the opportunity to film scenes in such a great city play into your choice to film Wilco?

Sam Jones: I really didn't consider Chicago as a character in the film until Jeff took me driving around the city while he played me new songs on his car stereo. I think I just started associating the batch of songs that would become YHF with the skyline of Chicago. That also led to the photographs I did for their record.

Somewhere, USA: Do you have any other films in the works? Also, is it hard to go back to doing commercials after getting to make something you really wanted to make?

Sam Jones: I will only say that I am trying to adopt the Monty Python mantra, "and now for something completely different." And the next movie may involve motorcycles.

Manley, Va.: Can you give us an idea what the conversation was like between you and Jeff when you decided to make a documentary? Was it primarily his decision or was it made collectively by the band and Tony?

Sam Jones: I originally met with Tony and Jeff. I think Jeff was intrigued with the idea of being the subject of an art project that he had no control over. Jeff is an experimental guy, and I think he felt that having a camera crew in the loft while the record was being made might actually create a different atmosphere that would lead to different approaches to recording. He was very open to chaos, I think.

Manley, Va.: If you got to listen to only one Wilco song for the rest of your life, which one would it be? You could listen to any other music you wanted, but to you Wilco would be a one-hit wonder -- what's that hit?

Sam Jones: I would listen to "Broken Limb" which I don't know if many people have heard.

Bethesda, Md.: There is a point in the film when Wilco is singing Monday. And in that song there is "get me out of TLA" Jay's old band Titantic Love Affair. And when Jeff and John sing that lyric they look at each other and smile. Did you capture this and put it in the movie in the sequence you did because of Jay's departure?

Sam Jones: This is like that scream in "Roller Coaster" (the girl being murdered while the band was recording the song). No, I didn't even think of that. I just loved that moment of communication that happens on stage.

Washington, D.C.: Sam -- How nervous were you at the first dinner with Tony and Jeff? What kind of presentation did you have for them?

Sam Jones: I wasn't really nervous. And funny enough, I had no presentation. I had a hotel key and a wallet in my pocket and that was it. But I DID pay for dinner, and I think that clinched the deal.

Baltimore, Md.: Hi Sam,
I was wondering if Jeff ever spoke to you about departed drummer Ken Coomer. Thanks

Sam Jones: I spoke to the entire band (and Ken) about his departure on film. But in the end I decided that the starting point of the movie would be post-Ken, because I had no footage of him actually being in the band.

Somewhere, USA: Is there footage in the film of Wilco playing at All Tomorrow's Parties in Los Angeles from 2002?

Sam Jones: No, there is not.

New York, N.Y.: Do you consider "YHF" a great album. If so, why? Because I ain't figured it out yet!

Sam Jones: You have to play it backwards.

Somewhere, USA: How did Jay Bennet handle your movie? He comes across as a bit eccentric, I'm curious about his reaction to such portrayal.

I love the movie, I'm been waiting for the DVD for a long time. So thanks!

Sam Jones: I know that he didn't feel as warm and fuzzy about it as the rest of the band, but he once said to me "a pro-Wilco movie is an anti-Jay movie," and given the circumstances, I can understand where he is coming from . Jay is a really smart guy, and a really great musician, and I hope he accurately comes off in the movie as caring a great deal about the music that they were making, because he was usually the first one to the studio and the last one to leave.

Baltimore, Md.: Sam, Thanks for your film. Have you spoken to Jay Bennett since the end of filming? His album with Edward Burch is really good!

Sam Jones: I have spoken to Jay. We have spoken a few times since the movie has been released.

Washington, D.C.: Sam, I really enjoyed seeing the documentary on the big screen. I used to go see Jeff play solo at Lounge Ax when I lived in Chicago, so seeing his band documented in such a way seemed to truly do all their hard work some justice. I felt like the film had some really wonderful moments that captured how real and ordinary rock stars can be -- like the scene in the restaurant when neither Jeff or his wife have any cash on them. I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the background/inspiration for the project. Have you always been a Wilco/Tweedy/UT fan? And what was your main purpose behind making the movie? I look forward to seeing it again on DVD. Thanks for your time!

Sam Jones: Well, I had the UT records, and the early Wilco record, but it wasn't until Being There that I was really bowled over by the band. And it seemed like every record they made got better. I figured that the next one (which would become YHF) would be great, and I thought it would make an interesting film to be around a band working at the height of their creative powers. I am not an obsessed fan of the band, but I am a music fan, and Wilco seemed like a perfect band to film: honest, not too well known, and making great music in a pretty organic way.

Alexandria, Va.: Who was the comedian at the Great American Music Hall that was interviewing Jeff about his house in the Hamptons?

Sam Jones: That is Fred Armisen, who can now be seen on Saturday Night Live. I'm not necessarily saying that "I Am Trying to Break your Heart" was his big break, but there were reports of Lorne Michaels sneaking into screenings of the film in New York.

Washington, D.C.: Hey Sam, do you keep in touch with the kid with the corn on the cob from the show in the Midwest?

Sam Jones: Yes, we are pen pals. I just went to his school play, where he had the lead in Oklahoma!

Washington, D.C.: Drummer Glenn Kotche has some pretty interesting instrumentation. What's the strangest thing in his kit?

Sam Jones: That is a hard question, because there are many strange things in Glenn's kit. But in a way the kit itself is notable, because it is the first kit Glenn ever owned, and his parents bought it for him when he was very young. But as for the other items, the ping pong balls with the buckshot are kind of unique, and the home depot floor tiles are nice (and on Kamera). He also has this strange sculpture made out of seemingly old iron garbage that he will occasionally strike violently.

NW, Washington, D.C.: I just wanted to say this was an excellent movie. You did an amazing job! I can't wait to watch the DVD.

Sam Jones: Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

Bay City, Mich.: Was there a point in the filming where you realized that the film you had in your head and the film that was unfolding in front of you were two different beasts?

Sam Jones: The film was definitely a beast! And there were times when I didn't know what story to follow. So I just kept shooting film, figuring I would work it out later.

Los Angeles, Calif.: What is Jeff Tweedy's favorite pizza topping?

Sam Jones: Now we are getting to the real questions! I would have to say jalapeno peppers.

Baltimore, Md.: Hi Sam,

Haven't seen the documentary yet, but am looking forward to renting it on DVD. So what possessed you to film a documentary about a band, who, in the industry's eyes, was poised to fall into obscurity when this album was recorded? I mean, no one predicted what a career-defining album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot would be.

Sam Jones: From the looks of it, the record industry has no idea what is good or bad.

Manley, Va.: Were you surprised by the success of your first film, or did you expect Wilco's cultish following and fans of your previous work to carry the film to all the different theatres at which it played?

Sam Jones: It was a very pleasant surprise that so many theaters showed the film. That was beyond my wildest speculations.

Manley, Va.: Sam,
I figured it might be obvious from the number of questions I was submitting, but I just wanted to say great work on the film. I feel like your documentary affirmed everything I suspected about the amazingness of Wilco, while also letting me get a real sense of what the band's dynamics were. The fact that you saw/see something special in Wilco recommends you highly to me and all who see this film. Props. Alright, that's all I wanted to say in this comment.

Sam Jones: Thanks a lot...

Chitown: Sam - Will the Cubs win the Pennant this year?

Sam Jones: Yes, the Cubs will win the pennant because they picked up Mark Grudzielanek and Eric Karros.

Sam Jones: Thank you to everyone that took the time to write a question. I can only say that I wished I would have studied harder in typing class. I hope everyone enjoys the DVD....Bye.