For this project, I collaborated with Shaan and Jason. Using Union Square as both topic and setting, we created a crowd source movie that expressed the hopes and wishes of its occupants in improvement of the space.
Inspired by Dr. Seuss’ gift for expressing serious issues through bazar imaginative tales, we borrowed from the structure rhyme style of his book If I Ran the Zoo in creating our own original script – If I Ran the Park. Through interviews with regulars from Union Square, we were able to crowd source content for the script that adhered to the realities of the park.
Here are some of the more interesting replies to our questions:
Interview Example 01: http://youtu.be/fjTfsKjTLW8
Interview Example 02: http://youtu.be/2bLzJ8tV8WE
Interview Example 03: http://youtu.be/CFmz6OTBSc4
Interview Example 04: http://youtu.be/jOXxfzYc9WI
We camped out at Union Square for a week to collect enough volunteers to participate in our “movie”. Each participant was asked to read four lines of script before a stabilized camera set in front of the steps of Union Square. We then chose one line from each participant and pieced the “auditions” together into our final movie.
Our project description, script, movie and auditions were then posted onto a wordpress blog we set up: http://ifiranthepark.wordpress.com/.
Besides interviews, we also were able to capture footage of everyday activities and happens on Union Square. Our frequent appearance made us regulars as well, people began to recognize us and would sometimes come by to say hi or look out for us. Occasionally, people even helped us campaign our “cause”. We also became familiar with the regulars, and are able to identify their individual personalities and behaviors. So, I plan to create a short documentary about the social dynamics of Union Square in accompany of our final. This documentary is still in progress.
This was my first public project, the experience was very eye-opening, I would be interested in working on further projects of this nature.
