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I'm currently in-production on a new documentary project focusing on the farmers, researchers, politicians and business men and women that are reintroducing hemp back into Kentucky's (post-coal and tobacco) economy. It's a super exciting story to follow and watch the industry unfold. Kentucky's history with hemp is deep-rooted, but our nation's relationship is complicated. I will have more to share in late June, but follow me on Instagram for occasional field updates.
I'm honored to have shot featured in the FreeFly Systems commercial, not only because it's a special moment as a filmmaker, but also because I LOVE FreeFly's MōVI M5. An upcoming video I am releasing with The Bitter Southerner was shot using the MōVI. Watch for that to drop soon and keep your eye our the little girl waving around fire sparklers in the commercial...that's me! You can license that content too on Story & Heart.
[vimeo 124556378 w=500 h=281]
Stay Curious from Freefly on Vimeo.
A friend wrote me asking for resources to find/discover/learn about interactive storytelling. I compiled my list of go-to links and sent her an email, but decided that it may be helpful for all of you too! So below, I have listed out the sites that I like to go to for updates in interactive storytelling. There are certainly many more (add the ones you love in the comments section) but these are my favorites, and have a bit of a non-fiction slant to them.
I'm so incredibly honored to be put on this Southern Living magazine list of the 50 People Who are Changing the South in 2015. You gotta check out the lineup...they're some seriously awesome people on the list.
Being from West Virginia--weird Appalachian middle ground between the South and North--I've never really considered myself Southern. Nevertheless, I am very happy to rep the Mountain State!
Thanks to Southern Living for including me and for taking the time to get to know HOLLOW.
Photo by: Elle Effect
Thanks to the Magnum Foundation for having me as a guest back in October 2014. They just released the recorded presentation and following Q&A. If you're interested in learning about the process of making HOLLOW, check it out!
[vimeo 112433263 w=450 h=253]
Also, check out all the other speakers on Magnum's Vimeo Channel.
My mom sent me this treasure the other via a text message. I was going about my day, but this made me stop. Wow...I thought. What an amazing document to just be texted into your life. It's your blood line. Your family tree. Your roots. The people that made you...well you. I continue to be fascinated by my family's roots in Appalachia. Kudos to my Great Uncle Roy who created this beauty. I think I might update it soon...more to come.
In collaboration with Helios Design Labs and the Red Cross EU, we bring you The DISASTER RESILIENCE JOURNAL. Over the next 42 days, we will bring you stories from people all across the world. Stories of the natural disasters people face and the steps they are taking to overcome them. Some of these stories are photos and text, while others are video-driven. Micro-games allow you to simulate preparing for a disaster and interviews with experts provide insight into resilience. We just launched the journal today, but the fun begins tomorrow as new stories and games appear daily. Make sure to check out the site everyday to watch the stories unfold (some of my favorite stories and game wont appear until 20 days in!) To learn more about the project and see "my favorites" list click here. To read about our process check out Mike Robbin's post on the Helios blog.
Join us for this 42-day journey!
We sold out of the first 100 t-shirts and have ordered more! If you place your order now, expect your t-shirt to arrive in 3-4 weeks.
The Revivalist gives their thoughts on the [app-uh-latch-uh] tees
Luckily, there’s no need to correct anyone’s pronunciation anymore. Just slip into this instructional t-shirt the next time you’ll be around folks who insist on saying Appalachia that other way, and they’ll get the picture pretty darned fast.
MEDIUM: Inside the World Press Photo Multimedia Jury
Including some great tips for storytelling and a mention of HOLLOW
The Hillville writes about [app-uh-latch-uh] t-shirts
For many citizens and natives of Central and Southern Appalachia, watching the meteorologists on the Weather Channel pronounce the name of our mountain range is a cringe-worthy experience: “There’s a storm system making it’s way across the midwest and will hit the Appa-LAY-shun mountains of Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.”
HOLLOW will be exhibited at the American Museum of Natural History
The project will be in the Grand Gallery from October 23-26 for the Margaret Mead Film Festival.
HOLLOW is a finalist in the Online Journalism Awards
Winners will be announced in Chicago on September 27.
We moved to Miami!
Just a personal update, Kerrin and I moved to Miami Beach last week. We will be based here through January working on our next documentary and interactive project. More to come! Follow my Instagram for daily snaps.
Two months ago I stumbled onto Story & Heart on Twitter. It was marketed (very quietly) as a story-driven stock footage site. As a filmmaker and journalist, who is constantly documenting life, I was thrilled. The idea that I could potentially make money off of work that may never see the light of day was intriguing. I quickly applied and was accepted. Yesterday, Story & Heart went live. Now anyone can license my footage for their project.
I'm excited to see how S&H grows, but mostly I am thankful for the people behind it who have been so personal and generous during the process of building this filmmaking community. Holding weekly online meet-ups and putting together beautifully crafted and informational PDFs with guest filmmakers are just some of the reasons I feel lucky to be part of this community. The first time I received a phone call from S&H, I was shocked. Wait...they actually care about how I am progressing with creating my profile and uploading stories? It was pretty awesome to have such personal connection in a world full of generic contact forms and unanswered emails.
Also, now as a member of S&H I think about how to spend my downtime a little differently. Why waste time in front of my computer when there is a great, big world out there just full of stories waiting to be captured? The biggest drawback for me is talent releases. I have shot well over 15 TB of great footage that would be fantastic on the platform but because this is a licensing platform, I must have releases for all individuals who appear in the footage. For most of my footage, this is nearly impossible. So far, I have only uploaded five stories so far but plan to kick it in high-gear over the next few months!
Thanks Story & Heart for being so cool.
Also, check out my niece (with sparklers) in S&H's launch video: [vimeo 103090147 w=759 h=427]
I traveled to Gunnison County, Colo., to make this video about two towns that had taken different paths since medicinal marijuana was legalized in 2000 and recreational marijuana sales began this year. One, Crested Butte, has embraced the sale of retail and medicinal marijuana; the other, Gunnison, has so far rejected it. (While anyone in the state over 21 is free to use the drug on private property, it’s up to local governments to decide whether it can be sold.)
I spoke with a wide cross section of people – including politicians, educators, store owners, police officers and two guys who hope to strike it rich in the legal marijuana trade. Yet I found it surprisingly challenging to find someone to speak for the oppositional side. Many told me this was because marijuana was not a new recreational drug to the state; Colorado and weed have a long history, they said. Others said, “It’s just not that big of a deal.” I called an individual who was deep-rooted in the ranching community who said that finding ranchers to talk about it would be nearly impossible. They were “not in favor” of the new laws but weren’t comfortable talking about this to journalists.
Yet I did find a sense of caution: concerns about access for youth, proper labeling and fair taxation. And one thing everybody agrees on is that this new legislation is a huge experiment.
LINKS:
We had over 250 people (including 10 McDowell residents) at our viewing, discussion and reception at the U.S. Capitol. Thanks to Senator Manchin for hosting such a fantastic event.
What?!? This is crazy and exciting. CONGRATS to our whole team and the residents of McDowell County on this HUGE honor.
We are Emmy nominated in the category of New Approaches: Documentaries.
Also, don't forget about our screening next week at the US Capitol. Information here.
Attend a special screening D.C. at the US Capitol with Senator Manchin on July 22. RSVP here HollowEvent@manchin.senate.gov
MORE NEWS
HOLLOW mentioned in Wired.UK
Interview with Grant Scott, of the United Nations of Photography
Interview on WMMT (Whitesburg, KY)
The full, uncut ceremony is now online. We are in Part 2 (below) starting at 44:09 [vimeo 97143901 w=700 h=394]
Hello Hollow visitors, I wanted to write a short post and let you know that we are experiencing some issues with our server. These issues range from extremely slow load times, videos not playing, images and buttons being missing and redirect issues with Firefox and Internet Explorer.
We recently relocated the project to a new server and with that issues have presented some challenges to our users when trying to view content. We ask that you please be patient with us during this time.
Interactive storytelling projects are extremely frustrating and expensive to maintain. Issues with the website can change and occur at any moment without us knowing and we are now trying to figure out how to resolve some new bugs.
We invite you to visit our VIMEO page to view the video content in the meantime.
We have created channels for each sequence of the interactive doc. Some of the videos are still uploading but head on over and check out what is there!
THESE ROOTS: https://vimeo.com/channels/theseroots FOR EACH OTHER: https://vimeo.com/channels/foreachother FOR THE LAND: https://vimeo.com/channels/fortheland WHEN COAL WAS KING: https://vimeo.com/channels/whencoalwasking AROUND THE BEND: https://vimeo.com/channels/aroundthebend
Thanks for sticking with us,
Elaine elaine@hollowthefilm.com
We hope this inspires you to go to Chile. [vimeo 89446356 w=854 h=480]
Filmed in Atacama and Patagonia on the Canon 5D Mark III
MORE MEDIA:
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- Hollow an interactive documentary that explores the issues and future of small-town America, was named as an official honoree in the Community Category in the 18th annual Webby Awards. Established in 1996, the Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Hollow, which launched June 2013, tells the story of 30 residents living in McDowell County, W.Va., a once-thriving community in Southern West Virginia. The interactive documentary merges cinematic techniques with web-based storytelling to encourage a dialogue about the issues that small-town America faces.
Hollow was created by group of Boston-based designers, editors and developers. The development and post-production team included Elaine McMillion Sheldon (project director and editor), Jeff Soyk (interactive designer and architect), Robert Hall (senior technologist), Russell Goldenburg (interactive developer), Billy Wirasnik (sound designer and editor), Tricia Fulks (associate producer and research), Sarah Ginsburg (editor) and Kerrin Sheldon (editor).
Official Honorees’ work exhibit remarkable achievement that was not selected as a Nominee in the Webby Awards. Out of 12,000 entries submitted from more than 60 countries and all 50 states, the Official Honoree distinction is awarded to only the top 15 percent of all work entered.
Future screenings of the film will be held at Shepherd University (Shepherdstown, W.Va.) on April 11; Wheeling Jesuit University (Wheeling, W.Va.) on April 15; Nyon, Switzerland from April 27 to 29; and Vermont College of Fine Arts (Montpelier, Vt.) from April 30 to May 3.
To experience the interactive documentary, visit www.hollowdocumentary.com.
To purchase a DVD, visit http://projecthollow.bigcartel.com/.
To see a full list of awards and screenings, visit: http://tinyurl.com/ng9wo2z.
It was announced yesterday, but I am still grasping the reality.
What an amazing honor for our team and project to be recognized for this award.
