Pop-Up Documentaries

I’ve recently discovered Storycorps, a company that is working to create a massive archive of personal interview conducted with the goal of capturing a slice of the complex wisdom of humanity. If you haven’t heard of them before, take a minute to check them out, download the app, and try interviewing someone around you in your life.

Something has always fascinated me about the act of documentation. Whether it’s as simple as taking a picture or a video at an event, or as complex as a full documentary on a single subject, we all are driven to attach narrative and meaning to our experience. We are driven to prove to ourselves, over and over, that we exist and that what we experience has a value beyond the personal.

Over the past six years I’ve witnessed and been a part of the organic growth of a supportive and talented artistic community built around a punk rock ethos. It is composed of passionate people who are dedicated to giving a voice to the art that is inside of them, and to bearing witness to the expressions of others. As a participant I’ve seen countless examples of the community coming together in unexpected ways to support those in need, and to help push each-other forward to new heights. I’ve spent nearly the whole time contemplating ways to share this with the world, confident that there are lessons and affirmations that can contribute to the same phenomenon in other places around the world.

That brings me to this week’s idea, the pop-up documentary.

Here’s the basic concept:

A performance (whether musical or otherwise) is an experience filled with context for all involved. A pop-up documentary aims to capture that single night experience and place it into a broader, more accessible context through a series of interviews with performers, attendees, and staff. The ultimate goal would be the creation of a simple tool that allows anyone to create a short documentary-style piece of content that casts a light on the contextual nuances of a one-time experience, with a particular focus on the little things that those who are not performers do to enable creators to express themselves.

Who are some people in your community that deserve recognition for the unsung ways in which they provide support to creators?