Okay well today was the first in a series of workshops at branch libraries throughout the city. I have one hour to grab the attention of a group of 10 kids I’ve never met before and will likely never see again. The first stop was at the Cecil B. Moore branch. The first 20 minutes I explained the project and showed 2 videos- one from a oneminutejunior, which flopped- and another from NSNP titled “I am” (in which Saul, the maker does a backflip). The prompt I gave was “Security is.” Once we got out of the basement and they had the cameras in hand, they got into it. Interviewing each other and library patrons. One group took about 5 takes to get their presentation/location just right- which I admired!
Another group took to the backflip idea, and brought the camera down the street to 25th/Cecil B. Moore where a mattress lays in the middle of an empty lot makes for an impromptu gymnastic site. The kids were quite good at the backflips!
There was one odd interview with a girl who responds to the question, what does a camera mean to her? I’m not sure where this question came from, but the response was quite poetic and speaks to the fleeting nature of these exchanges while giving meaning to their documentation.
more to come… more themes to explore…