I am looking for subjects in a short documentary project on anonymity and the internet focusing on social media. This project is looking at the positive and negative effects of anonymity on the internet, primarily on social media. I’m looking for people who have had positive or negative experiences using or being spoken about on social media. i.e. cyberbullying, coming out on social media, online activism, anyone doing or has previously done a “social media detox”, etc. This can include stories about Facebook, because while not strictly anonymous it still carries a “hiding behind a screen” mentality.
Interviews will be conducted in silhouette or profile; your face will be in shadow. All subjects will be credited in the film unless they wish to remain anonymous, but your face will never be clearly shown. This is the emphasize the idea of anonymous stories, and to give people leeway to discuss things they may not want to be directly associated with.
Please bring a laptop and/or mobile phone with you for shooting b-roll. This will be for closeup shots of hands typing, over the shoulder shot of browsing social media (screen blurred to protect private information), working at a desk, etc.
Filming is scheduled to occur Sunday April 7th at the NYFA Riverside building between the hours of 11AM and 4PM; room to be determined. Filming will take roughly 45 mintues to an hour. Please let me know your first and second preference for a time slot (11AM-12PM, 12PM-1PM, 1PM-2PM, 2PM-3PM, 3PM-4PM) as there will be several interviews taking place over the course of the day.
Water and snacks will be provided.
If interested, please email me at j.mcguire@student.nyfa.edu with your information, preferred time slot, and if possible please include a short video (shot on a phone is fine) introducing yourself and briefly discuss your thoughts on “hiding behind the screen” on social media.