MeFi Projects

"Honeymoon in Oak Ridge" is a documentary that tells the story of my parents, two young newlyweds who unknowingly contributed to building the world's first atomic weapon. [more inside]
posted by joetrip on Nov 10, 2024 - 1 comment

KCRW’s acclaimed music documentary podcast, Lost Notes, is back for its fourth season! Co-hosts Novena Carmel (KCRW) and Michael Barnes (KCRW / KPFK / Artform Radio) guide you through eight wildly different and deeply human stories, each set against the kaleidoscopic backdrop of LA’s soul and R&B scene of the 1950s-1970s. (The fifth of eight episodes releases this week on Wednesday.) [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Apr 23, 2024 - 0 comments

Visit virtual worlds of the past! Meet the netizens keeping them going. Let's re-wild the information superhighway! Can cyberspace be a better place? A streaming documentary series on the cultures and communities of antique virtual worlds. Every episode is standalone, so you don't need to have seen season 1. [more inside]
posted by One Second Before Awakening on May 22, 2023 - 0 comments

Preserving Worlds is a documentary travelogue through aging but beloved virtual worlds. Join us as we explore dated chat environments, appreciate player-created art, and meet people working against obsolescence to keep the communities they care about alive and accessible. [more inside]
posted by One Second Before Awakening on May 14, 2021 - 2 comments

More and more critical world events are documented by regular people with cell phones. I'm working to strengthen the verity of cell phone videos by augmenting them with corroborative data. [more inside]
posted by thandal on Jan 11, 2021 - 5 comments

Lost Notes is a music documentary podcast from KCRW (Santa Monica, CA). For our third season, the poet and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib explores a single year: 1980 - the brilliant, awkward, and sometimes heartbreaking opening to a monumental decade in popular music. Check out the episode guide in the Extended Description. Here's my essay introducing the series. [Previously on Projects: Season 1 | Season 2] [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Sep 26, 2020 - 3 comments

Salutations Everyone! We all have read the quotes about McLuhan, now hear and occasionally see him speak, it's quite different than just reading, as if the person, or medium, if you will, alters the content of what's expressed, or message, ya might say. Seriously though, I'm serializing a project entitled: "Western Cynical: McLuhan Unclaimed", it's available on YouTube, episode 13 is premiering very soon. [more inside]
posted by 4notherOnlineUserName on May 1, 2020 - 0 comments

I wanted to wait until we had a sufficient pile of episodes out there to share, but ... Lost Notes is back for another season! Our exec producer/host this season is the great Jessica Hopper - one of the sharpest music writers and critics in the room. Check out the episode guide in the Extended Description. [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on May 22, 2019 - 1 comment

'Change the Subject' is a documentary about working to change how libraries label immigrants. Here's a trailer (and a second trailer). In 2014 a Dartmouth College student researching undocumented students in the U.S. repeatedly encountered the term “Illegal aliens” as a subject heading in the library catalog. Dismayed by this use of biased language she worked with CoFIRED (a student run undocumented immigrant rights group at Dartmouth) and rallied college librarians, and ultimately librarians across the United States, to challenge how the Library of Congress categorizes books and other materials about undocumented people. This 55 minute film features interviews with students, faculty, librarians and congressional representatives involved in this instance of campus activism that entered the national spotlight (NYT link). As of this posting, the Library of Congress has yet to 'Change the Subject' and 'Illegal aliens' remains the authorized cataloging term for issues related to undocumented immigrants. [more inside]
posted by soy bean on May 7, 2019 - 0 comments

Late Night in the Studio takes a deep dive into the illustrious history of the CBC. In each episode, our archivist host Moe will show us a special treat (which happens to relate to events in his personal life) from the the catacombs of the CBC; films which feel authentic to the time and place they are supposed to be from... but they're created by us. Late Night in the Studio is part history, part imagination. [more inside]
posted by lizifer on Mar 1, 2019 - 0 comments

Sarasota Half in Dream is a feature-length Surrealist documentary about dead turtles, crab swarms, decaying resorts, and microscopic histories. Streaming online for free. [more inside]
posted by One Second Before Awakening on Feb 19, 2019 - 4 comments

We just released our 5-minute-documentary about Frank Lukas who collected heaps of memories while getting to the very top in the BMX world today. Now we are telling his story in association with Carhartt. What makes the film special is the mixture of old analogue clips, high quality shots, projections and animations which is pretty unusual for a bike film. It is not just about BMX. It is about a man who followed his dream although there was only a really small chance of succeeding. It is about working one’s way up and not giving up despite all struggles.
posted by Neuland on May 22, 2018 - 0 comments

My brand-new podcast for KCRW! Wheee! Over a year in the making, it's a brand-new series devoted to “the greatest music stories never truly told.” [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Apr 12, 2018 - 4 comments

Proud to announce my first collaboration with fellow Mefite glasseyes - we met in an AskMe about textiles and ethnic fashions a few years ago, and this is teh culmination of months of work. Join us in this journey through fabric shops and fashion magazines to see how brands are built through word of mouth and hard work in the informal economy.
posted by infini on Apr 14, 2017 - 5 comments

For one fleeting moment in the summer of 1989, college radio, MTV, classic rock, and the avant-garde intersected when The Ordinaires, a nine-piece orchestral art-rock band from New York City, summoned the ghosts of ‘70s stadium-rock bombast with an infamous cover tune. And after a decade surviving near-death experiences and religious condemnation, the band was about to face its most formidable obstacle: itself. This is the story of a time and a place never to be repeated, in which an unlikely group of people made a most unusual noise. These are Nine Views of the Ordinaires. (59m) [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Nov 8, 2016 - 0 comments

A photography blog documenting the interiors of homes in inner west Melbourne, Australia. [more inside]
posted by Wantok on Mar 3, 2016 - 2 comments

What do an autoline fisherman in Iceland, a robot maker in Korea, a costume designer in Brazil, an intern in Egypt and an aspiring professional gamer in the US by way of Canada have in common? They are the five players, from a monthly user-base of 70 million, featured in Live/Play - a 38 minute documentary film I directed and edited about League of Legends players around the globe. In the interest of full disclosure, yes, this film was funded by Riot Games but I got the thumbs up to post it here.
posted by nathancaswell on Aug 24, 2015 - 0 comments

I make stained glass windows for a living. For a long time I've wanted to make a stop motion movie of a window going together. So I finally did it. [more inside]
posted by yesster on Jun 19, 2014 - 5 comments

A radio documentary on the AIDS crisis and its impact on the “gay paradise” of Fire Island throughout the 1980s. The 25-minute piece airs this week on KCRW’s “UnFictional” program, in commemoration of World AIDS Day 2013. My Web site has a companion page introducing the guests and featuring additional content not heard in the broadcast version. [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Nov 29, 2013 - 5 comments

In February of 2012, I was in Helsinki traveling with Rachel Lovinger when I was contacted by long time goon Russ Rogers. His question was simple: since DEFCON was coming up on the 20th anniversary, and I had been both an attendee and director of several technology-based documentaries, would I be interested in doing a documentary on DEFCON and its 20th year? I said I needed to think about it, but I really didn't have to think that long. A year and a half later, I put the finishing touches on a two hour movie and an hour of bonus footage, having spent the previous 18 months planning, shooting, organizing, editing, and just generally living this movie day in and day out. While we weren't able to cover every last aspect of DEFCON (and who really could?) I think you'll find there's something for everyone in the movie. It was done out of love And respect for this incredible event, I hope it brings a whole new appreciation of the special event DEFCON has every year. [more inside]
posted by jscott on Aug 6, 2013 - 3 comments

I did a fun Q&A with Cory Welles, director of the documentary 32 Hours, 7 Minutes. The film takes its title from the US transcontinental speed record, set during the 1983 US Express (a secretive race from New York to LA, and successor to the famous Cannonball Run). [more inside]
posted by avoision on Apr 24, 2013 - 0 comments

in 2010 I (along with many others) were interviewed for a documentary on the formation of the world-wide life-drawing cabaret show I helped found. After two years on the festival circuit, it is now available for all and sundry on Vimeo. Interviews with Akynos, Gal Friday, Amber Ray, Molly Crabappple, and more. NSFWish video and audio. Directed by Peter Bolte (14 min)
posted by The Whelk on Jan 18, 2013 - 2 comments

Beyond Flavortown - When the users of Metafilter found their website bombarded with negative reviews of the new Times Square eatery, they decided to shuffle on over and see for themselves what the fuss was about. We recorded their reactions.
posted by The Whelk on Dec 10, 2012 - 19 comments

A short interactive online documentary telling some segments of the life of a resident of Leith, Edinburgh. Having gone from respected high school teacher in Scotland to convicted cocaine smuggler in Guyana - these snippets show him as he begins to rebuild his life.
posted by sgt.serenity on Aug 30, 2012 - 3 comments

94 Elements is a global filmmaking project based around the 94 naturally occurring elements, from Hydrogen to Plutonium. Award-winning and upcoming filmmakers each take one element as the basis for a human story around how it's used - watch the 2 minute trailer here and you can see the first film now on the project website. There are opportunities for upcoming filmmakers to win commissions to make new films for the project, such as this pitch at the Sheffield DocFest in June, and we've got great plans for some really interesting data-vis work around how we use our resources.
posted by gravelshoes on May 1, 2012 - 3 comments

A short film documenting my recent trip across the Republic of Mali to record indigenous and regional music. After the kidnappings and murder in Timbuktu in December 2011, I had forfeited all plans to go to the northern half of the country ... until the day I was piled into a 4x4, completely unplanned, and swept away to Timbuktu as the personal guest of a Malian gendarme. This film documents my early work in Mali ... and the utterly unique experiences that awaited me in Timbuktu. [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Jan 26, 2012 - 1 comment

My documentary radio project, ShortWaveMusic [prev], has gone global! This is a new short video documenting the 2011 season, filmed on location throughout the United Arab Emirates in October 2010. (Future editions will include Ghana, Indonesia, and Ethiopia. Prior seasons were recorded in Ibiza and Bulgaria.) [more inside]
posted by mykescipark on Jun 14, 2011 - 2 comments

With the invaluable help of some friends, I put together this mockumentary about the economy. NSFW, if anyone still has work. [more inside]
posted by millipede on Jun 12, 2011 - 0 comments

I'm the artist-in-residence for the city of Kitchener, Ontario this year (2011). My project is to photograph 1,000 or more people within the city to create a photographic documentary of the diversity of our community. [more inside]
posted by seanmpuckett on May 16, 2011 - 5 comments

Travelling around the globe to film, interview and discover the lives and motivations of the world's street artists. 40 cities in 30 countries in 10 months! [more inside]
posted by omnigut on Feb 9, 2011 - 2 comments

Premiering February 11th, a documentary film about Pruitt-Igoe – perhaps the most infamous and contentious urban failure in living memory. The buildings' violent implosions were famously cited as the moment marking "The Death of Modernist Architecture". But this real failure quickly took on mythical characteristics; its complex history reduced to bullet points. The real lesson, the film argues, is about the profound ways the American City changed in the 20th century. [more inside]
posted by jjjjjjjijjjjjjj on Jan 14, 2011 - 3 comments