We Live in Amazing Times: Crowdsourced Documentary 'One Day on Earth' Yields Footage Out of Libya

“One Day On Earth,” an online project designed to capture video footage of life around the world on a single day — October 10, 2010 — is now turning into a host for videos and photos documenting current events in Libya. The country, which has become a hotbed of violence amidst a revolt against leader Muammar Gaddafi, is largely closed off from foreign media outlets, meaning submissions from Libyan members of the “One Day On Earth” community provide unique perspectives of what’s taking place within the country’s borders.

Executive producer Brandon Litman says those behind “One Day On Earth” reached out a couple of weeks ago to community members in areas of conflict, asking them to report back with any information they could provide.

“Literally within 30 minutes of engaging the community, we heard back,” Litman says. “And we started getting information in within a couple of hours.”

Litman has blogged some of the footage that has come out of Libya so far. This includes a conversation between those organizing the Libyan uprising, images and video (embedded below) of a mass burial in the nation’s capital, Tripoli, and additional images of violence. The “One Day On Earth” team has used its media connections to its advantage, feeding some of the videos and images it receives to various outlets.

“We were in touch with a number of news sources as we were producing the 10-10-10 event,” Litman says, adding that the crew had contacts at the likes of Reuters, the BBC, CNN and more. “I actually saw the [Tripoli mass burial] clip on CNN’s [Anderson Cooper 360°].”

In fact, Litman says the burial footage has received the most traction out of the photos and clips “One Day On Earth” has sent to the media — based on the number of hits the blog post received, it seems that people in at least 93 countries have viewed the clip. And now, more people are signing up to join the site. In a February 24 e-mail, Litman said, “In the past 24 hours, we have had people from over 30 countries sign up to the ‘One Day On Earth’ community.” He feels this is a sign that the platform is going to evolve into a community where people share perspectives and stories on a more regular basis — not just stories that take place within the same 24-hour period.

Litman and his team are staying in touch with Libyan contributors through a variety of means, including via telephone and the Internet. They’re also trying to get satellite connections.

“I would say that the success ratio is about 50 to 1 for every attempt to actually get through. But we’re staying vigilant in making sure we’re in touch every single day in getting information about what’s happening,” Litman says, adding that they’re expecting more uploads and encouraging Libyan community members to continue feeding information and videos as long as they can do so safely. He also says it’s interesting that social media is usually first to knock down the walls placed in front of traditional media outlets.

“Social media, local filmmakers and citizens armed with cameras are a key source of information in today’s media, especially in situations like what is happening in Libya and the Middle East,” Litman says. “With filmmakers and video enthusiasts in every country in the world, we are uniquely positioned to help break that wall down when it comes up.”

Image courtesy of One Day On Earth

via mashable.com

Posted via email from Siobhan O'Flynn's 1001 Tales