“You have 60 seconds: tell your story.”
Most producers dictate the content of a project by overseeing the script, the actors and the lighting. But Alek Rost, a second-year film student from Hillsborough, N.J., is creating his nonprofit film project, “Shake the World,” completely at the mercy of thousands of people with their own cameras, script and lives.
On April 11, 2009 at 4 p.m. Pacific time, anyone from around the world can record a minute of their life and submit it.
Rost came up with the idea in high school, and now with the help of Bryce Milburn, a second-year film student from Danville, Ky., started making it a tangible project in college.
Milburn is also Rost’s co-executive producer of the project. They both have taken on “Shake the World” in their free time outside of classes.
Milburn has had to make sacrifices to give time to the project. On his list of priorities, Rost puts the project after school and before sleep.
Rost said their aim is “to be able to tell a good story.”
While films usually rely on promotion with previews and posters in post-production, “Shake the World” relies mostly on word-of-mouth in order to have material to produce.
In early February, Kevin Auerbach, a third-year industrial design student from Gainesville, Fla., jumped on board with the project to help with the business and marketing side of promotion.
“I really became attracted to the project because of Alek’s excitement about it,” Auerbach said.
He is familiar with the world of business and marketing and has found more promotion venues for the project.
With Rost and Milburn’s out-of-pocket budget, “Shake the World” started with the cheapest method of promotion, word-of-mouth. From there, their focus turned to the Internet.
The “Shake the World” site has a promotion page listing some big name supporters like Current TV and BFG Communications based out of Hilton Head Island, S.C.
Companies and individuals are coming out of the woodwork to take part in this ambitious student project. Milburn and Auerbach have been interviewed on a Washington radio show, the Baldwin and Bareli Hour.
According to Auerbach, this project would not have been possible on such a global level five years ago.
“People are so technologically connected these days that almost everyone has a way of recording themselves,” Auerbach said.
“Shake the World” stays true to its name and has gone global with interaction from Israel, South Africa, Scotland, Germany and the United Kingdom, among other countries. Based on the 1,700 confirmed participants on the Facebook group and the number of hits on the site, Milburn and Rost expect around 5,000 submissions.
The expected final project is a feature-length film consisting of 100 to 150 of the submissions.
“I want to capture as many human emotions. The content is going to dictate the overall feeling,” Rost said.
They hope to have the project done in the fall.
While Rost and Milburn aim to screen the film at festivals and independent theaters, Milburn said their first priority is reeling in as many submissions as possible. Participants can send in their videos until May 11, 2009 through the mail or by uploading to the site.
All submissions must include the following: name, location, e-mail and phone number. Rost plans to interview some of the participants separately.
People upload their lives daily on Twitter or YouTube. Rost and Milburn’s video collaboration is not a clip of a celebrity breakdown or a talented pet; it’s the story of watching one day happen to real people all over the world.
This innovative endeavor takes advantage of the technological power we hold at our fingertips: the power to shake the world.
To take part in the project visit: www.stwpictures.com.
