The Great North Film Spectators at the Great North Run are being asked to get involved this year by helping to capture the event on their mobile phones as part of a major experiment being led by Ā鶹“«Ć½. In a bid to turn us all into film-makers, the Universityās Digital Interaction team are exploring the potential of crowdsourcing to create a unique film that captures the run from the crowdās perspective. āWeāre hoping that by putting the crowd in charge of the filming weāll capture some really special moments that are missed by television,ā explains Dr Tom Bartindale, who is leading the project with Dr Guy Schofield. āItās an opportunity for people to capture their friends and loved ones during the run but also some of the other things that are going on - the anticipation at the start, the street entertainment along the way, the buzz in the crowd. āWhat we want is a personal record of the event made by the people who are actually there watching it, capturing the bits that are important to them.ā To take part, spectators need to download a unique new app that has been created by the team. Called āBootleggerā, the app directs the user, asking them where they are along the course, what shots they are taking and advising on certain angles and images. For example, the app might ask for a close up of peopleās feet pounding the street or a wide shot of the crowd cheering, building up the variety of shots and angles required to produce a professional-looking film. The project is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through their Social Inclusion in the Digital Economy (SIDE) project. āItās important for us that people donāt spend their whole time filming,ā explains Guy. āThe aim is for this to add to peopleās experience of the event not detract from it so everyone will just be contributing small pieces of footage which together will come together to create the picture. āNothing like this has ever been done before so we donāt really know how it will turn out but every snippet that is filmed will be personal to someone, somewhere, building a narrative of the event that wouldnāt be possible without the crowd.ā The final footage will be edited by the team and screened at Ā鶹“«Ć½ as part of the outdoor projections series during the autumn. To find out more about the app and how to get involved join the Facebook group āBootlegger@GreatNorthRunā. The team is also running drop-in sessions 10am ā 12:30pm from Wednesday 3rd ā Sat 6th September. published on: 4 September 2014
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