'Life in a Day': citizen journalism at its best?

Source: Overallsite

If you haven’t heard of YouTube's ‘Life in a Day’ project by now, where have you been? Seriously.

For those who really haven’t, no need to worry because Jeremy Scott’s article gives you the low down on the project. Additionally, the embedded trailer is an effective way for those who are foreign to the project to find out what the excitement is all about.

For those who have, don’t worry either, this article is no waste of time as it provides a significant update on the project’s progress.

‘Life in a Day’ is thrilling, exciting and everything in between. And for a number of good reasons, we understand why Scott still finds it definitely worth talking about even two months after its launch.

Firstly, it is HUGE – a worldwide venture that has been made possible by YouTube. The task was simple: YouTube users were given 24 hours to capture a slice of their life on camera on July 24 (yep, that easy).

Secondly, it has never been done before. If it’s successful, it will become the “world’s first feature-length user-generated documentary” (Connelly 2010) to “…document one day, as seen through the eyes of people around the world” (Partridge 2010).

The real beauty about this project is that it was open to everybody and moreover, it didn’t require users to possess any technical ability to participate. No wonder this project has made the impact it has with over 80,000 video submissions from 197 countries (with many having been released online now).

YouTube users’ close involvement and participation in the project have also demonstrated a new level of citizen journalism. Willingly showcasing a glimpse of their lives is also an intentional means of reporting.

Lastly, the individuals attached to the project are none other than Gladiator director Ridley Scott and Last King of Scotland director Kevin MacDonald – two award-winning filmmakers. Guess their prominence reassures us this project is in good hands.

Kevin MacDonald (left) and Ridley Scott (right). Source: NYDailyNews.com

 

This is no typical news article. Scott successfully weaves fact and opinion together and while his fondness for the project shows, his comments are always constructive. The images included are also used to illustrate his remarks and give readers a ‘visual’ taste of how they can interact with all the video submissions that have been released so far.

One of the interactive ways of viewing the video gallery. Source: lifeinaday, YouTube

In concurrence with Scott, it has been great to see how YouTube has pushed the “envelope on what their service can be used for”. Do you agree? With projects like ‘Project: Report’, channels such as ‘CitizenTube’ and tools including ‘YouTube Direct’, it’s exciting to speculate what will be thought of next…