Knowing You, Denver
A data-driven, community-designed film project exploring Denver’s diverse cultural landscape.
During a 2022 Artist Residency at the Denver Art Museum, in Denver Colorado I began a community film project. It was an incredible experience Learning about my community here in Denver and developing a project that will soon be in production. I've allowed this project brief for a while, and over the next year, 2023 I will begin small scale productions throughout the city with resident collaborators. I'm still currently script writing from all the data collected and hope to have this project completed , summer of 2023.
Phase 1: Community Input
The first phase of the project involves data collection and ongoing conversations with museum visitors and community members. Prompts and questions are currently active in the museum space, inviting the visitors to participate in giving feedback, insights, and responses. During the early phase of the project, I will begin categorizing this feedback from the community, and start building the framework for the film. Many of the questions are designed to direct me on the sounds of Denver, or color tone/look and feel. I’m also learning about the best to experience Denver, which again will guide me on the times of day I may be filming. of the questions in the gallery are designed to challenge the visitor to think more about critical issues Denver is facing, or perhaps a meaningful experience one might remember.
Phase 2: Focus Groups
Four community focus groups were held at the Denver Art Museum. Each focus group will included small cross section of community members who participated in a conversational experience about the issues, questions, and areas of importance realized in Phase One of the project. The goal of these focus group sessions was to gather stories and experiences from various local perspectives. These contributions will help shape and inform the narrative of the film, allowing for a deeper understanding about issues that are important to us all.
Focus groups were documented in audio form and transcribed with permission from the participants. The transcriptions were archived, rearranged, and used to construct a script for the future film. It’s during this phase I also began working with a few community collaborators who worked with me on a few scenes which became studies for future scenes yet to me realized.
Focus Group Ground Rules:
Speak one at a time.
Be courteous of others.
Speak for yourself, and not what you think others might believe.
Differing opinions and perspectives are expected; we may not agree on everything.
There are no wrong answers.
