September 29, 2008
Amazing Adventure Happening in Dolores Park; Thomas Hawk Probably not Invited
You know that Improv Everywhere group? Most people have seen their work in those videos of people standing motionless in train stations or staging a surprise musical in a shopping mall. But you've probably known about them for years because you heard about them on This American Life back before they were famous.
Anyway.
They're coming to do a stunt in San Francisco this Saturday. It happens at 2pm in Dolores Park, and if you want to participate, you'll need to download an MP3, then sync up your watch so that everyone can press play at the same time and follow the instructions in unison. Fun!
Except, wait. It says on their site, "Please refrain from taking photos during the experiment." Okay, fine, they want everyone to be fully immersed in the moment. But they also say, "Same goes for the media. Let’s all enjoy the moment and resist the urge to document!" WHAAAAAAA? First of all, we don't know how these things usually go in hustle-and-bustle New York City, but here in SF, documentation is the only way to enjoy a moment.
And they also say "We take care of the documentation." Is this some weird thing where they want to control all of the images of the event? Or is it something more innocent, like they just don't want cameras getting in the way?
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Why is Yahoo! involved?
Our partnership with Yahoo! is making it possible for us to tour The Mp3 Experiment to three other cities. Yahoo! did not influence the content of the mp3. They are making it possible for us to do exactly what we want to do in four cities. We’re thrilled about it.
Is this why they don't want "unofficial" photography?
Well, if there's forty people milling about with SLRs drawn, it takes away the appearance of spontaneity which is fairly essential for IE's style.
That said, there will probably still be forty people with SLRs drawn, and it'll probably still be a lot of fun.
The Yahoo! sponsorship has nothing to do with the camera request. We've made the same request for this event the past 4 years in NYC (all of which had no sponsors.) Basically, we want people to come out and play and enjoy the moment. Our long time photographer Chad Nicholson is traveling to SF to take photos. We've got Scott Beale of Laughing Squid on board to come take photos as well. Between the two of them we'll have hundreds of awesome photos to share with everyone.
In our experience events like this at their worst can wind up being a bunch of people taking photos of each other taking photos. We want people to participate and have fun! Trust us, there will be plenty of photos on our site for you to grab and use on blogs, etc. Come have fun! We can't wait!!!!!
Charlie Todd
Improv Everywhere
Hey, Charlie, thanks much for your reply. You can't possibly expect anybody out here but the most weak-spined to agree to it, but again, thanks for the clarification.
Haha. Yeah, I know. I find that if I don't make the request there are 100s of cameras and if I do there are just a few rogue photographers. Hopefully those that take photos anyway will try to keep a safe distance from the chaos. :)
Thanks for the plug, by the way!
I think it's too obvious if there's hundreds of cameras.
They tell you to wear a red or blue shirt (admittedly among other colors). To the Mission. Is the real purpose of this to start some shit with the gangs?
lol i went and got some pics, they didn't do shit