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'Humans Of New York' Will Become A Facebook Docuseries
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 24, 2017
Modified Aug 24, 2017
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 24, 2017
Modified Aug 24, 2017
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The uplifting content that you've loved to read on Brandon Stanton's popular Humans of New York blog—or Instagram or Facebook page—is now set to be a 12-episode documentary series on Facebook.
"Much like the blog, the Humans of New York Facebook series will showcase intimate, candid and often surprising conversations with strangers on the streets of New York City," reports the Hollywood Reporter. Here's the trailer:
Stanton, a former bond trader, decided to document every interesting New Yorker in 2011, explaining then that it would be a "multi-year project to construct a photographic census of the city of New York. The team consists of one man, who walks the streets several hours a day, looking for interesting people, and taking their photograph. Currently, the project is in the gathering phase. The goal is 10,000. Photos are uploaded as they are collected, and arranged by date. When a substantial body of portraits has been gathered, they will be grouped by neighborhood and displayed geographically. Upon completion, an interactive map will show every neighborhood in New York through the faces of its inhabitants."
Stanton spoke to the Hollywood Reporter, saying that "he began working on the project about four years ago and has, over 400 days of filming, interviewed more than 1,200 people. 'It seemed to be a natural evolution to do some interviews on film,' he says, adding that the people featured in the series will be new to the Humans of New York universe."
Stanton says that he worked on the project independently for a long time, but ultimately saw the opportunity to work with Facebook, where he first built much of his audience. "Facebook has had a huge role in the creation of Humans of New York," he adds, noting that he was also attracted to the global reach of Watch, since two-thirds of his audience is international.
The project has evolved significantly, as Stanton has traveled around the world, sharing portraits and stories from people all over. He's also helped drive his significant audience to causes like funding a needy Brooklyn school, which caught President Obama's eye.
Episodes will start rolling out next week on Facebook.
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humans of new york
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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