SOJ Alumna Elaine McMillion (BSJ, 2009) will launch her interactive documentary, “Hollow,” on June 20 – West Virginia’s 150th statehood celebration. “Hollow” examines the issues of people living in post-industrial rural America through the eyes and voices of the residents of McDowell County, W.Va. The immersive, online experience combines video portraits, user-generated content, data, grassroots mapping and soundscapes on an HTML5 site.
In addition to McMillion, the “Hollow” team includes designers, programmers, journalists and filmmakers – including two SOJ alumni. Tricia Fulks (BSJ, 2009) served as a copywriter and researcher for the project, and Megan Bowers (BSJ, 2009) was the story editor.
While the documentary will be live at www.hollowdocumentary.com on June 20, two screenings will be held in McDowell County, W.Va.: Saturday, June 22 at 9 p.m. at the Martha H. Moore Riverfront Park in Welch and Sunday, June 23 at 7 p.m. at Big Creek People in Action Center in Caretta.
“Hollow” team members are urging Instagram users to share images that represent home for them with the hashtag #hollerhome. These images will populate a portion of the online experience.
Additionally, the “Hollow” team invites residents to share their stories and explore the site from 3 to 6 p.m. at the McDowell Public Library’s computer labs on June 22 and from 3 to 6 p.m. on Sunday at Big Creek People in Action’s labs. “Hollow” team members will also be at a booth on the north side of the WV State Capitol building all day on June 22. Starting on June 24, DigiSo – West Virginia’s first co-working initiative for digital entrepreneurs, start-ups, innovators and creative industry professionals – will host a storytelling booth in Charleston for residents to share their stories