The Lab in partnership with the World channel

We have mentioned the WORLD channel before when listing the variety of outlets the Lab has for the videos you send to us. Formerly called PBS WORLD, it’s a multicast digital broadcast, sent over the airwaves for free, and bringing you your favorite PBS shows and independent documentaries on 53 television stations across the US. WORLD also has an incredibly interactive website, full of film content, special guest blogs and lots of ways to meet the the filmmakers and participate on special topics.

What we didn’t tell you is that we’re also in the same Boston, MA building! For the next few months, the Lab is going to work more closely with World and apply our Open Call method to help grow the World’s community of smart viewers, video contributors, comment makers, guest bloggers and discerning critics. Please visit Worldcompass.org and tell us what you want to see there, we welcome you to the conversations on the website, on Facebook and Twitter.

World organizes the content they bring you according to theme. Below, see what you have to look forward to in the next couple of months. Have a programming idea for us? Be sure to let the Lab and World know!

MAY: The Journey A trip is about crossing a border, whereas a journey expands the borders of our minds. Whether it be the extraordinary story of a group of people with disabilities rafting down the Colorado River or a traveling band of civil rights activists fighting against segregation, this theme brings together stories of journeys and the changes they evoke, in individuals as well as in societies.

JUNE: 9 to 5 For most people, work is necessary for survival, but it’s not the only reason why we spend so many of our waking hours on the job. In a Great Recession world, one in which the minority are increasingly tethered to work by devices and the majority continue to make less than $2 a day, how does the work we do shape who we are?

Starting in May, World will also play host to a special set of international documentaries, the Global Voices series, produced by the Independent Television Service. Here’s a preview of the topics we’ll tackle on air and online:

The Value of Viral

Chris Brogan shared this link on Twitter today:

Top 10 viral videos of March – http://ow.ly/4rLEX

And it got us thinking about not just why on earth would this Skittles ad gets 1.5 million views:



..but it got us wondering about what kind of content people think is worth sharing. Sure, the “interactive” feature of a cat licking your finger is novel and so you share it. Plus, it’s short and silly, but it is 39 seconds you won’t get back!

Advertisers have nailed the viral video category for a long time by using cute kids, cute animal and silly antics. But what should public media content providers be thinking about so that you want to watch and share our stories?

Take a look at one of our new favorites: FutureStates. by ITVS. It opens the door for young filmmakers to share their work, and their visions of what the world could be like in 60, 70 or 80 years are thought provoking. The Lab has already shared some favorite episodes with friends on Facebook. (There is and embed option, but it doesn’t work with our WordPress site! You’ll have to visit them.) What do you think about visiting a destination website? Is it easy to share videos with friends? Would you rather embed it on your blog and give it your own context? Do you like the other features that make you think and ask you to contribute?

At the Lab, we think a lot about what videos people are making and watching, what videos they are sharing and how to help the public create their own. Of course we like to see good stories go “viral”, but maybe it’s not the only way to become a trusted source of good content. Tell us what you think, what you like or what public media content you have shared with friends in the comments below!

The WGBH Lab: Antiques Roadshow Open Call gets a write up in The New York Times

We partnered with Antiques Roadshow earlier this year for the Antiques Roadshow Open Call – asking enthusiasts to submit videos about their antiques. The project gained national publication recognition early on, and caught the eye of a New York Times writer after she viewed some of more “quarky” entries. The article discusses the “Reality TV” aspect of the Open Call, and names submissions that stood out and won tickets to live Antiques Roadshow appraisal events.

Visit the article at: NYTimes.com: Princeton’s Faculty Room and Britain’s Rail Posters, and you’re highly encouraged to watch all submissions at http://lab.wgbh.org/roadshow. One submission showcases the remains of “Jumbo”, the famous Barnum and Bailey Circus elephant!

The Antiques Roadshow Open Call has been extended through Memorial Day Weekend

And the winner is…

The winner of the 1st pair of tickets to an Antiques Roadshow live appraisal event is:

George W. Angell | Hillsdale, MI for Cuts Like A Knife – featuring a collection of rare antique Samurai swords that were passed down to George by his Grandfather.

George’s video has secured him a pair of VIP tickets to a live Antiques Roadshow appraisal event this summer, and we hope he decides to bring the swords so that he can learn more about them.

The Antiques Roadshow Open Call still has 2 pairs of tickets up for grabs. April 3oth is the deadline for the next pair of tickets – submit your video today and you could be attending a live event as well.

Be sure to watch Cuts Like A Knife and leave comments for our samurai sword Master.  Congrats George!

The MASTERPIECE Video Diary Project Submissions | Inspired by “The Diary of Anne Frank” | PBS

Happy Good Friday!  Here’s a sneak peak of the broadcast promo that will be added to PBS airing of The Diary of Anne Frank on April 11th.  We hope you enjoy, and don’t forget to submit & spread the world about the MASTERPIECE Video Diary Open Call.

PBS — March 30, 2010 — http://lab.wgbh.org/masterpiece The Diary of Anne Frank on MASTERPIECE Classic, hosted by Laura Linney WGBH Open Call submissions period ends May 31 // We asked people inspired by Anne Frank’s diary to share their own stories. Here are some examples, which will be seen on PBS during the broadcast of “The Diary of Anne Frank” on Sunday, April 11.

Filmmaker In Residence Monika Navarro’s documentary “Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas)” premieres on INDEPENDENT LENS

Filmmaker in Residence Alum Monika Navarro gets the opportunity to tell the story of the emotional journey of her uncle, a U.S. Military vet deported to Mexico, and uncovers the secrets of her family’s past in her new INDEPENDENT LENS documentary, “Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas)”.

In 1999, two brothers were deported from the US to Mexico. Within two weeks, one of the brothers overdosed on heroin in a seedy Tijuana hotel room, his body unclaimed for two months in a mass grave. “Animas Perdidas” explores the family drama that unfolds from the lives of these two men, both raised in the US and veterans of the US military, who were deported from the only country they knew and had sworn to protect. Interviewing family members, and weaving together family photographs, letters, and verité footage, Navarro’s film explores larger questions of national identity, immigration, and U.S. border tensions as her family confronts its dark but resilient past.

“Animas Perdidas”; (Lost Souls) is Monika Navarro’s debut documentary feature, funded in part by an Emerging Artist’s Grant from the City of Ventura Council for the Humanities. Animas Perdidas was selected to screen at the 2006 IFP Market as a Work-in-Progress in the Spotlight on Documentaties. Monika is a first-generation Mexican-American and was raised in Ventura, California. She has lived and traveled in Mexico, and served as a youth delegate in 2000 with the Chiapas Media Project. Monika received her BFA in Studio Art from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and Tufts University in 2003, and currently lives in Massachusetts.

Congratulations to Monika!  We hope you will all tune in and watch her masterpiece.

To find out when “Lost Souls” is airing near you, please check PBS Schedule.  “Lost Souls (Animas Perdidas)” is a co-production of ITVS in association with WGBH-Boston and LPB.

Lost Souls can be purchased at Shop PBS: Lost Souls
Lost Souls (Educational) can be purchased at Shop PBS: Lost Souls

2010 has already been a good year for MY PERESTROIKA

Filmmaker In Residence Alum Robin Hessman went to SUNDANCE with her directorial debut, MY PERESTROIKA, and has returned with rave reviews.

After attending the screening at SUNDANCE, Variety Magazine says: “Robin Hessman’s debut feature is a documentary of considerable charm and nonjudgmental insight. It’s skedded for PBS broadcast next year, with fest travel and offshore sales (primarily tube) assured in the interim.”

You can read the full article at Variety Magazine.

MY PERESTROIKA, is a glance into what happens when to ordinary citizens when their communist country changes, over the course of a few years, into something resembling capitalism.

Using previously unseen materials from Russian archives, Soviet children’s television shows, cartoons, home movies, training films, and feature films, the documentary interweaves the visual world’s records with the narratives of people who came of age during Perestroika

The documentary is a co-production with Red Square Productions (US), Bungalow Town Productions (UK) and ITVS International, in association with American Documentary and YLE FST Finland. It has received support from the Ford Foundation, the LEF Foundation, the NEH, the Radziwill Documentary Fund, The Sundance Institute Documentary Fund, the WGBH Lab, IREX, and the Joukowsky Family Foundation.

MY PERESTROIKA will be broadcast in 2011 on the PBS independent film series, POV, marking the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR.

Congrats to Robin Hessman! Her dedication and hard work has certainly paid off.

THE WAY WE GET BY wins Movies for Grownups Award

THE WAY WE GET BY was named Best Documentary in AARP Magazine’s annual Movies for Grownups Awards, which recognize outstanding productions for the 50-plus audience. AARP Magazine (“world’s largest circulation magazine”) announced the 2010 winners last week, and features them in its March/April 2010 issue.

Of THE WAY WE GET BY, the editorial staff says, “To witness the face of personal problems is to know that patriotism doesn’t always wear a uniform.”

THE WAY WE GET BY is an independent film produced in association with WGBH through the Independent Television Service LINCS (Linking Independents and Co-Producing Stations) initiative, directed by Aron Gaudet and produced by Gita Pullapilly, both alums of our Filmmakers-in-Residence program.

For more info, visit thewaywegetbymovie.com/.

The Masterpiece Video Diary Open Call

Calling youth media makers: we’ve partnered up with MASTERPIECE, and have launched The MASTERPIECE Video Diary Open Call.

Anne Frank was an amazing storyteller. Through her words, she has engaged and inspired youth to document their thoughts on self-expression, tolerance, and being. Today, The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the most widely read pieces of non-fiction in the world.

We’re challenging you to do the same. Tell us about your life. How have you overcome being bullied or disrespected for the way you look, the way you think, or for what you believe? How did you handle it? Send us a compelling message in a 3 min. video diary entry about how you, or someone you know has made a difference.

Portions of diaries in by March 8th may be selected for broadcast on Masterpiece Classic’s airing of The Diary of Anne Frank on April 11th, 2010. Official deadline after the broadcast is May 31st.

Visit The WGBH Lab at: http://www.thewgbhlab.org/open-call/masterpiece/masterpiece-video-diary for more information.