Lifemirror

Lifemirror is a practice-based research project evolving around an online crowdsourced filmmaking tool. It aims to re-imagine cinema as a tool for collective community communication, creativity and engagement. Inspired by the crowdsourced film Life in a Day(2011), Lifemirror will create a framework in which initiated projects will document themselves through the growing number of users with cameras. This power to build, frame and contribute to other people's stories lies at the heart of Lifemirror and provides the framework for deep analysis of collective storytelling, mass creativity and cinematic systems development.

We are a cinematic generation, grown up with a developing audiovisual understanding of stories and concepts. The main objective of Lifemirror is to provide research and development of 'cinematic systems' which aim to provide a framework for guiding and understanding new forms of collectively formed narratives. The tool allows users to create their own films which can then be followed and contributed to by the community. The uniqueness of Lifemirror is that it provides a film-centric model of networked communication rather than the traditional user-centric models found in the social networks. Current research is aiming to prove that this seemingly small shift in thinking has a distinctively powerful impact on the nature of the narratives which emerge and how communities connect and contribute to them.

By reframing channel and content media systems, a 'cinematic system' will initially endeavor to connect research to community. Research projects whose stories are being played out in a Lifemirror film stream have access to a growing user-community for audiovisual data contribution. Cinema can provide a sense of togetherness, and if it can be collectively created, could also develop into an evolved communication/entertainment space for our internet-connected, camera equipped society. A multi-perspective filmmaking tool could have far-reaching impact and societal application across a diverse range of communities and organisations.

This research positions itself to not only develop such a future but also to inform wider aspects of visual storytelling and mass creativity. It is a tool looking to sustain the future of ideas and as internet broadband speeds increase, and cameras become connected, there is a surging need for research and development into high-bandwidth communication and optimal channeling systems. Lifemirror aims to place itself in the centre of this progress as a high impact connective tool for both research and community.