WHAT IS THE CLUSTER PROJECT?
The Cluster Project is an online collaborative art exhibition that surveys the social, historical, financial, and technological underpinnings of cluster bombs. The web exhibition will display some 22 installations (or projects or bomblets) made by a variety of artists using animation, illustration, performance, photography, video and other creative approaches.
WHAT IS WHAT THE PEOPLE KNOW?
What the People Know is a video installation component of The Cluster Project.
While the United States has traditionally manufactured, sold and used the great bulk of cluster bombs around the world, its citizenry knows virtually nothing of the weapons, nor does it want to know. In What the People Know, independent media-makers from around the country conduct "man-in-the-street" interviews with people in their communities. These short, straightforward interviews will help reveal public awareness/ignorance of cluster bombs. The resulting video will then be sent to the producers of What the People Know who will use the material in an exhibition installation. The project aims to include responses from all fifty states.
WHAT ARE CLUSTER BOMBS?
Cluster munitions are large weapons which are deployed from the air and from the ground and release dozens or hundreds of smaller submunitions. Submunitions released by air-dropped cluster bombs are most often called "bomblets," while those delivered from the ground by artillery or rockets are usually referred to as "grenades."
WHAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH THIS WEAPON?
Cluster bombs frequently result in the death and injury of innocent people, and perhaps a third of its victims are children. The weapons are a serious threat to civilians in two ways. First, because the bomblets are widely dispersed and don't distinguish between military targets and civilians, the humanitarian impact can be extreme when the weapon is used in or near populated areas. Second, many submunitions fail to detonate on impact and become de facto antipersonnel mines that kill and maim long long after the conflict has ended.
Recently 95 nations have signed a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs. The United States is not one of them.
An excellent introduction to the cluster munition controversy, including maps, testimonials and treaty news, can be found at stopclustermunitions.org.
WHOM DO I INTERVIEW?
Anyone and everyone you can. Interviewers can bring bias into their work by only approaching people they are comfortable with. Try to be aware of this tendency and approach people regardless of age, race, class and gender. It's interesting to hear from kids, the elderly, businessmen, hardware store clerks, strippers, soldiers, yuppies, cooks. Of course, it's not always possible to get a great range of respondents -- just keep it in mind.
WHERE SHOULD I GO TO DO THESE VIDEO INTERVIEWS?
Go anywhere that you can find a cross section of your community. Good visuals are helpful, but not essential. Just go where the people are. But for the sake of diversity, it's usually best to avoid college campuses.
WHAT DO I ASK?
Simple. One essential question: "Can you tell me what a cluster bomb is?"
If they say, "No," fine, the interview is over. But people often need a little time to think, both before and after they speak. Give them a moment. Find what someone knows and move on.
Occasionally, your subject may have absolutely no idea what a cluster bomb is, but will be clever enough to make a rough deduction. For instance, he might say, "Um, a series or cluster of...bombs." Then you might ask this follow-up question: "Can you tell me about the controversy surrounding cluster bombs ?"
That should do the trick.
HOW SHOULD I SHOOT THIS?
It's best to have at least two people involved -- one to use the camera, one to hold the microphone and ask questions. Good sound is essential, so use stick microphones whenever you can. Standing close to traffic and noisy settings can be a problem. If the interviews cannot be clearly heard, we cannot use them. Your camera should always be focused on the subject -- avoid including the interviewer in the frame. Since we'll be gathering interviews from all over the country, it's best that we don't display individual interviewers.
WHICH FORMAT SHOULD I USE?
Use whatever source you like but, but on our end, we can only use mini-dv tapes or uncompressed QuickTime files.
SHOULD I EDIT THE INTERVIEWS?
Collaborators are more than welcome to edit their own sequences. BUT they must keep in mind two important considerations. First, we are trusting you to give an accurate reflection of what you found (and not manipulate the material to give any false representation). Second, we may have to alter the material to fit space limitations, etc.
If you prefer not to edit the video, that's fine. We'll do it on our end.
WHERE DO I SEND THE VIDEO?
Send it to the following address:
Bob Paris
VCU Department of Kinetic Imaging
School of the Arts
1000 Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23284
CAN I JUST UPLOAD QUICKTIME FILES TO YOU VIA THE WEB?
Maybe. We're looking at a service where you can upload 2 GB of data that we can then download. But keep in mind — we need uncompressed video! 2 GB is only about 9 minutes of uncompressed video. So it may still be necessary to send us a copy of the video tape itself or put the data files on a CD/DVD and send that to us.
WHO IS ORGANIZING THIS PROJECT?
Bob Paris is the director of The Cluster Project. He is an artist and an Assistant Professor in Kinetic Imaging at VCU School of the Arts. Jennida Chase and Hassan Pitts are the national coordinators and producers of What The People Know. They are filmmakers from Richmond, Virginia.
WILL I BE CREDITED?
Definitely. All collaborators will be credited and linked to the location/community they documented.
WHEN WILL IT GO ONLINE?
As soon as the project is up and running, we will notify you.
DO I HAVE TO PAY FOR TAPE AND POSTAGE?
Usually...yes. We just have no budget for this project; it's entirely non-commercial and non-profit, and none of us receive any kind of payment for this work. So we are counting on your donations (of your time, your effort and even your postage). But certainly if the cost of postage or tape is a problem, we will do our best to pay for the expenses.
DO YOU OWN THE MATERIAL I SEND YOU?
You own the source video and can do anything you wish with it. However, by signing our agreement you are stating that you have reviewed these guidelines, and that you give us permission to use your images however we best see fit.
DO I INCLUDE THE SIGNED AGREEMENT WHEN SENDING YOU THE VIDEO?
Yes, exactly. The agreement is pretty straightforward. You just need to review it, sign it, and send it in with your material.
Click HERE for a printable PDF of the agreement.
WHAT IF I'VE GOT MORE QUESTIONS?
Ask away! See the contact link above or just contact Jennida at jumpcutjen@yahoo.com