TRAILER
SYNOPSIS
The project examines the lives of 30 individuals living in McDowell County, W.Va., an area that is representative of many boom-and-bust areas across the country. McDowell County has lost almost 80 percent of its population since 1950 and continues to lose more young people every year due to a lack of economic opportunity. This rural brain drain has left many counties across the nation with an aging demographic and failing infrastructure. However, many people—approximately 22,000—continue to live and work in McDowell. They feel a great sense of pride and belonging and believe they are there to help improve and move the county into the future.
Focusing on the residents who have stayed during the tumultuous times, Hollow is a story of hope and home and strives to not only address the issues through storytelling but also help provide potential solutions. Using HTML5 technology to merge cinematic and emotional storytelling with the web, the stories of residents have been brought to life for the outside world to understand the often overlooked sector of our society. The interactive documentary provides a “lean forward” and “lean back” experience and encourages each user to not only consume media but also be an active participant and contribute to the narrative.
PURCHASE A DVD
CREDITS
Elaine McMillion Sheldon: Director, Producer, Cinematographer
Jeff Soyk: Art Director/Web Designer and Architect
Robert Hall: Technical Director and Senior Developer
Russell Goldenberg: Interactive Developer
Tricia Fulks: Associate Producer and Researcher
Sarah Ginsburg: Editor
Kerrin Sheldon: Editor
Billy Wirasnik: Sound designer
Lee Strauss: Original Music
AWARDS
2014 Emmy Nominee in New Approaches for Documentary
2014 ONA Excellence & Innovation in Visual Digital Storytelling award
2014 Webby Awards: “Web Community” honoree
2013 Peabody Award
FITC 2014 Awards Finalist in “Narrative” and “Best Visual Design”
World Press Photo 3rd Prize Award for Interactive Doc – March 2014
Finalist for the DocLab Storytelling Award at IDFA – November 2013
