New Zealand photographer set to shoot social media film Virtually Famous

An Auckland-based photographer is using social media networks and the internet to help fund and make a film about social media itself.

Ollie Dale, a Master of Photography of the NZIPP, has already started shooting the film, a documentary titled Virtually Famous, by interviewing well-known London-based cinematographer Philip Bloom, and Director of Photography Nino Leitner from Vienna.

“I first heard of Philip and Nino on Twitter, and really admired their work and the amount of contact they had with ‘real people’ via social media”, says Dale. “It was seeing their 30,000 followers that made me wonder if social media was more than just a time-waster at work.

“I made contact with them both and asked if they’d let me interview them; surprisingly they both agreed, and all of a sudden I’m sitting in Philip Bloom’s kitchen in London asking him about Twitter.”

The idea for the film started with Dale being awarded the 2011 James White Overseas Study Grant by the NZIPP.

Mike Langford, President of the NZIPP says it was his unusual and creative presentation style that distinguished Ollie Dale as a clear winner.

“The NZIPP determines recipients of the James White Overseas Study Grant on merit and therefore it isn’t awarded every year. We look for people with the passion and inspiration to discover and contribute new insights and research to the industry, while at the same time expanding and growing their knowledge as a professional photographer.”

While there is much debate about the benefits of building social media networks, and whether time spent on the many different websites can result in new business, Dale hopes to show that social media has it’s place in a changing world.

“It’s not just about sharing what you had for breakfast or your latest family photos. Virtually Famous will show how useful social media can be by using social media itself to create the film.”

Using Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, Dale has already lined up several well-known photographers and cinematographers to be in the film, as well as local social media expert Linda Coles.

“I also hope to be able to reach some personal heroes of mine, photographer Chase Jarvis and musician BT. The journey of whether I meet them or not is also going to be part of the film.

“All the people I hope to interview in the film are big users of social media, and I’m connecting with them and getting them interested in the story by sharing it with them via Twitter and Facebook.

“I’m also using the internet to raise money to fund the film. I started a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter.com, and people from all over the world are pledging money to help get the film off the ground.

“It’s a real experiment about how powerful the internet has become, and how communication itself is changing.

“The Kickstarter.com project expires on Monday morning, 8:40am NZ time. I hope that by then we’ve raised enough money to be able to fly to the US to complete the interviews, and come home to NZ to edit the film ready for launch in September.”

To see the trailer, find out more about who will appear in the movie, or pledge your support, go to www.virtuallyfamous-movie.com