The little engine that could
For those who have been following this blog since the pandemic started, you’ll likely be familiar with my Youtube channel. I had documented hours of footage of an empty New York City during the COVID shutdown last spring. I bought Final Cut Pro, an editing software package and thought myself how to edit. I’d captured a city famous for its crowded streets, chaotic street noises, yellow cabs and energy, surreally laid bare by a once in a lifetime global pandemic.
Having trained for the NYC Half Marathon, which was cancelled at the last minute, I turned around and used those months of training to run through the empty city with my camera phone. Why my iPhone? Because I couldn’t rent cameras because all businesses were shuttered. I had to improvise. I bought a Gimbal (steadicam device) on Amazon and my kit was complete. I’m not going to lie, I was partially terrified doing it. Because back in March and April of 2020, no one really knew how this virus infected people. Hands up, who was washing their groceries in the lobby of their building? Or making masks out of anything you could find because there was none available to buy? That point was made startlingly clear by the fact that I was, in most cases, literally the only person on the streets or avenues of one of the largest cities in the world.
While I may have missed the opportunity to run the Half Marathon, I more than made up for it. I had Manhattan to myself. There was nothing more exhilarating than running down the middle of the road on 5th Avenue – no cars, no people, just the majestic skyscrapers, proudly standing guard, as if waiting for its makers to reappear. The only noise, was the whistling wind through the avenues, the birds…and the sound of my feet on the road (further elucidated in my articles for The Irish Times and The New York Daily News).
After marinating on the footage I shot, I decided to make a documentary. There were numerous storylines I could have taken, but in the end I thought I’d make a more personal story. So I made Outside In, a short documentary about that experience, a city laid bare and the hope for its future. To my amazement, my little personal project (’cause I still have a day job in Fintech), has been officially selected to the Prague International Indie Film Festival and the Corti in Cortile Film festival in Sicily, Italy. International audiences, many who may never have been to NYC, will get to experience the city in a different way and see that they were not alone in dealing with a shutdown that impacted the world. Now I can ponder, if Outside In will be the little engine that could?
If you’re curious about what happens next for my little film Outside In, and if you haven’t already, consider following us on our social channels (see links below), where I will also credit the creative team in the coming weeks that helped me bring this to life.
You can watch the official trailer here and view our official website here.
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