Posted on 08/27/2002 8:11:11 AM PDT by summer
About Us - Project Rebirth at Ground Zero
Project Rebirth, a cinematic landmark chronicling the rebirth of Ground Zero in New York City, will capture, through 35mm timelapse photography, the restoration of the entire area where the World Trade Center formerly stood. The project is being produced by Project Rebirth, Inc., a New York non-profit corporation dedicated to the film's creation, production, and distribution.
The film is intended for installation in a memorial museum, where multiple screens will surround the audience giving the impression of the buildings rising around them as they hear the sounds of New York, and New Yorkers, rebuilding. Our hope is that it will provide not only a historical but also an emotional record of what happened and how we responded.
To complement the Ground Zero time-lapse footage, Project Rebirth will also record a human "time-lapse." We will follow a diverse group of people whose lives have been dramatically altered by the events of September 11th, and witness their journeys. Each subject will be filmed and interviewed regularly over the next seven years in an effort to chart his or her long-term emotional response in parallel to the bricks-and-mortar changes on the ground.
Please take a moment to read about our Key Personnel and Corporate Supporters. Click HERE.
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For more information, see press release below or click it on HERE.
Project Rebirth -- 7-Year Time Lapse Film Documenting The Restoration Of Ground Zero Begins Film Coverage
Project Rebirth, a cinematic landmark chronicling the rebirth of Ground Zero in New York City will capture, through time lapse photography, the restoration of the entire area where the World Trade Center formerly stood.The seven-year project will be produced and directed by Los Angeles-based film executive Jim Whitaker, together with New York based producer David Solomon. The principal sponsor of the film is the Aon Corporation, a global insurance services firm, whose offices were in the top floors of Two World Trade Center.
Six 35mm motion picture cameras, situated around Ground Zero, will each shoot one frame of film every five minutes for the next seven years to document the transformation of Ground Zero into a living memorial. The cameras will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, capturing 288 frames of footage a day. Each camera is fitted with an intervelometer, a computer that tells the camera when to shoot each frame of film, and an automatic light meter that will adjust the exposure as light changes from day to night. The film will be removed and processed every two weeks to monitor progress. The completed film will supplement this material with footage of construction workers and other participants in the rebuilding, and images of major events in the rebuilding process.
Sound will also play a critical role in the project. The images will be complimented by a track capturing, in Whitaker's words, "the broad spectrum of emotion around the rebirth of this historic site." Sounds of rebuilding recorded at Ground Zero will be combined with the voices of people affected by the event - survivors, those who lost family and friends, rescue workers, constructions workers, Wall Street brokers, lower Manhattan residents, and also the voices of those participating in the reconstruction, all backed by an original musical score.
The film is intended for installation at a museum, where multiple screens will surround the audience giving the impression of the buildings rising around them as they hear the sounds of New York rebuilding. As Solomon described it, "Our hope is that it will provide not only a historical but also an emotional record of what happened and how we responded."
Filming for Project Rebirth began on March 11, 2002, the six month anniversary of the attack, which was marked by the launching of the "Tribute in Light," two ghostly towers of illumination projected from the site. The Project currently has three 35mm cameras installed in key locations; the first on the 47th floor of the American Express Building at 3 World Financial Center, the second on the roof of 30 Vesey Street, 22 stories above Church Street on the northeast corner of the site, and the third on the roof of 111 Broadway on the southeast side of the site. Three other cameras will soon be added: one in the Dow Jones Company offices on the 9th floor of 1 World Financial Center; another at St. Paul's Chapel, where Trinity Church has agreed to allow a camera to be placed in the churchyard; and the third at Engine 10, Ladder 10, the fire station on the south side of Ground Zero, where the Fire Department has approved installation of a camera on the roof.
To complement the Ground Zero time-lapse footage, Project Rebirth will also record a human "time-lapse." This part of the project will follow a group of people whose lives have been dramatically altered by the events of September 11th, and witness their journeys. These people will tell their stories to the camera, starting with where they were on September 11th and what they have done in the months since. Each subject will then be filmed on a regular basis over the seven years, to document whether and how they are able to heal from their experiences. The filmmakers will cover the major events in their lives - weddings, funerals, graduations - and will also talk to them at length in individual interviews. These interviews will be part of the multi-screen installation, and will also be the basis for an extended single screen documentary.
The project is being produced by Project Rebirth, Inc., a New York non-profit corporation dedicated to the film's creation, production and distribution. The Aon Corporation has made a long term commitment to serve as the anchor sponsor of the project. Aon CEO Pat Ryan stated that "Aon has made this commitment to Project Rebirth in memory of our 176 colleagues who were lost on September 11th. We believe that by recording the courage, strength and optimism required to rebuild, this film will be a remarkable tribute not only to those who perished but also to those who survived."
Other funding has come from various Wall Street sources; Board member Nick Wood, Managing Director at Salomon Smith Barney said, "So many in the financial community were profoundly affected by September 11th, and this has been a unique opportunity to rally around a forward-looking project arising from that tragedy." Kodak has generously agreed to provide all film stock necessary for the shoot, and Deluxe is contributing all of the processing, transfers and other lab work free of charge. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison are providing pro bono legal services.
In a statement of support for Project Rebirth, New York Governor, George Pataki, said, "It is my hope that this film will serve as a reminder for future generations of how the unbreakable spirit of America rose to new levels in the aftermath of those horrific attacks." Charles Gargano, Chairman of the Empire State Development Corporation has also given his support, stating, "The efforts of your project to document the rebuilding process will undoubtedly provide a meaningful tribute and historical record of our recovery." And John Whitehead, Chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, who has been charged with coordinating plans for the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan, has endorsed the project and stated his view, "It could be a major factor in recording the history of America's recovery from the September 11th disaster. It could add immeasurably to a museum which we hope to build as part of the Memorial Park."
Jim Whitaker, Executive Vice President of Imagine Entertainment in Los Angeles, will serve as both Producer and Director for the project. A month after the September 11th attack, he visited Ground Zero for the first time, and was struck that a long-term time lapse film would be the ideal way to capture America's response to this disaster and would serve as an ongoing memorial to what was lost how we are able to overcome it. Stated Whitaker, "We hope this will serve as a statement for all time about the perseverance of New Yorkers and the resilience of the American spirit."
"Many years from now our children will ask how we were able to heal from such catastrophic events," Producer Solomon added, "and we hope that our film may help to answer that question."
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Please contact Ronni Chasen at 310-274-4400 with any questions.
In a statement of support for Project Rebirth, New York Governor, George Pataki, said, "It is my hope that this film will serve as a reminder for future generations of how the unbreakable spirit of America rose to new levels in the aftermath of those horrific attacks."
"Many years from now our children will ask how we were able to heal from such catastrophic events," Producer Solomon added, "and we hope that our film may help to answer that question."
I don't know if any of you saw the news segment on MSNBC last night about this film project, but the footage they have already shot is incredible. I wish they had a link of it on the project's web site, and hopefully they will.
IMO, this is a theme and lesson plan the NEA should have promoted to teachers: the theme of rebuilding, of how our country heals, and how hard American people are working to make it happen.
Children are fascinated by flip books of animation, and this project is like a giant animated rebuilding of the WTC, which, when completed, will show in only 20 minutes how the rebuilding was done. Students now in elementary school will be able to see this completed film when they graduate high school.
I am truly curious: Did anyone catch this on MSNBC, and if so, what did you think of the footage and the idea?
The first 3-5 years will be awful boring as there will be NO action at all. The WTC site wont be rebuilt for 10 years. Hope they have a lot of film.
My choice for the WTC:
“… [W]e must rebuild the Twin Towers to show the spirit of New Yorkers, and to show that these terrorists will not defeat the United States. … .
“But who would want to occupy any type of space above the 60th floor of these towers, knowing that they would be at the center of a bull’s eye - the target of every freedom-hating terrorist bent on destroying our way of life? … The answer is to make the top 50 stories an atrium, a space frame of weightless steel and glass, a transparent space that is defiantly conspicuous at the same time.
“The result would be the restoration of our city’s skyline. … [T]he roof would become the most spectacular memorial possible -- a 50-story indoor space never seen before, filled with natural elements …, a place to reflect, be amazed and be humbled, with the names of every victim permanently memorialized.
“And at night, the skyline would be restored with dazzling lights with endless possibilities …, a symphony of lights that would be a reminder of how many people lost their lives that tragic day. Each one of the 3,000 lights would represent a human soul, dancing in triumph. It would be a sad reminder, but also a symbol of hope - that their spirits live on, forever dancing atop of the city they loved, reminding us to be strong … ”
--Barry Bashker, R.A., in Queens, New York
I didn't see this, and I wouldn't really have any interest in seeing it. Something about it just strikes me the wrong way -- I don't like the idea of making a public spectacle of a disaster/crime scene like this.
For what it's worth, they could have gotten the same "stunning" impact by posting cameras around any major construction site in the world. In some cases it would be even better than what they're proposing here -- you could even see them demolish one building on purpose, then build another one in its place.
make the top 50 stories an atrium, a space frame of weightless steel and glass
Is this some new DARPA project? "Weightless" steel? And I thought Rearden metal sounded cool!
Yes, I am sympathetic to those who lost loved ones, but many more people die each day in accidents and murders and they don't receive one tenth of 1% of this level of attention, not to mention the compensation. After this first "anniversary" we need to move on.
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