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Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Radical Collaboration at TEDxDU on May 13th

TEDxDU contacted me about a month ago to see if I'd like to be a part of their annual TEDx event. They said the theme this year was Radical Collaboration, had heard that I'm constantly cooking up various collaborations, and asked if I'd be interested?

My immediate answer: "Umm... YES!"

The event is being held on May 13th at University of Denver (see the info on our shows page). (I think there are still tickets available in the TEDxActive event in Driscoll.)

Rather than talk about collaboration, I thought it would be cool if we actually DID a collaboration on the day of the event -- with the 1,000+ people who will be in the Newman Center for the Performing Arts. Why not involve the TEDsters themselves?

So we cooked up a radical collaboration together with the TEDxDU folks (who are extremely cool, by the way) called "5 Second Film Collision". Here's the idea: make a music video for 'In My Neighborhood' (a song from our new record Beautiful Empty) AT and WITH the people who are attending the event.

100% of the footage for the music video will be shot that day, in the venue. We'll have filming crews sprinkled around the venue where people can jump in front of a camera for 5 or 10 seconds and lip-synch their favorite line of 'In My Neighborhood' and be a star in the music video.

Also, me and my band will perform the song live at TEDxDU that day. And while we play, people will be invited to become filmmakers themselves by filming clips of whatever they see that day: us playing, themselves at the event, their friends digging the song, etc with their cell phones and cameras. They'll be able to submit their film clips to tedx@johncommon.com for consideration and use in the final, official video.

Two weeks (or so) after the event, we will launch the JC&BFoL + TEDxDU music video for 'In My Neighborhood' simulateously on johncommon.com and tedxdu.com.

Cool, huh??? We're really excited to be a part of the whole thing. If you are going to the event or know someone who is going, here's a link with all of the info about the collaboration. Here's a link to my bio on TEDxDU.com.

Hope to see you there! And if you can't make it, don't worry. We'll keep you posted here on our blog and on our Facebook page too.

Here is an advertisement they're using to promote the event. Wow. I look like a total geek. I guess the camera doesn't lie.

Love,
John

John Common TEDxDU

Posted By John Common at: 11:04 am

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Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Radical Collaboration at TEDxDU on May 13th

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