Making Of

Keep those ears peeled—this weekend, two of AIR’s Localore projects will be making national waves.

I Hear Change

This American Life will feature iSeeChange producer Julia Kumari Drapkin in a show called “Hot in My Backyard.” Learn more here, and tune in.

Drapkin has spent the past year bringing climate change scientists together with residents of Paonia, Colorado to puzzle through the shifting conditions they’re seeing in their own backyards. Get a sense of these sometimes difficult dialogues in Drapkin’s recent video:

Wondering how AIR's national production evolved from a blue-sky idea to the ten evocative multimedia projects now animating public stations across the country? Grab a bucket of popcorn and lean back to watch This is Localore.

Filmmaker Josh Banville directed and edited this half-hour documentary stepping us behind the curtain with the producer-station teams—revealing how they have taken big risks to lead projects that grab the attention of communities across broadcast, digital and street platforms.

Early reviews of Localore.net have begun rolling in: fantastic transmedia voyages...very cool...beautiful...the new Localore site's going to blow your top.

Don't miss a chance to see AIR's revolutionary national production for yourself. Starting Saturday, Localore producers will hit the road to share what they've created and learned:

On April 22, AIR will present the full scope of its national Localore production with the launch of a new metasite and a public screening at Boston’s Brattle Theatre.

AIR's national Localore production team flocks to the east coast in April for a series of important events. We hope you'll come meet the producers and stations behind the revolutionary work being launched across the country.

In NYC on April 20? Come mingle with AIR's national production team at MEGAPOLIS Celebrates Localore: The After Party.

During the day of April 20th the Tribeca Film Festival spotlights all ten Localore productions as part of an exciting celebration of new, groundbreaking digital storytelling work. That night, the party at DROM will bring together Locolore participants and MEGAPOLIS attendees for a night of music, dancing, and merrymaking.

Today, AIR and ITVS announced a partnership that will add fuel to AIR's producer-led teams at public radio and TV stations. 

As the Localore production cycle winds down, ITVS has invited the teams to apply for one more year of funding through their LINCS initiative (Linking Independents and Co-producing Stations). Those selected by ITVS will continue their groundbreaking projects, with AIR serving an advisory role. 

Last night, a crowd of makers and coders packed SoundCloud's San Francisco HQ for a hands-on launch party celebrating The Making Of...Studio co-produced by the Kitchen Sisters, Zeega, AIR and KQED.

In this post on the SoundCloud blog, discover how attendees learned to make their own Zeegas, and see the immersive poem they created together. There, you'll also learn how AIR is cultivating new media life forms in partnership with inventive producers, stations and journalism innovators—transforming the relationships between maker and audience in the process.

Wondering what a Zeega is? Click to explore:

Prepare to be electrified! Join the Kitchen Sisters, AIR, KQED and Zeega at SoundCloud HQ to discover how to make your own interactive Zeegas.  RSVP on Facebook.

"It's all about the stance and style," Ignacio Gonzales told reporter Charla Bear.

Known to friends as "Notch," he builds hot rods for his shop, Top Notch Kustoms, and tiki bars on the side. Localore producers the Kitchen Sisters gleaned the best bits from Bear's interview with Gonzales for their project The Making Of... and worked with Bay Area illustrator Wendy MacNaughton to capture them visually. Then, they connected with Cowbird—an image-focused storytelling site built by digital artist Jonathan Harris—to post the finished product: a one-two storytelling punch.