For those who haven’t seen the Flying While Fat documentary animation yet, watch it here:
For those who’ve been with me through the journey to launch, I wanted to write a little project wrap-up that details the process and the outcome.
What it is:
Flying While Fat is a 6 minute documentary animation that centers the voices of fat travellers as they explain their experiences of flying while fat. It is unscripted with all audio recorded from live interviews or read from transcripts of chat interviews. The ambient airport noises were recorded from my own travels.
The participants in the animation are deeply intelligent, eloquent, radically vulnerable and compassionate. I honestly can’t thank them enough for their honesty and their willingness to tell their stories.
How was it funded?:
Dr. Bethan Evans, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Liverpool successfully funded a small grant based on our collaboration. This grant covered both the writing of a few academic journal articles (still in process) and partially funded the creation of the animation. I donated the majority of my time.
How long did it take?:
Research & Preliminary Analysis: 795 surveys, 28+ in-depth interviews. 6 months.
Finding the Narrative & Sound Editing: 80 hours.
Design and Animation: 420 hours (6 weeks, 7 days a week, 10 hours a day!)
Where did it launch?:
The animation premiered at the DADA Fest (Deaf and Disability Arts Festival) in Liverpool, also thanks to the collaboration with Dr. Bethan Evans and the University of Liverpool. Through this collaboration, the animation also exhibited at the Bluecoat Centre for Contemporary Arts and the Tate Gallery, Liverpool from November 19th through December 3rd, 2016. After its exhibitions, it launched online December 5th, 2016.
How was it received?:
The press coverage for the Flying While Fat animation was unprecedented in my experience. It featured in People, Today.Com, Cosmopolitan, AJ+, Buzzfeed, Mashable, Upworthy, ATTN:, the Daily Mail, BBC Radio and on the Matador Network. It was even shared by George Takei! (Be still my nerdy queer heart!) The overall coverage placed the topic in front of an estimated two million readers within the first two weeks with 230,000 direct views on my YouTube and a further 550,000 views
via Stacy Bias - Fat Activist and Body Image Campus Speaker http://ift.tt/2hLs7ov
