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Fifty People, One Question
GenreDocumentary
Created by
  • Benjamin Reece
  • Nathan Heleine
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes5[1]
Production
Production companies
  • Deltree
  • Crush + Lovely
Original release
ReleaseSeptember 15, 2008 (2008-09-15)

Fifty People, One Question (also styled Fifty People One Question) is an American documentary web series in which fifty people in one place are asked the same question and their filmed answers are cut together into a short film.[2][3][4] It was created by Benjamin Reece and Nathan Heleine, and the first film was produced in New Orleans in 2008 by Reece and Tung Bach Ly.[5][6] Four further films followed: New York, Brooklyn, London and PostSecret: Confessions On Life, Death & God.[1][7][6] The series won the Webby Award for Best Editing in the Online Film & Video category at the 13th Annual Webby Awards in 2009.[8]

Premise and format

[edit]

The project's website described the method: "We go to a place, ask fifty people the same question and film their responses."[2]

The question changes between films.[2] The New Orleans and New York films asked "Before the end of today, what would you wish to happen?", and the Brooklyn and London films asked "Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow?"[1][4]

History

[edit]

The first film was produced in New Orleans in 2008 by Reece and Tung Bach Ly and uploaded to YouTube on September 15, 2008.[5][9] La Repubblica reported that the original idea was Reece's and that Crush + Lovely took it up and repeated the experiment first in Brooklyn and then in London.[6]

The Brooklyn film was online by January 2009, when USA Today's Pop Candy column featured it.[10] PostSecret: Confessions On Life, Death & God asked "What's your secret?"; a version titled PostSecret: Fifty People One Question was posted to Frank Warren's YouTube channel in December 2009.[1][11]

Reception

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In October 2009, la Repubblica described the result as "una sbalorditiva carrellata di umanità" ("an astonishing parade of humanity").[6] Johanna Smith, writing in The Huffington Post in July 2009, described the series as "a straightforward, but remarkably vivid series of video interviews".[12] The New York Times Lens blog included the Brooklyn film in an October 2009 roundup of videos.[13] It was also posted by The Daily Dish at The Atlantic.[14] The Guardian included the series in its "Internet picks of the week" column in October 2010.[7] BBC Travel included the Brooklyn and London films in a 2011 list of travel videos.[4]

It's Nice That described it in 2009 as simply shot and sympathetically edited, with "its heart in the right place".[3] Maria Popova wrote about it at Brain Pickings in 2010 and, in The Atlantic the following year, called it "a beautifully simple premise, even more beautifully executed, peeling away at the most authentic of human sentiments about life".[15][16]

Awards and recognition

[edit]

At the 13th Annual Webby Awards in 2009 the series won the Webby Award for Best Editing in the Online Film & Video category, with the credited organization listed as Crush + Lovely / Deltree.[8]

In 2010 the series was shortlisted in the Original Series category of the Vimeo Festival + Awards.[17][a]

Films by other makers

[edit]

Other filmmakers have made films based on the project's format.[18][19] A student film shot in Galway, Ireland, in November 2010 was directed by Kamil Krolak, who, according to IrishCentral, "based his film on fiftypeopleonequestion.com".[18] Tasmanian Geographic published a Launceston film in 2013 by Declan Brown and Mel de Ruyter, who asked "What's your happiest memory?" after Brown found the series on YouTube.[19]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ Popova described the project as a finalist in the 2010 Vimeo Awards.[16] The archived Vimeo shortlist page lists it among the twenty shortlisted entries in the Original Series category, from which five finalists were chosen.[17]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Fifty People One Question :: Welcome". fiftypeopleonequestion.com. Crush + Lovely and Deltree. Archived from the original on December 29, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2026. We've created five films ... What's your secret? PostSecret: Confessions On Life, Death & God ... Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow? London, UK ... Where would you wish to wake up tomorrow? Brooklyn, NY ... Before the end of today, what would you wish to happen? New York, NY ... Before the end of today, what would you wish to happen? New Orleans, LA
  2. 1 2 3 "Fifty People One Question :: About the Project". fiftypeopleonequestion.com. Crush + Lovely and Deltree. Archived from the original on January 21, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2026. We go to a place, ask fifty people the same question and film their responses.
  3. 1 2 Burrows, Jez (February 10, 2009). "Fifty People One Question". It's Nice That. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 Sood, Suemedha (November 25, 2011). "Our favourite inspirational travel videos". BBC Travel. Archived from the original on October 4, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Fifty People One Question :: About the Project". fiftypeopleonequestion.com. Crush + Lovely and Deltree. Project Credits. Archived from the original on December 28, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2026. Fifty People One Question created by Benjamin Reece of Deltree and Nathan Heleine of Crush + Lovely. The original film was produced in New Orleans, LA by Benjamin Reece and Tung Bach Ly.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Staglianò, Riccardo (October 19, 2009). "Il posto migliore in cui svegliarsi? Un mondo in cinquanta risposte" [The best place to wake up? A world in fifty answers]. la Repubblica (in Italian). Archived from the original on October 22, 2009. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  7. 1 2 Dee, Johnny (October 22, 2010). "Internet picks of the week". The Guardian. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  8. 1 2 "13th Annual Webby Awards Nominees & Winners: Online Film & Video". The Webby Awards. International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. 2009. Archived from the original on January 2, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  9. ↑ Benjamin Reece (September 15, 2008). Fifty People, One Question | Short Film. Retrieved September 22, 2026 – via YouTube.
  10. ↑ Matheson, Whitney (January 16, 2009). "Fifty people answer one tough question". Pop Candy. USA Today. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  11. ↑ Frank Warren (December 2, 2009). PostSecret: Fifty People One Question. Retrieved September 22, 2026 – via YouTube.
  12. ↑ Smith, Johanna (July 11, 2009). "Where Would You Wish To Wake Up Tomorrow?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  13. ↑ Olsen, Erik; Bracken, Kassie (October 23, 2009). "Must See: Videos Worth Watching". Lens. The New York Times. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Where Would You Wish To Wake Up?". The Daily Dish. The Atlantic. October 19, 2009. Archived from the original on December 4, 2020. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  15. ↑ Popova, Maria (October 12, 2010). "Fifty People, One Question". Brain Pickings. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Popova, Maria (April 11, 2011). "How New Yorkers Feel About Art (in 3 Words or Less)". The Atlantic. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  17. 1 2 "Vimeo Awards Shortlist". Vimeo Festival + Awards. 2010. Archived from the original on September 6, 2011. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  18. 1 2 IrishCentral Staff Writer (July 7, 2016) [2011]. "A snapshot of Galway "Fifty people one question" (VIDEO)". IrishCentral. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
  19. 1 2 Brown, Declan; de Ruyter, Mel (August 12, 2013). "Fifty People One Question: Launceston". Tasmanian Geographic. Archived from the original on June 14, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2026.
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