A few years back you may recall I dove head-first into a project that explored my home city of Seattle. I interviewed, photographed, and filmed the movers, the shakers, and the changemakers to better understand the culture of my city’s beating heart. 106 influencers in total, across almost every creative discipline — music, food, theater, athletics, activism, education, you name it. I went on to publish a 250 page fine hardback fine art book, gallery show, a line of wine, a line of chocolate bars, sold out of nearly everything and donated all the money to charity. We called this project Seattle 100 (<-- bunch of photos). Here's the original launch blog post.
Like the city it covered, that project has continued to evolve. So today, I’m stoked to share with you here the arrival of Portrait of a City, a new documentary TV project I concepted, directed and co-produced with the help of my friends over at our regional PBS station, KCTS 9. In this show and series of short interstitial interviews we take a look at how music has shaped the character and culture of Seattle. From bands like Nirvana to Macklemore, I dug into innovators past and present, asked them to share their reflections, ideas, and passions for this unique force within our community. You’ll hear from KEXP music curator John Richards, cellist Joshua Roman, actor Sarah Rudinoff, DJ Riz Rollins, music impresario David Meinert, SubPop Records’ Megan Jasper, musician John Roderick and more.
Check out the KCTS online schedule to find out when Portrait of City is running on the boob tube near you or -if you don’t live in the region- watch it above.
Here are some regional upcoming air dates:
Thursday, November 28, 10:00 pm on KCTS 9 HD – Seattle/Yakima
Thursday, November 28, 10:00 pm on KYVE 47 – Yakima
Tuesday, December 17, 11:30 pm on KCTS 9 HD – Seattle/Yakima
Tuesday, December 17, 11:30 pm on KYVE 47 – Yakima
Tuesday, December 31, 09:30 pm on KCTS 9 HD – Seattle/Yakima
Tuesday, December 31, 09:30 pm on KYVE 47 – Yakima
And keep your eyes peeled for more interstitials to be released over time… the one that’s in circulation now is an interview with red hot homie Macklemore.
The filming seems utterly simple – which was the goal – but it was a little more complicated to get the look we ended up delivering. Keep your eyes peeled for a behind-the-scenes outline of the unqiue way in which we filmed this with 2 matching cameras, some teleprompter magic, and various other smoke and mirrors. Below are a few of those characters featured in Seattle 100 and Portrait of a City: Michael Hubb, Megan Jasper, John Roderick and Dave Meinert, along with some snaps of the gallery installation from the launch of the project.
gallery opening - photo thx to buildllc.com
seattle 100 launch - thx buildllc.com for the photo
It’s wonderful to see such a wonderful display of talent finally recognized by such a public resource. I’ve been the biggest fan and advocate of the Chase Jarvis brand and style of life for MANY years. I’d love to see an east coast presence! Go extreme and visit the incredible beauty of Portland, Maine. (It’d be nice to see a “From Portland to Portland” blog post!) or at the very least I’d LOVE to see a Boston visit/meet/beer-on-me event for the Chase Jarvis team! Keep up the inspiring work that keeps us all going!
you have a gift, you really do.
this, in my HUMBLE opinion, is very unengaging. calling it a documentary is a stretch. with so much self confidence (ok, i AM jealous, i’d like 1/10th of what you have) you’re bordering here on hubris.
but, hey, you did it, so congrats on that.
hmm. interesting perspective. I didn’t know I could demonstrate hubris in a show where a bunch of wonderful people are talking directly to a camera on a topic they care deeply about without any other inputs or distractions. Not sure how that illustrates myself as overly proud or confident. But thanks for the feedback.
I can’t wait to see the real deal.
as in see it on your TV?
Tune in – dates below.
Other interstitials sprinkled about as well – current one is macklemore.
1 Plus One = 100… and as time goes by, a body of very cool Work! that can be seen on your local boob tube.
thanks eddie. It helps to love one’s city 😉
WOW Chase! Congrats. Just goes to show you what passion can get you in life.
…and a bit of work 😉