Project 2x1

Project 2x1 is styled as a documentary film covering the daily lives of the Chabad Hasidic and West Indian residents of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Both cultural as well as religious events are captured in the film. Footage is shot, in part, using Google Glass. The film project is named "2x1" after the two mile by one mile radius of the Crown Heights neighbourhood.[3][4][7][8]

The film focuses primarily on the iconic Hasidic and Caribbean residents, to the exclusion of other demographic groups living in the area.[9]

Aside from the film "documenting [a] day within the neighborhood", the film examines "the way interpersonal relationships form between members of divergent communities all living within blocks of each other."[10] The makers of the film have stated that their aim and stated goal is to promote tolerance and understanding between the Caribbean and Hasidic residents, by releasing a documentary of the day-to-day lives of Crown Heights locals from their respective communities.[11][12][13]

The film is shot in part using Google Glass, a pair of glasses frames with video capturing film in a kind of "first-person point of view".[4] The film is cut from scenes shot by residents themselves. The scenes are collected by filmmakers who "[walk] around the neighborhood of Crown Heights, giving Google Glass to people to record what they see."

The Google Glass concept for use in the film was conceived by project co-founder Mendy Seldowitz who was chosen as a "Google Glass Explorer".[8][12][14][15] Google Glass is not available to the general public, instead, there are 10,000 "Google Glass Explorers" who received the device for initial use.[16] Prior to the film project, Seldowitz had experimented filming local scenes in Crown Heights using his pair of Google Glass.[17] Seldowitz cited the advantage of using Glass as it "removes the influence of the filmmaker".[18]

The Crown Heights documentary claims to be the first ever to be shot with Google Glass.[7][19] However, the documentary is not filmed exclusively on Google Glass; some scenes were filmed with DSLR videography in an interview format.[20][21]

The battery life on Google Glass was a "major issue" for the filmmakers, forcing them to shoot for short periods before recharging Glass.[15]

The film was initially screened in Crown Heights, on December 8, 2013.[10][22][23] The Brooklyn Historical Society and Brooklyn Film & Arts Festival partnered in a later screening the film, on December 13, 2013.[19][24]

• Chabad in film and television

• Project 2x1 official website
• Project 2x1 promo clip on YouTube
• Project 2x1 page on Kickstarter.com