We Run New York is a documentary-series focusing on the different running groups and/or individuals within New York City’s diverse running scene. Our goal is to highlight the more humble and unassuming qualities of each episode’s subject matter, e.g. the daily routine and struggle of a runner in an environment inhospitable to one, rather than focusing on just flashy success stories. More than anything else, it is the humanity of running that we want to examine, and explore the different reasons people are drawn to running.
Director/Editor/DP: Harry McFann ran track and studied film at Columbia University. While there, he ran a personal best of 1:47 in the 800, was an All-American, and won multiple conference titles. He is based in New York City, and continues to be part of the running community there. As a freelance videographer he has worked on projects ranging from pieces for The Yes Network to promotional material for a Broadway show.
Producer/Creator: Paul Snyder is a freelance writer, currently living in Flagstaff, Arizona, but with every intention to relocate back to the City in a year’s time. His work’s been featured in Running Times and Meter Magazine, and he’s currently a staff writer for Citius Mag. He was teammates with Harry at Columbia, but was much slower. He loves writing about New York and running, and has been wanting to work on a project like this one for years.
Additional Photography: Gus Reed and Harry have worked on numerous projects together over the years. A videographer specializing in dance, he has created video for organizations including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, New York City Ballet Education, and The George Balanchine Foundation.
Music Composer: Vincent Oppido holds a BA and MM in Music from George Mason University in Fairfax, VA, and a Graduate Certificate in Scoring for Motion Pictures and Television from The University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA. Vinny has scored numerous films, some of which have screened at film festivals around the world, including Charlie Joe’s Hotel Motel (Hollywood Film Festival and Madrid International Film Festival – nominated for Best Short Film), Cineastes (Greek Film Festival), and Lovely Day (Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival), Panofsky’s Complaint (winner of Best Score in ‘Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood’).
Most sports related videos or documentaries amount to little more than extended promos. We want to avoid the typical flair and cliches that many of these sport documentaries find themselves repeating endlessly. It is not our goal to only tell stories about people running impressive times or races. Rather, it is the runner’s lifestyle itself that we want to focus on, and how it manifests differently for different runners – the struggle to balance one’s running life with one’s “civilian life”. We hope that while following the lives of these different runners we will be able to explore larger socio-political issues that relate to American culture as a whole.
We have five 30-minute episodes planned out and they will be distributed via YouTube. Each episode will focus on a different team, individual, and/or race.
In this docu-series we will shed light on the smaller, more intimate moments in the lives of runners so as to craft a narrative where anyone can find something to relate to. We want to capture the smallest of details so that the viewer sees the unseen, the minor, and the hidden. That which is subtle to the point where they are invisible to most eyes.
These are stories whose appeal is not limited to only runners and New York residents. One of our goals for how we tell these stories is that the inherent drama that comes from the difficulty in running, combined with the human element to each story that we will focus on, will create a wide reach in the show’s appeal. In addition to the wide audience that can be reached with this series, there is also room for the show to grow. These stories are everywhere across the country, and we are uniquely positioned to not only find them, but to tell them the way they should be told.
We want this to be the best documentary possible, and your generous donations will help make that happen! Any donations will help fund:
Compensation for all crew and collaborators
Lighting and other equipment rental
Travel Expenses (any out of town races we cover)
Post-production
Music licensing
Race and archival footage licensing
There are many more stories to tell about New York running, and any additional funds will go towards producing additional episodes, including one about the New York City Marathon.