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If you look in a magazine, or walk through a mall at any given time, you will be inundated with ads for clothing and wares. The majority of these ads feature female models who are white and under size 4, a very small percentage may show models of varying ethnicities, but still under a size 4, and male models between 29" and 32".
According to Stats Canada, the average dress size of a woman in Canada is size 14, and men are an average 38 inches (the statistic is the same for the US). Which means that the majority of fashion advertising does not in any way represent the average North American.
Project 14 hopes to show what a media landscape might look like if fashion advertisers used a more diverse range of ethnicities, sizes, and shapes, by recreating the look and feel of a well known magazine, but replacing the ads in the magazine with a range of diverse women and men, that more accurately represent the "Average" North American.
The aim of the film is not to "skinny shame" or to glorify unhealthy living, but rather to show that beauty comes in a wide range of shapes and sizes, and further, that using a wide range of shapes and
sizes in advertising, would not be damaging to a brand.
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Project 14 (14 representing the average dress size of a woman in North America) will follow the team first as we re-create the magazine ads as closely as possible, doing shoots in as many locations as possible and with a range of "normal", "everyday", people. This first portion of the film will also involve interviews with these new "models" on what they think of the subject matter as well as how they felt being a part of a magazine.
The second part of the film will follow the shoot team as we distribute the finished magazine to a variety of random people on the street as well as people within the fashion and photography industries. Their reactions to this "magazine" will be the climax showing that diversity in the fashion world is a positive rather than a negative.
As a final touch, the film will end with the team displaying the finished ad images at an exhibit for the ‘models’ and their friends and family, with interviews and comments from this group on how the documentary and finished project has made them feel as "normal" people being thrust into the role of "model".
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Project 14 will document a simple social experiment, the thesis being; "using a wide range of shapes and sizes in advertising would not be damaging to a brand, and in fact could be beneficial".
This deceptively simple concept will require a major amount of work on a relatively large scale to accomplish. The documentary team will need to create ads that are similar (and mimic) current fashion ads, but with a more diverse range of models. They will then replace the ads in a replica of a well known magazine, and see A) If people (general public and industry insiders) notice and B) if they see it as positive or negative.
The models chosen will be "regular" people or non-professional (i.e. amateur) models of various shapes, sizes and colors, with an aim to keep the distribution near to the North American average dress size of 14.
Within these parameters the documentary team hopes to show the original thesis to hold true.
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As with most independent films, the funding for Project 14 will come from grants, bursaries, crowd funding, and sponsorships.
In order to complete this project, the team will have to re-create at least 50 separate ads, and while many of them can be completed locally in Canada, some will require travel to either Europe, The United States , and the Caribbean. There will be a major cost involved in this aspect.
In addition to the cost of simply traveling to shoot locations, there is the additional cost associated with contracting a stylist, hair and makeup personnel, as well as pay for crew as needed.
Currently Project 14 has an initial budget of $150,000. This initial campaign is seeking the funds to begin this project which will be massive in scope, requiring 50 plus photo shoots, in various locations, as well as interviews with industry insiders and more.
Your help will allow us to get this important work off the ground.