A pair of middle class kids giving the middle finger to the rule of thumb is making it easy to hitch a lift and learn a new story.
You know the rule, right? There are no free lunches. Repeat. No. free. Lunches. And there are no free taxis, either. Did we mention that? Until Shannon Strange pulls up at your feet and offers you a ride with her co-pilot, Chris Kerr-Peterson. To anywhere. For nothing. Nada. Niks. You wiggle your eyebrows, you look around – they look ok, bright kids, friendly, quirky, they’ve got cardboard posters stuck all over their car; why not? It’s free. True, but there’s a catch, and it’s a clever, compassionate one. They want your story. And they want to share it with the whole wide world on the World Wide Web…
A typical cultural hijacking goes something like this : “do you wanna free taxi ride? To wherever you’re going. We‘ve got drinks! We’ve got business cards; we’re not dodgy or anything…”
Chris and Shannon are AAA School Of Advertising students in their final year of studies. , Chris is completing a degree in visual communication while Shannon is qualifying with a diploma in copywriting and they’re posting social snippets online as part of their final project.
The videos, available on their Facebook fan page and YouTube are all less than 2 minutes long, so they don’t chew bandwidth, or your ear off. They’re sharp and unscripted, and edited (mostly) chronologically to be as close to the moment as possible. The combination of the amateur video style; clever, intuitive editing and the passengers’ resultant honesty is endearing.
Shannon is amazed at peoples’ willingness to share so openly. “Our footprint is so small” she says of the social limits of our everyday realities and people’s desire to express themselves. “South Africans are so keen to tell their stories. We are so extremely boxed in.” Here are some of the secrets passengers shared en route.
Tired of Mzolis? Try Solis – Thando Jack recommends
Heard of the chicken bone trail?
Need a(nother) chic gourmet coffee shop?
Delft? Whut is DELFT?
Shooting from the hip kills cliché dead. How’s this for a profundity? “I’m suffering, but I’m not saying I’m suffering, just because : Jesus give you two legs, two eyes, and two hands, né?” that’s Cynthia Makawo making her way through the city centre in the back seat. From the other side of the fence, Paul Bremmer, social documentary photography and secret places snitch :
“Every now and then, doing stuff in poor places or violent places reminds you what humanity’s all about. “
The genuine warmth and candour of Capetonians definitely hinges off the atmosphere that Chris and Shannon create in their cab. But they weren’t always friends; in fact, they were enemies for a time. They categorically admit to hating each other at first, for reasons neither of them can explain. They subsequently worked together on AAA projects and realised that collaboration was more fun than the frustration of being at odds. Now they adore each other, and it shows; their quirky, off-the-cuff dialogue and synergy is hugely entertaining and helps any new passenger settle right in. Kudos to AAA for forcing them to be friends – they’re now working well together in their final year. Or so they hope.
The decision to make Secret City their final project is a little risqué, but they’re having too much fun and learning too much to stop. “The way we see it,” says Shannon, “is as long as you come out with a portfolio you are happy with, that’s all that counts. This is a project we’d be happy to show any potential employer. At the end of the day, as long as we don’t fail the year, it doesn’t really matter if we fail this brief.” A free taxi in Africa? Can’t possibly fail!
See if you ‘like’ them…
Secret City Project has a Face and a Blogspot.
