“HONY: The Series” is Out and is As Inspirational As the Photoblog

After the Humans of New York photo series, its creator Brandon Stanton has come out with “HONY: The Series”.

Two young men making money as “Showtime Kids” on the New York subway. Down-on-their-luck musicians, busking on the streets or off them. A young mother out with her child in a park, learning the ropes of motherhood as she goes. A pre-pubescent boy making startlingly perceptive remarks on growing up and becoming a teenager. Two young, Hijab-clad women talking about getting their hair coloured, and listing other items on their to-do list.

These are a few of the several very human, and yet extraordinary, portraits that Brandon Stanton, the photographer behind the Human of New York photo project, has managed to squeeze into the preview, and the first two episodes of the Humans of New York web series.

Interspersed with beautiful time-lapse shots of the city, with music by T Griffin and Oddisee, the first two episodes are reminiscent of the photo project, despite the changed format.

The first episode in the series, Everyday Matters

The video series is as story driven as its photo-predecessor, the only major difference being the way these stories are narrated. Instead of text captions, the people Stanton stumbles across, speak into the camera and talk about “life, love, and everything else in between.”

Another deviation from the original is several stories in one episode – instead of the one-story-per-post format that the photo project follows, each episode is made up of several interviews.

Stanton has footage of about 1,200 interviews filmed over four years. Assisting him in the process was Michael Crommett, a cinematographer.

I’m Here, the second episode in the series

Officially launched on Watch, Facebook’s recently launched video streaming service, that is set to compete with YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Instant Video, the series is set to have thirteen episodes.

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