The Conversation: YouTube Makes a Movie

July 23, 2010— -- Saturday, July 24 very well may become the best-documented day in history. That's because filmmakers Ridley Scott and Kevin MacDonald are calling on YouTube users around the world to document their lives on this innocuous summer day, and they're going to use the best videos to make a feature film.

The "Life in a Day" project is an experimental documentary that will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. In partnership with YouTube, Scott is executive producing the film, while MacDonald is directing.

The goal is to create a "snap-shot of life on earth during one 24-hour period," according to the project's YouTube channel.

"I want you to chronicle your world, your life, your neighborhood on a single day," MacDonald wrote on the site. "You could shoot the journey you take to work, the visit you make to your son, your mother, your grandmother."

In today's Conversation, ABC's Stephanie Sy talked with Rick Smolan, who's collaborating on the project by distributing video cameras to remote areas of the globe, hoping to make sure the film really includes all cultures and not just the web-savvy.

"We've spent the last month getting 650 cameras to 40 countries around the world," Smolan said. "The rainforests of Brazil, the outback of Australia. People that may have never made a phone call, never seen a TV show, never watched a movie. Maybe they don't even have electricity."

Anyone is invited to shoot a video on Saturday and submit it on the 'Life in a Day' page. To see the full rules and guidelines, click here.

People won't be paid for their submissions, but if a user's video is included in the final cut, they'll receive a "co-director" credit for the film.

We hope you'll watch today's Conversation for more on this unique project that's putting social media to use in a new way.

Click here to return to the "World News" page.