The Mp3 Experiments

IMPROV EVERYWHERE

The Mp3 Experiments

The Mp3 Experiment is participatory public event created by Improv Everywhere.
 We stage a new Mp3 Experiment in New York each year and also tour the project regularly to college campuses and international festivals.
Here’s how it works: 

• we put an original mp3 file online (usually around 45 minutes long) that people download and transfer to their mobile devices. 

•  Participants then synchronize their watches to an atomic clock on our website, head out to the same public location, and blend in with others.

•  At the predetermined time, everyone presses play. Hilarity ensues as participants carry out ridiculous, coordinated instructions delivered to their headphones via narrator “Steve” and everyone else tries to figure out what the hell is going on. 

David Pogue of the New York Times participated in our 2009 experiment and wrote:

It was hilarious. The crowd was young and fun, and the whole thing was orchestrated, planned and written exceptionally well. What a totally, totally cool idea: part mass hypnosis, part party, part comedy club… like a political rally, but with more to do. Find a way to be part of it.

You can read his full recap on NYTimes.com.

Here is an overview of all of the New York Mp3 Experiments dating back to the original in 2004. Take a look at the videos, and click on the titles to check out the behind the scenes project page.