Have you ever wondered how the Global Lives Project selects the people it follows?

Participants are not just randomly selected. People who choose to share their life with the project are often previously known, or somehow connected to the producers and crews who follow them.

But with each curated set of shoots we also try to select ten people who represent a rough demographic cross section of the planet.

Suggested participants are categorized into six different demographic categories: age, gender, income, region, religion, and geography.

Below is a chart with a randomized example of how selections of participants might be made, depending on the diversity of applications that we receive.

Finding the right mix of participants to represent the whole world is a daunting challenge, and it is certainly far from scientific. But as the footage comes together it weaves a story of the diversity of human life experience that is truly eye-opening.

Watch this video for a deeper explanation!

Demographics come from the CIA World Factbook, the United Nations, and other sources.