Technology alters not just our language but our lives—and the word “app” is no exception. Over the short period of the past few years, it has evolved from a concept introduced by Steve Jobs to a daily part of the lives of millions.

Long Beach documentarian Jake Schumacher, pairing with his friend Jedidiah Hurt, wants to explore the influence apps have had on all of us—and they hope to do so through the storytelling medium of film and the fundraising medium of Kickstarter in the hope of finishing App: The Human Story

AppHuman 03For both filmmakers, the app represents one of those “rare moments when the world fundamentally shifts,” as Schumacher puts it. They believe the affect of the app is undeniable, be it the social and political influence of the app through the use of Twitter on mobile phones during the Arab Spring or the psychological and behavioral changes apps have created by having social media literally at the tips of fingers of anyone with a smartphone. 

Having moved to Long Beach two years ago from Idaho, Schumacher was unsure of what the city would bring him. After making skate videos as a kid and moving onto shorts and commercials, Schumacher believes he has finally discovered a subject that is worthy of a full-length documentary feature.

“I knew the project would most likely never happen if I stayed in Idaho,” Schumacher said, “so I moved with the slim hope that we could get the project off the ground even though it did seem like a real long shot. We came to Long Beach without really knowing anyone but it has worked out really beautifully.”

AppHuman 02Upon arrival in Long Beach, his slowly-budding relationship with Sandwich Video founder Adam Lisagor landed him some jobs and connected him more with the techy world. After all, Sandwich Video helps companies—from GroupOn to ebay, Warby Parker to Jawbone—express their stories through video, providing Schumacher the chance to connect with people who would have otherwise been unreachable.

“Adam introduced us to a few of his developer and designer friends who jumped on board [with the idea of App],” Schumacher said. “Besides that, we never really stopped writing emails. I think it came across in our emails that we really respected the subject matter and we were passionate about making the project.”

Art is a keyword for Schumacher, who considers (rightfully so) the aspects of software development and design to be artistically-driven. Given the relative youth of software development, it is a tricky terrain to explore without the subject matter becoming academic in a sense and only appealing to tech-driven people. But with the growing popularity of apps, Schumacher believes that will be overridden by “peeling back the screen of their devices to reveal the people behind these apps.”

Those people are not just anybody; we’re talking Marco Arment, co-founder of Tumblr, John Gruber of the website Daring Fireball and software company Q-Branch, Jason Snell of Macworld, iPhone jail breaker Layton Duncan, and more. Even more, Long Beach is an integral part of the film as Schumacher and crew follow around Ryan Newsome, a local iOS developer, and the people of JLOOP, a creative technology company in the East Village.

Right now, Schumaker and Hurt are about a quarter of the way finished, with the $100K they are hoping to raise through their Kickstarter to be used to finish the film. 

“Thankfully, some of the most respected names in the community have given us a chance to prove that we can be authoritative figures in telling the story of the app,” Schumacher said. “Now that the project is public, we’re humbled and excited to see people like John GruberCraig Hockenberry ,and Federico Viticci talk about the project with so much trust in us as artists.”