# Source note — Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project / Marion Stokes TikTok

Captured: August 30, 2026
Managing Expectations section: Movies
Original TikTok short URL: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSVcYorXH/
Resolved TikTok URL: https://www.tiktok.com/@21g8l3f7/video/7676060042050817293
TikTok uploader: 21g8l3f7
TikTok upload date: 20260820
Duration: 87 seconds
TikTok caption: Discover the incredible story of Marion Stokes, who recorded 71,716 tapes to preserve history as it happened. What tape would you want to see first? Learn more about her fascinating legacy! #MarionStokes #Documentary #RecorderMarionStokesProject #History #FYP #ArchivingTruth #FakeNews #TelevisionArchive #Innovation

## Preserved TikTok package
- `tiktok-video.mp4` — downloaded TikTok video.
- `tiktok-video.jpg` — thumbnail/cover.
- `tiktok-video.info.json` — metadata.
- `tiktok-video.description` — caption.
- `sources/transcript-faster-whisper-base.txt` — transcript.
- `sources/frame-contact-sheet.jpg` — frame/contact sheet.
- `sources/ffprobe.json` — media technical metadata.
- `yt-dlp*.txt` logs.

## Main source anchors
- TikTok lead: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSVcYorXH/
- Resolved TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@21g8l3f7/video/7676060042050817293
- Official film site: http://www.recorderfilm.com/
- PBS Independent Lens: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/documentaries/recorder-the-marion-stokes-project/
- Internet Archive Marion Stokes collection: https://archive.org/details/marionstokesvideo
- Internet Archive blog tag: https://blog.archive.org/tag/recorder-the-marion-stokes-project/
- Atlas Obscura: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/marion-stokes-television-news-archive
- LA Review of Books: https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/marion-stokes-and-the-power-of-guerrilla-archiving/
- Criterion Channel: https://www.criterionchannel.com/recorder-the-marion-stokes-project

## Key finding
The TikTok’s main subject is real: Marion Stokes was a Philadelphia activist/librarian/TV producer/archivist associated with an enormous around-the-clock TV recording project. The documentary is correctly titled *Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project*, directed by Matt Wolf. Official film materials use the round figure of about 70,000 VHS tapes; the TikTok gives the more precise figure 71,716, so the article uses “70,000+” and attributes the exact number to the TikTok/source trail.

## Editorial caution
This is a movie/history card, not celebrity gossip. Keep dramatic documentary storytelling, Marion Stokes’s documented history, TikTok narration, and secondary-source details in separate boxes. Do not assume the TikTok’s generated/green-screen background imagery is itself documentary footage.