| Initiator |
HBOlab |
| Completion |
2008 |
| Description |
HBOlab was an entity launched by HBO to produce short humor series that played across YouTube and other social video sites. The broadband-only productions had appeared under the name Runawaybox.com. HOOKING UP was the first production to launch under the name HBOlab. The script outlined a thirteen episode series with an ensemble of actors portraying college students during their first year at university. The twist that HBOlab hoped would set the series apart was that the cast was made up of individuals who already had large followings on YouTube. Among the stars were Jessica Rose (loneylgirl15), Kevin Wu (KevJumba) and Philip DeFranco (sXephil).
Despite the potential for viral marketing that proven YouTube stars would bring, HBO approached the AFI Digital Content Lab with a challenge. How could they use a multi-platform play to further extend the reach and intrigue of the series? The AFI Digital Content Lab reached out to potential mentors with an interest and expertise in this space and together with HBOlab came up with the idea of having a character who was not integral to the series in the first season who could draw fans in thanks to a spectrum of hints and pointers.
The AFI team drew on the best alternate reality game examples to provide HBO with a roadmap for integrating a parallel storyline that took place across platforms and applications. As HBO commenced shooting the main HOOKING UP series, they began creating and integrating a number of cross-platform elements that would exist in parallel with the main series. This included Facebook and MySpace pages for each fictional character on the show. Some also had blogs, video blogs, and/or Twitter accounts. With the launch of the series via HBOlab broadband distribution on YouTube, Break.com and other similar distribution channels, the related Facebook and other social network pages began hinting at a mysterious character, Dylan.
In the new scenario inspired by the AFI Lab, Dylan was introduced as a character who had had a brief dalliance with Meg, the main star of the series, prior to the beginning of the school year. She had forgotten him, but he remained fixated on her. Gradually, via discussions on the characters’ social network pages, fans learn that Dylan has, among other social network presences, a video blog in which he describes his interest in Meg. He is essentially a creepy character and this builds a sense of suspense. The intent was to bring Dylan into the main broadband series in the second season.
The gambit was successful. As the thirteen episodes unfolded over broadband, fans began finding the references to Dylan and then Dylan’s blog, itself. This helped to drive traffic and build engagement within the fan community.
The statistics for the run of the HOOKING UP series:
2m+ views within the first month on YouTube
100k+ subscribers to the series
350k views per episode, on average
High level of engagement (30k+ comments and ratings)
Channel views peaked in the top 1% of all YouTube channels.
|
| Mentors |
Crowd Factory: Elizabeth Osder
Dreamsocket: Kenny Bunch
HBOlab: Scott Chan, Danila Koverman, Fran Shea, Andrew Zilch
I Make TV, Inc.: Adam Weissman
The Opportunity Management Company: Brian Seth Hurst
Yahoo!: Rebecca Paoletti
Zugara: Hans Forsman, Tony Kwan, Anne Ortega
|
| Platform |
Broadband |
|
|
|
|
| Direct Link |
|
©2007 American Film Institute. All rights reserved.