
We're pretty excited by the geeky hype surrounding the July 17 premiere of Tom Hanks' "Electric City," an online series in which each five- to seven-minute episode is just the tip of a digital content iceberg.
"City," presented by Yahoo, will give viewers the opportunity to engage in online role play, explore character back-stories through online comic books, play games related to the series plot, view exclusive behind-the-scenes content, participate in "non-linear" storytelling, and otherwise get access to all sorts of other "highly immersive" and "interactive" online features.
It seems this series has the potential to be a real sci-fi hit, and not just because it has some big names associated with it. The ideas at work here aim to use highly immersive content to take control of the audience's "second screen" experience.
The concept of more fully immersing audiences in broadcasts is catching on. Even though it's decidedly lame, "The Glass House" reality show lets viewers cast votes on various decisions that drive the storyline. There's also " Screw*d," a show from Craftsman that drops decidedly un-handy people into precarious situations where they must rely on help from an online audience to properly utilize the tools at their disposal and get out of their predicaments.
Seems social components, and content that goes beyond the show itself, are now standard for most new shows. Do you think it's no longer enough to just sit back and be entertained?
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