Hispanic Cross-Media: Barbara Luna
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Thanks
Shot on a shoestring budget in the course of a few very long days and nights, “Mystery Online Theater” is the DCL’s first original, scripted program. I asked William Via about the genesis of the project: “We really spent a lot of time on the script and made sure we got the storytelling right, letting the design and other elements come from that,” he explained. No repurposing here–and it shows! Notable features of the project include 1) a cross-promotional element with broadcast–the talk show in the mystery is an actual daily program on Telemundo featuring a popular, vociferous host; and 2) the manner in which supplemental material is layered in: viewers can see security camera footage (at one point, for example, the security cam reveals that several characters have been lying about their alibis), interviews with the show’s main characters, secondary video clips, and character bios. Live chats are planned with the show’s characters, and there will be an SMS update that viewers will be able to opt into.
But the Ana Maria event is more than cross-promotion. It is the actual first episode. It is content in itself. Marketing and entertainment are bosom buddies now, so we’ll see a lot more of this.