A new web series pilot is demonstrating the rise of the interactive experience of film and television.
The platform Eko, partnered with Warner Music Group, teamed up for a Creator Incubator, handpicking creatives to develop short-form, interactive projects.
The up-and-coming young filmmaker Christian Jones put together the project, On the Way Home.
On my 25th birthday, I met with @ekovideo about the possibility of creating an interactive web pilot for their incubator project. Well today “On The Way Home” is here! Starring @marcomckinnis @calebstph & @littlebaconbear https://t.co/YwORXS3YT5
What ending did you get? ???? pic.twitter.com/ZeDgOYddFT
— christian jones (@yngyhwh) November 27, 2018
The description of On the Way Home reads: “Jerome is worried about what will happen to his friendships when he heads to a different high school as the current school year winds down. Today, Jerome and his two best friends stop at a usual hang out—Crown’s Fried Chicken.”
From there, you can choose several decisions that the lead character Jerome will make in the pilot, which lasts about six minutes.
“Eko’s creator incubator was presented to myself and my producing partner Gil Taveras as an opportunity to basically test drive Eko’s interactive studio platform — which is open to all creators. Initially, we pitched a concept to them for a series (as did nine other creators) and they worked with us to develop the pilot episode. They were really patient with us throughout, because the interactive aspect was foreign to us,” Jones told Shadow and Act.
Interactive television and film seems like it is on the rise and here to stay. On that experience, Jones said, “It was so tough at first! I had a lot more outcomes in the initial outlines, but we decided it’d be best simplify them. I had to work from the ending backward. Once I got an idea of the desired outcome for Jerome’s actions I got a better view of how his actions would lead to each ending!”
Jones would like to develop and possibly shop On the Way Home as a full series. “I believe there’s a lot of pure potential in On The Way Home as a story. Actually, now I see interactive as the best format for this kind of story because as a young teen you’re offered so many choices on the way home from school. That was the basic premise, and we have so many ideas on how to expand it (especially with the experience from the pilot)!”
Watch On the Way Home in full over at Eko.
Jones is also the director and co-writer of the upcoming project Brown with Blue.
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