ASK & DISCUSS INDEX

9 years, 9 months ago - Chris Regan

I’ve been developing a new horror webseries in which an aspiring vlogger makes a Faustian pact for Youtube fame, but when strange occurrences begin to threaten her sense of reality she suspects that the devil has come to collect early.

The conceit is that the story is told via a vlog that appears real, very much in the style of lonelygirl15 but with a much darker tone. It’s kind of lonelygirl15 meets Marble Hornets.

So far I’ve posted six episodes. The character is in the pre-Faustian-pact stage so these are normal, everyday vlogs and to date the audience appears to have accepted them as such. The channel currently has nearly 500 subscribers and over 3000 views, which I know isn’t huge but it’s pretty good for a brand new channel and it’s growing every day.

However, I could do with some help. I need people on the inside, who know the truth, to help me maintain the illusion that this is really happening and to help direct the story via twitter and in the Youtube comments. I can assure you my motivations here are simply to tell a good story that also analyses the idea of fake internet profiles and asks the question, is anyone really who they say they are online? In all honesty, it's going to be very apparent that this isn't real once the supernatural element comes into play, but I will still need help in moving the story along and at least making it seem real for the character.

To this end, I have set up a top-secret mailing list. Each time a video is released I send out an e-mail with some background information on the current episode and suggestions for comments and actions that will help move the story forward. I’m also considering releasing the videos to those on the mailing list early for feedback purposes.

The assistance required is fairly minimal and no one who signs up to help is under any obligation to get involved – a few people on the list already just want to see how it develops and that's fine. What you get out of it is a behind the scenes insight into the production and reception of an experimental transmedia project. I’m mostly producing this on my own so it’s very much a case of trial and error and it’s already thrown up some interesting problems.

If you’d like to find out more, I’ve been vlogging about the development of the series on my Youtube channel – www.youtube.com/cgregan

And if you are interested in being involved, message me on here or e-mail me at cg_regan[at]hotmail.com. I’ll send you a link to the series and from there you can decide whether you want to be added to the list.

Thanks,

Chris