By Leah Meager
A dreary old town called Fat Cow is set to transform Australian television drama by taking full advantage of the Internet and mobile phones to create a new interactive experience.
Fat Cow Motel falls somewhere between Neighbours and Big Brother by merging drama with interactive technologies, enabling the audience to develop strong relationships with the characters and plot.
Created by Brisbane based Hoodlum Entertainment, Fat Cow Motel is Australia's first multiplatform drama series and is filmed in Harrisville, west of Brisbane. In the dying town of Fat Cow, the boy-meets-girl saga is supported by 'whodunnit' mysteries, with parody added through a portrayal of the miscommunications of modern relationships.
It relays the story of Cassie Taylor, played by Kate Atkinson (Sea Change), as the third-generation owner of Fat Cow Motel and budding film maker Jack Green, played by Brendan Cowell (Young Lions). While Cassie's concerns lie with securing the ailing town's future, Jack arrives to film a documentary profile of Fat Cow.
From these beginnings grows a story aimed at getting people more involved with characters, explains Hoodlum Marketing and Communications Manager Kirsten Cameron.
"It's people choosing their own levels of involvement rather than the audience determining outcomes to the story. Except for the final episode where the audience can decide whether Jack and Cassie get together or whether they go their separate ways," Ms Cameron says.
Hoodlum's multiplatform idea emerged from the notion that new media tools could be integrated in traditional story-telling to extend the experience beyond the televised half-hour. Fat Cow Motel's website provides 'real' details of hotel rates and facilities, but also acts as a source of clues for solving the weekly mysteries.
"Our approach has been to make each of the platforms real to the world of Fat Cow," Ms Cameron says. Likewise, intercepted emails and SMS messages from characters will expose the audience to clues.
Despite the show's multiplatform capabilities, Ms Cameron says a television only participant will still have an enriched drama experience.
"While they all work seamlessly together to enhance the overall experience, each platform stands as a unique and independent audience experience," she says.
Ms Cameron says using the multiplatform concept in a narrative form is a first for Australia. "The opportunity is there because of the technology and it hasn't really been done before or explored. It's a beginning…it's all growing and will keep on moving in this direction," she says.
Costing less than $2 million, the low budget series is scheduled to go to air this year with PayTV provider Austar, but Ms Cameron confirms negotiations are continuing for free-to-air coverage.
This article was found at http://www.communique.qut.edu.au/entertainment/fatcow.htm