campfire

Podcast: StoryForward, Episode 002 -- Mike Monello by J.C. Hutchins

In this episode, Campfire partner and Chief Creative Officer Mike Monello gives us a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the Blair Witch mythology and how to navigate the fine line between creative storytelling, marketing and clients. He also discusses "Dark Score Stories," Campfire's transmedia campaign that supported the release of Stephen King's Bag of Bones. Links from this show:

Tell us what you think of the show by giving co-host Steve Peters and I a shout at info at storyworldpodcast dot com!

Denise Crosby Video Now Live At JoinTheColony.com by J.C. Hutchins

The only thing cooler than helping Campfire create a celebrity Public Service Announcement set in the fictional post-apocalyptic world of #StillHere is watching it after it's been assembled and published.

Of course, it's exponentially cooler when that celebrity is actress Denise Crosby, perhaps best-known for her role as Lt. Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation. (TNG geeks like me also know her as "Sela.") This is one of the coolest things I've ever worked on. Check it. Tweet and FB it. Embed it at your blog.

[VIDEO HAS BEEN REMOVED]

This PSA -- and more than 300 other updates, comments, newscasts, blog posts, breaking news stories, photos and videos -- await you at TheColony.Discovery.com. It's an online prequel experience simulation for Discovery Channel's show The Colony. The Colony's second season debuts on July 27.

Mainline this free content at TheColony.Discovery.com. Sign in via Facebook Connect to behold how the incurable virus Denise describes -- the Nuclear Flu -- might affect you, and those closes to you: your family and friends. (A Facebook login isn't required, but boy, does it make it so much cooler...)

#StillHere,

--J.C.

#StillHere, A Fiction Experience For Discovery Channel’s “The Colony,” Is Online by J.C. Hutchins

My latest fiction project -- a groundbreaking online narrative that gives you and your friends ringside seats to the end of the world -- is now live. I've worked with dozens of talented creators and developers on this story for months now, and hope you'll find it as fun and resonant as we do.

We've nicknamed this story #StillHere. It's a transmedia experience designed to introduce you the devastated world of the Discovery Channel's TV program The Colony. It's an interesting place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live here: this world has been wrecked by an ultra-contagious virus called "Nuclear Flu." The second season of The Colony debuts in the U.S. on Tuesday, July 27.

The Colony show features seven non-actor volunteers participating in an immersive social experiment, exploring what life might be like after this biological catastrophe. They're tasked with surviving without creature comforts, facing physical and emotional challenges -- including danger from rival survivors. I've seen The Colony's first season, and thought it was pretty amazing.

My involvement with The Colony and Discovery begins and ends with #StillHere, an exclusive online prequel experience that simulates how this pandemic could spread and affect those closest to you. Using the familiar setting of your favorite social network, you'll bear witness to the unhinging of the world, told from many unique perspectives: those of your family and friends.

Literally, your family and friends. Your Facebook-connected buddies are already posting at the site, riding shotgun toward the apocalypse. Your loved ones are writing status updates about hope and coping in this damaged world ... sharing newscast videos about the virus ... commenting on blog posts, photo galleries, home-made videos, breaking news stories and more. They're scraping by, desperately trying to outrun the Nuclear Flu, and need you to join them.

Which you should do. Right now. At TheColony.Discovery.com.

More than 300 updates and comments -- and dozens of videos, photos, articles and more -- await you, all set in an America ravaged by this unstoppable virus. As part of a creative team that included artists, filmmakers, animators and programmers, I acted as Lead Writer, playing a large role in creating the world of #StillHere. But this narrative machine had many moving parts, and the people who envisioned and executed this project are as numerous as they are talented.

I'll soon tell you more about #StillHere, the experience of crafting its content, and the astoundingly brilliant folks at Campfire, the company that conceived this project and invited me to collaborate with them.

In the meantime, give the #StillHere simulation a spin. Visit TheColony.Discovery.com, log in using Facebook Connect, and behold a unique narrative experience customized solely for you. If you enjoy it, share its content on Twitter and Facebook with your friends and family. Spread the word.

Oh. One thing. Don't bother getting a preventative flu shot or buying a surgical face mask before embarking on your #StillHere experience. Nuclear Flu is already in the air, right now. You've probably already contracted it.

Your friends certainly have. As you'll soon discover, not all of them will make it.

TheColony.Discovery.com. Have fun.

#StillHere,

--J.C.