Researching further shows and second screen experiences

My group and I thought it a good idea to as well as researching the top three most successful television cross platform shows, we would also research two more shows each and also American V British shows. I have researched into different findings such as the use of SMS text messaging to engage the audience further and apps that you can play along with whilst a game show is on air, making the audience feel as though they are in the contestants shoes. 

Hollyoaks.

I have looked into the second screen experience Channel 4's soap 'Hollyoaks' brings to its audience. The shows audience mainly consists of students/young people age 16 - 30, purely because of its edgy and sometimes amateur storylines. When on the shows website, the first thing I was attracted to was a video an actress had recorded not in character. It was a video about help and advice for those who may have suicidal thoughts. Her character has a bullying storyline and for those who can relate to her storyline can visit the web page and check out the video for help. 

On both it's sides, the website is inundated with posts and comments from the public tweeting about episodes or character plots. The show seems to have a rather strong link with Twitter, so this is a good way of engaging it's audience and seeing just what they think of the show, almost like a questionnaire where by the creators and actors are able to see what the audience's likes and dislikes are. Throughout the website, we see a strong link with iTunes. From almost every episode, the audience is able to go onto the website and click on the episode or blogs of choice to be able to download a song they have heard on that episode via iTunes. The music is of course mainly chart music which brings me back to my assumption of the audience being slightly younger than that of Emmerdale (also aired around the same time).

Amongst this, I found a very interesting second screen experience Hollyoaks offered. Hollyoaks pulled it's viewers into the story lines via SMS. Conker Digital dreamed this up and felt that it provided drama alongside the injection of interactivity which pushed creativity in other genres like factual entertainment, documentary and TV sports coverage. In doing this, it allowed viewers to be one step ahead of the latest story lines even before they hit the screen! This is a great way to keep audiences engaged.

The creators of hollyoaks and Channel 4 devised a concert and named it the Wretch32 Invasion. The gig was promoted via Twitter, and as I have stated earlier, Hollyoaks and Twitter pretty much go hand in hand. The gig was free to those who were quick enough to grab a ticket, and at the gig, 10 selected fans were given a Nikon 5D camera to film the gig (and stunt which will happen later on in the show) in doing so, the footage could be shown on Hollyoaks thus giving them a TV credit. Onlookers were left stunned when an actor from Hollyoaks burst onto stage and declared his love to another actress from the show. This was a climax to an on going love triangle on Hollyoaks. In doing this, the creators were able to deliver a story in real time and interact with the audience on a new level, making viewers become fully immersed in the drama. Very good interaction with the audience from Hollyoaks here!

Check out this link of footage filmed at the Wretch32 invasion by an onlooker

I discovered that there are some other innovative ways that TV networks use SMS:

• The USA soap 'Confidential' sent out sneak previews of the show to audiences via SMS or picture messaging and also information about characters, developing the characters further.
• Voting polls began to emerge in UK and America clearly seen on shows such as 'America Idol' and 'The X Factor'.
• An interetsing intercative exeprince is with the UK soap 'In Your Shoes' where the plots where decided by the audience. The show would SMS its audience at the end of each episode featuring a cliff hanger or dilemma. By doing this, the show is interacting with its audience more and therefore makes the audience believe that they are becoming more involved than others within the show. 

A family in Hollyoaks have created a short clip advertising the 'Talk Talk' 'YouView' broadband connection. The family promote the on demand, new TV catch up programme meaning they have access to a large range of on demand TV content. This applies to their audience and is also advertising the fact that in having YouView, the audience can watch and record Hollyoaks whenever they feel like it. 

Check out the Hollyoaks YouView clip here!

Million Pound Drop.

The main second screen experience that stands out for this game show is its app. The show has an app that the audience is able to play along to the show with and in doing so, puts the audience in the contestants shoes. The features include being able to connect to Facebook and sharing skills with friends and being able to apply to be a contestant on the show. The show is able to boost it's ratings by advertising itself through it's audiences Facebook when showing off results to friends. The downfall is that you can only use this app when the game is on air, however you are able to upgrade the app by £1.49 then you can play it anytime, anywhere. The other interactive experience that stood out for me, but for the wrong reason was that of a link to the online betting site 'Bet365'. Gambling is not a good sport or addiction to have and therefore I don't find it fitting that the show had advertised this on its website. Then again, I feel this is because the shows audience is mainly made up of money mad, gambling fools. Game shows are all the same, its fun to watch but some people go a step to far and can lead to gambling.

Comparing American TV shows to British TV shows using 'The Office'.

The American take on The Office had a strong 1 - 9 seasons, where as the British version only a dissapoiinting 1- 2. There are many factors to this however I think its safe to say the American version has one over all. The USA version has its own website and on it, the characters maintain their own blogs, creating character development. For the audience to be able to read a characters blog that they are interested in gives the audience more information that they may not gain from the show itself. Its much more personal than just watching the show and nothing else until the next episode. The shows website features many games such as puzzles, sports games and the 'Dunder Mifflin Monster Maze.' There is also a wealth of interactive games such as the ever popular personality quiz. In this, the audience is able to find out which character they are most like, whether that be good or bad.

You are able to click 'Inside Dunder Mifflin' where you can get much more closer to the action by going through characters emails which you wouldn't see on the show. You are also able to email the characters through this experience giving you a closer, more personal insight into the show.

In comparison to the UK version of The Office, it seems a little bleak. Even though the 'mockumentary' is supposed to capture life at its slowest, I feel in my research and in my personal opinion, the British show deptics this a little too much. The characters are extremely down trodden and I understand that this is what is meant to be captured however, the British version lacks in humour. I wouldn't say the American adaption glamourises office work, however it does seem much more light hearted.

 There are hardly any second screen experiences for the UK adaption, just basic trivia games and no character development. This leads me to believe that American V British TV shows differ quite a lot.