KEY POINTS:
A new "byte-sized" soap is about to hit New Zealand screens - on television, phone and computer.
My Story is the first drama created in New Zealand for a multitude of media, made for broadcast not only on television, but also on the internet and 3G phones (3G, or third-generation, phones are able to provide high-quality video, music, and TV streaming).
The 40 "byte-sized" episodes, only two minutes long, will screen on TV on C4 five nights a week, before being available to download to 3G phones.
A week after broadcast, the entire week's episodes will be viewable online, with exclusive bonus material.
The episodes will cost 20c each to download to phones. The first 1000 people to register for the service will receive all 40 episodes free.
Created by the Gibson Group, My Story follows a group of 18-year-old friends fresh out of high school. The series starts three months after a friend of the group has mysteriously disappeared.
Gibson Group new media executive Bevin Linkhorn said My Story was the company's response to the transformation of television worldwide.
He said "multi-platform television" was becoming part of the mainstream, as more and more people invested in 3G phones, MP3 players and other viewing devices.
Funding for My Story came through NZ On Air's Innovation Initiative, which encourages television production that takes risks, breaks new ground, reinvents existing formats, experiments with new technology, and creates a new experience for audiences.
Funding for downloads to mobile has come from the Family Planning Association, the show's main sponsor.
"We started thinking about My Story by thinking about the MySpace generation," Mr Linkhorn explained.
"We live in the 'me' digital age. It's all about us. And with all these new viewing devices, we don't always want to sit there watching something that's half an hour long.
"Viewers are becoming more open to watching things in a non-traditional way - on their phones, on the internet, on their iPods, their PSPs and want to watch what they want, where they want, when they want."
Gibson Group wanted to create something "fresh and local that technology-savvy young Kiwis recognised as being about them".
"The best thing about My Story is that it's New Zealand content for the multi-device world. We have great young Kiwi actors, talented new writers. It's shot beautifully and put together by the award-winning production company who made the Insiders Guide series and The Hothouse."
The series begins on C4, Monday, April 23, at 5.20pm (repeated at 8pm).
- NZPA
