CHat Plays GBH

Client: GBH

Goal: Showcase the potential of interactive live streaming and the value of creative audience participation in storytelling.

Demographic: All

Team:

  • GBH Emerging Platforms Initiative

  • Hovercast

Platforms: Twitch, Facebook, YouTube

Project Summary: As media becomes increasingly more interactive, how can public media adapt to reach new audiences, while still maintaining their long-time fans?

The Emerging Platforms Initiative at GBH experiments with new forms of storytelling on emerging platforms to develop best practices for productions. Chat Plays GBH, was the culmination of their research; a multi-platform live-streamed variety show that introduced five increasingly interactive new takes on classic GBH productions. The goal was to create with the audience instead of for them. The live-streamed event integrated live interactive elements, graphics, archival video, live scoring and a synced multi-camera field shoot with more than 20 live video feeds from across the US.

Chat Plays GBH was awarded the Silver Distinction in Remote Production and also received an Audience Honor at the Shorty Awards.

Read Hovercast’s Medium article about Unlocking the Fan-Powered Potential of Interactive Live Streaming.

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Contributions

I identified talent for the  AMAzing Space with NOVA  segment, as well as produced and hosted the Stream Cuisine with Joyce Chen segment.

“Led by live co-hosts, the stream kicked off with AMAzing Space with NOVA, an AMA-style conversation with two space scientists, one of whom had just discovered signs of microbial life on Venus. Questions from chat were curated, featured on screen and integrated into the live conversation with Hovercast.”

“Stream Cuisine with Joyce Chen was a YouTube vs. Twitch cooking competition inspired by 1960s GBH culinary education show Joyce Chen Cooks. In the first known instance of live cross-platform crowdplay, viewers competed in teams based on their platform, using polls to control an on-camera chef who had to do whatever their team said. This segment was shot live in the chefs’ home kitchen, integrating two additional live camera feeds through vMix.”