Far Out (2019)
Producer, Director, EditorA transmedia, narrative series designed for Instagram TV, developed with Instagram and Buzzfeed. The series premiered successfully on Buzzfeed’s IGTV on May 2nd.
Watch on IGTV
*Best viewed on mobile device
The story of a college student and her struggles with love and friendship was told over 5 weeks in real time on 7 different Instagram accounts and 1 Tumblr Blog. It was a mixture of traditionally shot and edited short films and Instagram content coming from each character. It seeks to interrogate the 9:16 aspect ratio on traditional narrative storytelling, the role of handheld entertainment, and the nature of performative behaviors on social media as part of it’s storytelling. In telling the story in real time through various character Instagrams, the series critiques the way we use social media to craft narratives around ourselves.
The project was developed at Buzzfeed and Instagram’s incubator program, #VerticalU, and as part of my Senior Fall Media Studies project (for Honors). FAR OUT was one of only fifteen projects selected to receive funding from both companies, and I was invited to speak as one of five representatives at Instagram’s New York #VerticalU premiere to industry leaders.
The project was developed at Buzzfeed and Instagram’s incubator program, #VerticalU, and as part of my Senior Fall Media Studies project (for Honors). FAR OUT was one of only fifteen projects selected to receive funding from both companies, and I was invited to speak as one of five representatives at Instagram’s New York #VerticalU premiere to industry leaders.
Creative Direction, Webseries Identity
Beyond developing, producing, directing and editing the transmedia webseries FAR OUT in collaboration with Instagram and Buzzfeed, I managed the social media campaigns and webseries roll-out across multiple channels. Throughout the weeks-long run of the series, I maintained a consistent visual identity and tone across 7 different Character Instagram accounts, 1 Tumblr, and several short narrative films.
The webseries used Instagram accounts to further imagine characterization in the digital age. They were real accounts that published weekly posts that were scripted into the storyline. I crafted each characters specific aesthetics across the feed and in stories, and implemented everything from the photography, photo editing, and Instagram Story design. Even details such as celebrities each account was following, and the emojis used when commenting on each others page, was part of the act.
The webseries used Instagram accounts to further imagine characterization in the digital age. They were real accounts that published weekly posts that were scripted into the storyline. I crafted each characters specific aesthetics across the feed and in stories, and implemented everything from the photography, photo editing, and Instagram Story design. Even details such as celebrities each account was following, and the emojis used when commenting on each others page, was part of the act.
Teaser Promotional Posters
The Instagram account @FarOut_TV(above) was used as a main hub to catch all the weekly content and create a timeline for easy viewing.
Example of other design elements: (1) Instagram Stories on the main account, @FarOut_TV, created in-app (2) Stylized text messages between characters created in Photoshop (3) Announcement posts created in Photoshop (4) Light web designing and coding of a character’s tumblr.