KEY POINTS:
Secrets, scandal and flowing blonde locks. New Zealand's newest teledrama has all the classic traits of a soap opera, including a missing-presumed-dead friend.
But My Story is not your classic soap. At just two minutes in length, the byte-sized series is the country's first cross-media production, created for
broadcast on television and 3G mobile phones.
Produced by the Gibson Group, makers of The Insider's Guide series, My Story tells the tale of five school leavers, struggling to make their mark on the world and coping with the mysterious loss of their good friend Regan.
Producer Bevin Linkhorn said the idea came about last year, when Gibson Group were looking to diversify their portfolio.
"We're always looking for other ways of delivering content. We were aware there was a lot of buzz about content being on the web and being available via mobile phones."
Twentieth Century Fox became the first studio to create a made-for-mobile series in 2005, when they created a cellular spin-off of 24 - comprising 24 one-minute episodes available exclusively to Vodafone users.
Inspired by the series' success, Gibson Group began thinking about creating their own mobile drama. After pitching the idea to TV3 and sister channel C4, who were eager to support the new venture, Gibson Group secured funding from New Zealand on Air's (NZOA) innovation fund.
Established in 2005, the fund has around $1 million each year earmarked for original and innovative works that experiment with technology and break new ground.
With $730,000 in NZOA grants, plus sponsorship from the Family Planning Association, the 40-episode series went into production in January and will debut on C4 this Monday.
The series is pure soap concentrate.
Imagine the key storyline of Home and Away, minus advertisements, recaps and side stories, and you have something similar to My Story.
Set in Wellington, the series focuses on five friends, each dealing with the daily struggle of life as 18-year-olds.
Ryan O'Kane, who plays Jed, a laidback larrikin and eternal optimist, was intrigued by the concept but admitted he had doubts about the end result.
"It was a really interesting idea but I wasn't sure if it was going to work or not."
But after seeing some completed episodes O'Kane is confident the series will catch on.
"I've seen the first 15 [episodes] - they look hilarious. The first few are a wee bit weird but after that they settle into pattern and you're left thinking, 'Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing the next one'."
Though My Story's unusual format caught the actor's attention, O'Kane said the real drawcard was his character's hair.
"I loved the idea of Jed and his big blond hair," laughed O'Kane.
Despite his best efforts to grow his own hair out, O'Kane underwent a 12-hour transformation at the hairdresser, where they attached more than 200 waist-length hair extensions.
"I walked around for a couple of days like that before they decided to trim it back. So I ended up with shoulder-length blonde hair."
Once on set, O'Kane discovered there were other benefits to the episodes' brief duration.
"Everyone went through the same motions as a normal series.
"It was just there were never any really big, long scenes.
"It made it easier because, to be honest. There was no time for anyone to be bad. It was just dialogue - end," he said.
"It was also really cool because you got the chance to try things out. It was a little looser than a big drama; things were a little lighter."
Actress Brooke Williams, who plays the intrepid journalist and cyber geek Clare, found the series' fast turnaround was a major learning curve.
"We shot so quickly you really had to have ownership of your character.
"The most challenging aspect for me was the fast-paced nature of the show, but it was also the most valuable element because you learnt so much."
Aside from O'Kane, who starred in The Insider's Guide to Love and The Hothouse, the cast features a lineup of virtual unknowns.
The series was the first television experience for three of the five principal characters, including Williams.
And O'Kane still found himself in unchartered waters when he was enlisted to sing on camera.
"I had to learn to play the guitar and I ended up shooting a full song with a music video attached to it. It's hilarious because I don't usually sing except in the shower or the car."
The music video will be part of the series' bonus online material, available for download each week.
My Story will screen daily, Monday to Friday, on C4 at 5.30pm or viewers can subscribe and have episodes delivered to their phones daily.
At the end of each week, viewers can download the week's episodes, plus exclusive bonus material.
