Series

You think Video On Demand and web series are the latest distribution channels when it comes to contemporary series art? Think again! Series creators around the world are exploring innovative new avenues for serialized storytelling. We want to talk about the future of series away from traditional channels. And also introduce two sensational new projects!

IAM.SERAFINA (SNAPCHAT)
A "scripted soap" is how directors August Pflugfelder and Kevin Schramm describe their format, written by Veronika Schütt and Mark Lorenz, which was produced live on Snapchat in early October this year. In real time, main character Serafina (Franca Serafina Bolengo) snaps from her life and from her feelings in the fashion world and actively involves the viewers/users via feedback requests via Snapchat. In this way, storytelling - for the first time in Germany and perhaps worldwide - is completely rethought, the originally often repititive Snapchat format becomes the ticket to a serial world between coming-of-age narrative, found footage and classic scripted reality. The series creators present two days from Serafina's life and engage with us about new format paths.

SHIELD 5
This is how "Shield 5" comes across, like a kind of "24" on speed, with which series creator Anthony Wilcox goes completely new distribution or broadcast paths: the thriller format runs exclusively on Instagram. The Brit makes impressive use of the service's limitations: one episode lasts 15 seconds, and the entire story about security driver John Swift, who has to prove his innocence as a result of a diamond heist, plays out in barely more than seven minutes. As a result, no series on the social media platform has been talked about more in the recent past.

We caught up with the series, which was nominated for four awards at London's Raindance festival, and its creator for a presentation (including a screening of the complete series)..