Every Thursday, Starting Jan. 18, Between 7pm and 9pm ET, Live Chats With Different Cast Members of Falcon Beach
Thursday, January 18, at 7pm ET, Steve Byers Will Be On Line Live To Chat With His Many Fans Around The World.
Thursday, 11 January 2007
(Toronto) January 11, 2007 - Where the primetime drama Falcon Beach is concerned, "hooking up" doesn't just refer to relationships. The hit series has gone online in the form of an ambitious, role-playing environment unique to Canadian television.
The revamped www.falconbeach.ca is home to the Falcon Beach Virtual Cottage Community - (VCC) with new features and an improved interface that make it one of the most innovative, interactive multiplayer online role playing games in North American television.
The unique 3D environment is based on the hit TV series that has been sold to over 30 countries worldwide - from New Zealand to the U.K. to Turkey. The Falcon Beach VCC integrates fans and curious web-surfers alike into the world of a Canadian cottage community - complete with beautiful locations, cool "cribs" and parties.
Users can create and inhabit an expanded virtual version of the Falcon Beach world as seen each week on TV. Fans can rent their own cottage with Falcon Beach dollars earned inside the VCC, customize the look of their avatar, chat with beach visitors from around the world and interact with virtual characters from the show. In addition to the VCC, falconbeach.ca is rolling out a number of new features including cast chats and a behind the scenes glimpse into the show.
And to amp up the "interactive" part of the Virtual Cottage experience, actual stars of Falcon Beach will go online regularly to exchange thoughts with fans. The sessions - Thursdays from 7pm to 9pm - kick off January 18, with a visit from Steve Byers (a.k.a. Jason Tanner). VCC visitors are encouraged to log on www.falconbeach.ca at 7 p.m. and enter the VCC.
Then the following week, January 25, will see Paige Bradshaw herself, Jennifer Kydd, dropping in to chat. It's an up-close-and-personal touch, to allow fans of Falcon Beach and the characters/actors to share the vibe and experience the show together. It's a leap of digital connectedness, designed to make the world of Falcon Beach as real as the fans want it to be.
The Falcon Beach VCC interface and display are similar to most popular multiplayer online role-playing games - with one key difference, the VCC only requires a standard browser and Macromedia Flash 8. The Falcon Beach VCC was developed using Macromedia Flash 8, SmartFoxServer PRO, Microsoft's .NET 2.0 Framework and MS SQL Server.
The new user-friendly VCC was conceived by Wayne Helman of critically acclaimed A51 Integrated Marketing & Communications, along with John Murray and Shannon Farr of Insight Productions, and co-produced by A51, Original Pictures and Insight Productions, with support from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, Telefilm Canada's New Media Fund and CanWest MediaWorks Inc. (Global).
Falcon Beach Season Two airs Friday nights on Global Television at 8pm, ET/PT.
Wayne Helman, and his award-winning A51 Integrated Marketing & Communications, are leaders in new media development for Internet, Intranet and Extranet projects with an increasing focus on Multi-User Environments and Rich Internet Applications (RIA). Since 1997 their name has become synonymous with excellence in graphically captivating technologically innovative products. A51 has serviced diverse clients such as Serendipity Point Films, Yahoo Canada, The Toronto International Film Festival, NBA Canada, Siemens Business Services, and YAK Communications, among numerous others.
From comedy and variety, drama, music, documentaries, and sports, Insight Production Company Ltd. is firmly established as one of Canada's foremost and groundbreaking television producers. Since 1979, Insight has become an industry leader in the creative development, financing and production of television programs in every genre, and has been recognized for its reputation for quality as the recipient of 57 Gemini Awards, four Emmy nominations, Two Cable Ace Awards, Six American Film Festival ribbons, an Academy Award nomination and numerous other film and television awards. Insight Productions is a true independent producer, working with all major networks, including CTV Inc., CBC Television, Global, MuchMusic, The Discovery Channel, The Comedy Network, Life Network, ABC Family, The Disney Channel, Noggin, NBC, A&E, HBO & Showtime to name a few.
Original Pictures is an award-winning television drama and feature film company producing commercial, critically-acclaimed series, movies and mini-series for the North American and international markets. Founded in 2000 by its president Kim Todd, Original Pictures' productions include the internationally acclaimed A Bear Named Winnie, The Many Trials of One Jane Doe, The Murdoch Mysteries and Guinevere Jones. Kim Todd's reputation as a creative producer has brought Original Pictures into international partnerships to bring great stories to the screen.
www.falconbeach.ca is produced with the financial participation of Telefilm Canada, Administrator of The Canada New Media Fund funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund and CanWest MediaWorks Inc.
