Skip to content
MovieViral.com
MovieViral.com

The Latest Viral News for Films and Beyond!

  • Home
  • Archives
  • Movie & Viral News
    • Cloverfield Sequel
    • Reviews
    • Trailers Weekly
    • Past Viral Campaigns
  • About
    • About MovieViral
    • Meet the Team
    • Contact
  • ARG & Unfiction Forum
MovieViral.com
MovieViral.com

The Latest Viral News for Films and Beyond!

Explore The Bates Motel With Your iPhone Flashlight In New Interactive Site

Alex Gerage, February 19, 2014February 19, 2014
bates-motel-banner

Cinema’s most famous serial killer is back on the small screen. A&E’s successful horror series Bates Motel returns for it’s sophomore season in a couple weeks, and the network is keen to build on the buzz from the first season by giving fans more interactive content to enjoy. The show’s website recently added a new feature that immerses fans in the Bates’ world by giving them free reign to explore the motel and nearby house. Hit the jump for more.

BatesMotel.com offers visitors a firsthand opportunity to explore the famed motel and manor from the comfort (and safety) of their own home. Similar to using Google’s Street View feature, direction cues at the bottom of the screen serve as your controls as you navigate your way around motel rooms and external surroundings (traveling up the infamous staircase in Norman’s house is particularly cool). As you explore though, the lights mysteriously shut off, and you are prompted to continue your tour by guided flashlight. Fortunately, those without iPhones can use their computer mouse to control the light. But those with the capability can enjoy a more realistic experience, as evidenced by the clip below:

The interactive website comes courtesy of TVGla, a Los Angeles-based advertising agency that sought to give users “a first person peek into the Bates’ twisted world.” To do this, crews went around the actual Bates Motel set, filming every nook and cranny of the different motel rooms and house to provide users the immersive feeling of being in the show.

TVGla does a nice job keeping the aesthetic and mood of the Bates Motel website consistent with the show. More than that, I find it interesting the website hearkens back to one of the most important themes of the show’s inspiration. I remember taking a film class in college and discussing at length the theme of voyeurism in Psycho—both in terms of the actions of characters on screen, as well as the way it was shot for the audience. One reason why the film is so terrifying and uncomfortable to watch is that Alfred Hitchcock did a masterful job using point-of-view cinematography and precise close-ups that made us feel we were more than third-party spectators, but rather voyeurs ourselves, witnessing many of the same things Norman Bates did in the film. It’s amazing how prevalent that theme remains decades later, using radically different media, as we analyze a first-person viral website for the prequel television series to the original film.

The second season of Bates Motel returns March 3 on A&E.

Source: AdAge

Viral Marketing A&EAlfred HitchcockBates MotelPsychoTVGla

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

2012: San Francisco Drop Results (Update: Code Broken!)

October 21, 2009October 22, 2009

Update: The code for the message has been decoded! Thanks to Rowan for the effort, it was apparently very difficult. Take a look: Re: Project Naaczaal Status Briefing, October 20 We have encountered some significant challenges regarding site location, and we are bringing our allies to table to negotiate on…

Read More

Michel Gondry Directs Jimmy Kimmel Live

January 15, 2011

As a smart marketing ploy to promote this weekend’s release of his superhero film The Green Hornet, Academy Award winner Michel Gondry guest directed a special episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live on Thursday. If you know anything about the director, then you know this wouldn’t be just any episode. Watch…

Read More

Harry Potter Online Parseltongue Translator

June 30, 2011

In the world of Harry Potter, Parseltongue is the language of serpents. “It is rarely spoken and even more rarely heard. It is a very uncommon skill, with Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort being the most well-known Parselmouths in the wizarding world.” Now you can learn the language with the…

Read More

Coming Soon...

Join the MovieViral.com
ARG & Unfiction Forums



©2009-2025 MovieViral.com. The Sometimes Weekly Publishing Company.