BIG SPACESHIP
HBOVoyeur.com was a kind of seductive experiment, an online luring agent aimed at discovering what people do when they think no one is looking, explains Big Spaceship creative strategist Tina Glengary. Part of a multimedia, multi platform campaign—including the site, HBO On Demand and HBO Mobile—the whole thing started with a film called The Watcher, developed by HBO, BBDO New York and director Jake Scott. The project was launched with a real-size projection onto the side of an apartment building in Lower Manhattan, creating an illusion that the outer wall was sheared away, allowing viewers to “look right in” and experience a story as it unfolded. Big Spaceship was hired to create a gateway experience, where one could lurk around in an atmospheric urban envi­ronment online and engage in the behavior of a virtual snoop.

“The choice of the Lower East Side for the live event factored into our choices of reference textures and building fronts that made it into the elements we created [for the site],” says Big Spaceship general manager Jason Prohaska. The online setting was actually based on reality. “We went offsite to photograph building facades, window treatments and contextual maps of Lower Manhattan,” he recalls. “We made a number of 3D prototypes to determine the most effective use and the final forms for the project.” While conceptualizing the site, the design team had many conversations about visualizing voyeurism and what it means from the perspectives of the watcher and the watched—and how to best present this duality. “Some elements that came up in these conversations were hints at Rear Window, Se7en, and strangely enough, photographs we found that document the fear of getting rid of things: ‘disposophobia,’” says Prohaska.

Interactivity was essential to facilitate viewer focus and main­tain suspense within the site. “The experience needed to function as smoothly as possible with as few loading interruptions as possible,” says Big Spaceship minister of technology Joshua Hirsch. “We gave viewers enough control to make them feel involved and immersed, while keeping the actual interface minimal and out of the way.”

While the launch event and television airing of the film were entertaining, it was only in the online setting where viewers were transformed into true voyeurs. There, they were able to see related stories. They could watch repeatedly, zooming in to inspect captivating details. This interactive setting allowed the story to be told in an innovative format built on what HBO stands for: drama, entertainment and life. R. Ashby

BIG SPACESHIP | CREATIVE DIRECTOR: MICHAEL LEBOWITZ | ART DIRECTOR: JAMES WIDEGREN | DESIGNER: CATHY DAVENPORT | DEVELOPERS: JOSHUA HIRSCH, TAI U, JAMIE KOSOY | STRATEGIST/WRITER: BARBARA KOPELOFF | PRODUCERS: JASON PROHASKA, LESLIE KANG | CREATIVE STRATEGIST: TINA GLENGARY | ADVERTISING AGENCY: BBDO NEW YORK | CLIENT: HBO | WWW.BIGSPACESHIP.COM