New York -- Despite the steady drizzle, HBO churned up some buzz here Thursday night by projecting onto the white wall of a Lower East Side apartment building its newest original … series? Music video? Multiplatform diorama ballet?
How exactly to categorize Voyeur Project is unclear. But it is original.
Directed by Jake Scott (son of famed director Ridley Scott), the premiere episode of Voyeur offers a fly-on-the-wall view into a four-story apartment building inhabited by characters engaged in multiple, interconnected story lines.
Totaling five minutes in length, the episode is void of dialogue, instead relying on a compelling ambient soundtrack and choreographed movements of each character among the building’s eight apartments and four hallways.
Story themes coinciding with each apartment range from murder to adultery to an unexpected discovery.
To hype the premiere stunt in the parking lot at Ludlow and Broome streets, HBO repeated the episode on a looped projection. Since the full story is difficult to glean from one viewing, it gave viewers the chance to dissect the interwoven plots.
In addition to the first five-minute video -- available via HBO On Demand and online, with zoom features and soundtrack options -- the network has made available more than two hours of original content based on interior glimpses of other fictitious apartments around New York.
Content on the site is downloadable via 720p and 480p HD Quicktime files, video iPod, PSP and MP3.
All video soundtracks are original compositions for Voyeur Project, and viewers are given different soundtrack options to select depending on their mood. The network also plans “security-camera” features linked to certain episodes.
