Aug 28, 2008

By Emily Brookes 

COLUMNIST C21 MEDIA

UK-based digital rights outfit I-Rights, part of the Digital Rights Group (DRG), has picked up distribution rights for Do You Believe Me?, the new online series and alternate reality game from Sofia's Diary producer beActive.

A joint venture between Portugal's beActive and Canadian prodco The Nightingale Company, the teen-skewing Do You Believe Me? centres on 17-year-old Maya, who has recurring nightmares that suggest she and her family are in grave danger. 

The web series follows Maya as she tries to get to the bottom of the distributing visions, while users who sign up to the game can help to find answers in the real world using email, mobile, SMS and blogs.

I-Rights chief Justin Judd called the two-year distribution deal "groundbreaking."

He added: "By providing multiple layers of content and interaction, Do You Believe Me? moves the (web series) form on and provides an immersive and engaging experience for the target audience as well as a range of integrated marketing opportunities for brands and advertisers."

Nuno Bernardo, beActive general manager and producer, said: "This is not another video series webcasted over the internet. It's a truly interactive experience based on concepts of social networking, participation and creative contribution."

Nightengale Company president Debbie Nightingale said the Do You Believe Me? was just the first among several projects that her company was developing with beActive, calling the ventures "a new wave in online interactive entertainment."