MUMBAI: Come April, in an unique cross platform event involving Internet, television and mobile, the lifestyle channel Discovery Travel and Living presents a pioneering 13 episode interactive television series, 5 Takes. It chronicles the journey of five young travelers on the adventure of a lifetime with one mission: to share their experiences with the world through their five varied perspectives.
After many successful series like Globe Trekker, Trailblazers, Faking it, American Chopper and Biker Build Off, Discovery Travel and Living captures their target group of urban 18 to 45 years age group with yet another new series 5 Takes. The series will air every Wednesday, from 5 April till 28 June at 8 pm.
Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Discovery Networks India vice president- Lifestyle Networks Aditya Tripathi says, " 5 Takes is an unique reality programme adopting travel as the theme. Its distinct interactive concept would further engage the viewer. Extending television programming to the Internet, mobile or into the Interactive TV space is an exciting development and will allow a viewer-friendly alliance of television and interactivity."
The five travel journalists (TJs), armed with video cameras, laptops and US$50 a day, will visit 12 cities across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan in 12 weeks. The TJs are Gabe, Josh, Renee, Tiffany and Tony.
Meet the TJs -Tony, Renee, Josh, Tiffany and Gabe.
Coming from diverse backgrounds, the TJs describe their adventures in these incredible cities, and the life-changing experiences they have along the way. Gabe is the DJ from Colorado, Josh lives in Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, Renee works as an Internet manager and also volunteers as an adult literacy tutor in NewYork, Tiffany is currently working full time assisting the general manager of a hotel and has a part-time job assisting a real estate team and Tony is the introspective and impulsive bartender from Washington, D.C.
The TJs will travel through various destinations for 5 Takes like
Sydney, Cairns, Perth, Northern Territory and Melbourne/Byron Bay in Australia, Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown in New Zealand, Singapore, Taipei, Hong Kong, Thailand and Cambodia.
What makes this show different is that it is the Discovery Travel & Living online community at travelandlivingtv.com.au/5takes that will decide the last cities the TJs should visit in Australia and Asia, and suggest what the TJs should do in every city they visit. In effect, it is the online community that will set the itinerary and drive the show.
The TJs will also be posting their personal blog daily as well as creating a video log (vlog) once a week to let viewers know how they are faring. This online element will happen in real time, enabling the community to have a concrete impact on the TV show that follows just seven days later.
On promoting the new initiative, Tripathi says, "The activity will be promoted through on-air promos on the channel. Additionally, there will be online initiatives as well (e-mailers)."
Apart from India, the international territories airing the programme include Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Taiwan and United Kingdom. Produced by Rosenblum Associates, 5 Takes is also unique as there is no "voting off" or scheming to win the big prize and there is no "winner" as there is no prize to win. At its core, the series is an immersion into a two-month-long summer trip by five young travelers.
Talking of the mobile network that viewers can use to participate or download programme related information, Tripathi adds, "India's mobile operator Hutch is the participating network for this series. The voting is open to all users in India. The Indian audience will also be able to download wallpaper and text content from the 5 Takes programme through the Hutch portal."
Hutch users will receive a response message to the vote that will direct them to the Hutch WAP portal. The voting begins from 1 April and runs till 7 April. The short code for India is 6365.
The keywords for the first vote are:
5 ME for Melbourne (5
5 BB for Byron Bay (5
Viewers can visit http://www.travelandlivingindia.com/5takes/ to read the TJs daily blogs and see the vlog.
5 Takes will have a repeat telecast on Thursdays at 4 pm and Fridays at 12 pm.
