Pulse Gives Channel Surfers A New Way To Watch Dylan

In terms of interactive online video content, the humble music video seems to be the breakaway inventive form. Since the multi-award-winning Wilderness Downtown for Arcade Fire blew our minds with its HTML5 wizardry and Google maps integration, we've seen Death Grips' insanely compelling 'Gif Me More Party', m ss ng p eces' brilliant choose-your-own-adventure tale 'Met Before' and Arcade Fire yet again stunning with 'Just A Reflektor'. However, in a surprising turn of events, one of the most exciting and absorbing interactive vids to have been launched in 2013 is for a track that was released in 1965 - with Bob Dylan's timeless 'Like A Rolling Stone' being given a delightful digital portal.



Using US daytime television as its starting point, London's Pulse Films and digital production company Interlude have constructed an innovative viewing experience for Dylan's track, allowing users to flick between channels showing familiar mind-numbing fare. The twist – the protagonists on every channel are lip-synching with every line to the song, incongruous to their actions. Utilising familiar shows like 'The Price Is Right', 'Pawn Stars' and a tennis match (amongst the 16 channels), the film's innovative concept means that no single viewing is the same.

The piece has been enormously well received by the net-at-large, so we caught up with Exec Producer Tamara Harel-Cohen to chat about how they made Dylan TV.



An innovative, ground-breaking interactive music video coupled with a track that's almost 50 years old. How did that pairing come about?

Bob Dylan and his team were very excited by the technology and wanted to do something innovative with it. The launch of his box-set gave us the perfect opportunity to do something new and cutting-edge with one of the most loved songs of the past century.

The concept is pretty audacious – 16 different 'channels' simultaneously playing along with the music. Was that the concept from the get-go, or did the idea change as it went along?

Actually originally the concept was for 20, but then when the realities of time and budget set in, it became 8, so I think we did pretty well pulling together 16 channels in the end!



How do you go about shooting/editing a piece like this? Do you consider each 'channel' separately – kinda creating 16 simultaneous vids?

Exactly, it is essentially making 16 different videos. Some of them we were more involved in than others, The Bachelor style channel, the Rom-Com, the Danny Brown MTV Channel etc. Shows like The Price is Right more or less pulled the whole thing together themselves and absolutely nailed it! Our director had a clear idea of what kinds of channels he wanted to have in the video and so we did our best to get them all for him, whether they came from existing shows or were fully created by us.

The film incorporates some daytime TV stalwarts (the Pawn Stars guys, The Price Is Right). Was it essential to get these elements in to help the realism?

That was something that evolved through the process initially because we didn't have the budget or bandwidth to make 16 channels ourselves. We then realised that combining the channels that we create ourselves to be quintessentially and stereotypically 'American TV' with real existing shows that fit the overall theme could work really well. In the end I think people think a lot of the channels are "real" that aren't – the Rom-Com for example looks so familiar I have been told a lot, as well as the news channels.



What was the toughest section to shoot?

The hardest part was when cast didn't know the lyrics back to front, which thankfully didn't happen very often at all! Dylan starts all his lines when you least expect it and the song must be one of the hardest songs to lip-sync so getting it right under the pressure of set was definitely a challenge, but in the end everyone got it. Danny Brown was one of the easiest to shoot. We covered a huge amount in half a day because he absolutely nailed the lip sync from the get go and was really up for whatever outfit we put him in or type of food that was shoved into his hand.

How was the digital housing for the video created? Were there any elements too difficult to create?

Interlude, the technology partner behind the video, created all of the housing as well as the actual interactions. They have an amazing team that worked around the clock to make the experience as real to the Cable Television experience as possible.



Have you got a favourite channel in the vid?

I think my favourite is the Property Brothers, it is a real American TV show and the Brothers were so excited about shooting it that they really went all out. There are so many different set ups and they even brought in a couple to fully act out the show with them. They are showing this couple around a house saying "How does it feel to be without a home" and then "do you want to make a deal?" It's brilliant. But the truth is that all of the channels are great and work together to make an amazing whole piece. Everyone has a different experience of the video and will have their own moments which they think work best.

Can you see more acts taking on the challenge of an interactive video? So far it seems that Dylan and Arcade Fire are leading the charge?

I think there is a huge buzz around interactive video at the moment, which is very exciting as each one tries to push the boundaries and do something totally new. I thought the concept behind Pharrell's recent 24-hour video was also really great. There is a huge amount that can be done with interactive videos, the possibilities are endless and I think what is going to be interesting is to see whether over the next few years, interactive videos will become a more mainstream proposition as the technologies get better and the process more affordable.



What have you learnt from the task of creating this piece? Would you be up for more?

It was great to be involved with the video and work closely with the Interlude team and learn more about technology and what we are capable of achieving using it. It is something we try and do a lot at Pulse, stay ahead of the curve and second-guess where innovation may come next.

The film has received some great attention online. Is that gratifying?

I honestly don't think that anyone anticipated that we would make it onto American morning TV shows or Video of The Year in TIME Magazine. It was certainly gratifying and well deserved for the Director and for the whole team that pulled it together, especially as it wasn't always an easy ride!

What's up next for you?

Hopefully a lot more interactive innovation! Pulse are talking to Interlude about a number of projects in the pipeline that will continue to explore new strands of interactivity in video. At the same time we are always trying to push the boundaries within linear film in commercials, music video, short and longform content and every other medium in between.