Machinima says bite me

Machinima.com programs and produces some of the most popular video channels on YouTube, including Machinima, Machinima Respawn, Machinima Sports, Machinima Realm, and Machinima Trailer Vault. They recently launched Bite Me, a five episode live-action series, that features three video gamers in the midst of a real-life zombie outbreak. We asked Andy Shapiro, VP of Development at Machinima, a few questions…

Tell us about Bite Me. What can the YouTube Community expect from the series?
With Bite Me, viewers will get a high-end premium live-action series that is designed to engage Machinima.com’s video gamer community, and appeal to a broader audience too. The initial run is five episodes that are structured to play both independently as well as a whole piece. Essentially, we are airing a pilot that, with success, we can continue producing as a regular series.

Bite Me was first conceived to tell the story of three habitual gamers that find themselves in a very real world situation. We didn’t want this to be just another zombie show, and wanted to creatively set it apart from the zombie movies and series that have come before. By setting the story during the actual zombie outbreak, we had fun writing about three under-estimated characters, who had to rise up after realizing that something terrible was happening. Ultimately this is an aspirational story, featuring unlikely heroes.

How have the fans reacted to the first episodes, and when do Episodes 3, 4, and 5 debut?
We are amazed by how the community has reacted to the series. The videos have had more than two million views so far, and we've loved reading the comments from the viewers. The response has been phenomenal, and people are responding well to the characters. We will debut the remaining episodes on December 11, December 17, and December 31 - exclusively on Machinima's YouTube Channel. You can check out the series and watch it from Episode 1 continuously here:



Why a zombie series, and why are people so passionate about zombies?
Zombies are the natural fit with our audience because zombies appear in their favorite movies, video games and comic books. It’s a genre with a deep history, that we intend to both honor and have fun with. There was a natural opportunity for integration with Capcom and their Dead Rising 2 title because our audience is not only fans of the game, but by including the title, we added more credibility to the characters as gamers and zombie experts.

You've had a lot of success with your YouTube Channels, Machinima, Respawn, Sports, Realm, and Trailer Vault? Can we expect more live-action series from Bite Me from Machinima.com?
We’re thrilled about the initial success the series. We’re learning a lot about digital story-telling, and are fortunate to have a very interactive audience who enjoys seeing us play with gaming culture. We look forward to growing our entertainment series, and people can check-out our channel for more of these types of projects.

Kenji Arai, Strategic Partner Manager, recently watched “Kev Jumba vs Globetrotters”.