NEWS: The Hummingbird Co. Launches New Original Web Series “One Take”3 min read
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SINGAPORE, 15 May 2019 – On 10th May, The Hummingbird Co. launched their new independent web series One Take – a narrative drama comprising of creatively challenging single-take episodes, centred around a group of youths whose life-changing moments unravel in real time.
Using the twin narrative devices of a single take and in a real-time format, each episode of One Take features moments where these individuals have to navigate through key social issues in their lives that are still considered taboo in today’s society. The minutes of their lives on screen mirror the minutes the audiences spend watching them and their decisions at the crossroads point to the larger themes of missed opportunities, irreversible repercussions, and the choices that will define their futures.
The concept of One Take arose as the showrunners keenly felt the need to create honest conversations within the digital space, holding up a mirror to society and touching on sensitive social issues such as teenage pregnancy, domestic abuse, and class differences. With the recent social commentary and online activism trends already prevalent amongst youths (e.g. the NUS peeping-tom incidents), the series provides a fresh take to open up even deeper conversations about the characters’ decisions and non-decisions, as well as the social impact that their choices create in a fictional world.
“We created One Take with the intent of exploring social issues through a narrative eye. Every episode being a single take allowed us to place these issues within reality in a manner that other narrative styles couldn’t. We wrote our characters into situations that we hope will engage audiences to think deeper about these issues, rather than forcing our opinion on them,” said co-showrunner Benedict Yeo.
This series spearheads the relaunching of Not Safe For TV, The Hummingbird Co.’s online channel for original content. Having previously hosted the meta-comedy series, The Average Guys, which raked up over 131,000 views on its pilot episode, this release marks a new direction for NSFTV with experimental video content that seeks not only to entertain, but also to challenge perspectives and be a voice for modern social issues.
Alex Teh, co-founder of The Hummingbird Co., said, “The channel was born out of a need for an alternative and authentic voice for young people. Our goal isn’t just to achieve relevance, but to offer them the space to explore current social norms and boundaries not only in Singapore but in Southeast Asia. We’re aware of the challenges that come with different languages, cultures, and even the pace of development across the region, but we’ve placed a bet that the world is coming closer together and we want to be there in the middle of it when it happens.”
In addition to the young cast, the series will also feature other prominent local actors and actresses such as Gurmit Singh, Oon Shu An, Lim Kay Siu, and Janice Koh.
The pilot episode for One Take was released on 10th May on Not Safe For TV’s social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube). It will subsequently be released weekly across a 9-episode run and snippets and teasers will be released throughout this period to further the story narrative and add depth and touch points to the characters’ world.
You can catch the episodes on their YouTube channel here.
Photo Credit: The Humming Bird Co.
