Difference between revisions of "Down The Rabbit Hole: The Hunt For Bree"
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As the series developed, many fans noted that lonelygirl15's videos appeared to have a plot. This alleged storyboarding suggested that lonelygirl15 was working off a script. The videos were more episodic and on-point than most vloggers at the time. | As the series developed, many fans noted that lonelygirl15's videos appeared to have a plot. This alleged storyboarding suggested that lonelygirl15 was working off a script. The videos were more episodic and on-point than most vloggers at the time. | ||
| − | *[[School Work in | + | *[[School Work in Summer... BLECHH!!!|School Work in Summer...]] -- establishes Bree's protective parents |
*[[The Danielbeast]] -- introduces Bree's geeky editor, [[Daniel]]. | *[[The Danielbeast]] -- introduces Bree's geeky editor, [[Daniel]]. | ||
*[[Grillz feat. Danielbeast, LG15, P. Monkey, and O'n| Grillz]] -- shows the two having fun together. | *[[Grillz feat. Danielbeast, LG15, P. Monkey, and O'n| Grillz]] -- shows the two having fun together. | ||
Revision as of 15:41, 25 October 2006
In the summer of 2006, as the Lonelygirl15 video series gained popularity on YouTube, a growing collection of fans became obsessed with cracking the mystery of lonelygirl15. The Hunt for Bree became a major internet phenomenon that captured the attention of many YouTubers and was heavily covered in the mainstream media.
Early Suspicions
By the time the first lonelygirl15 vlog appeared on YouTube on June 16, Bree had already developed a large fan base. Two videos had been posted to her account, YouTubers Secret Language and Paytotheorderofofof vs. Dinosaur, which included references to many popular YouTubers at the time. By friending popular users, such as Paytotheorderofofof and The Wine Kone, and subscribing to hundreds of channels, Bree instantly had a large fan base.
Suspicions that Bree was something other than a 16-year-old homeschooler began almost immediately. In the comments of Bree's first video, some users already questioned whether she was really 16.
More suspicions quickly arose around lonelygirl15. The editing in her videos was distinctive. While most vloggers would record one long take and post it without much editing, Bree's videos consisted of dozens of short takes. While not outside the technical capabilities of a smart high schooler, the process seemed unnecessarily time consuming.
Others noted that Bree's video blog was unusually well-lighted. It appeared that Bree employed a technique called fill lighting to provide illumination on the part of her face that was in shadows. Still others cited Bree's striking good looks, flawless complexion and distinctive eyebrows as suspicious.
Is That a... Story Arc?
As the series developed, many fans noted that lonelygirl15's videos appeared to have a plot. This alleged storyboarding suggested that lonelygirl15 was working off a script. The videos were more episodic and on-point than most vloggers at the time.
- School Work in Summer... -- establishes Bree's protective parents
- The Danielbeast -- introduces Bree's geeky editor, Daniel.
- Grillz -- shows the two having fun together.
- My Parents Suck... -- introduces the conflict between parents and Daniel.
- Daniel Responds -- a soliloquy from Daniel.
- Daniel Returns -- the story arc resolves.
Throughout the series, similar sequences of events have unfolded. The technique was described by Brian Flemming as a video adaptation of the Epistolary Novel.
Enter Bukanator: An Over-Eager Fan
Amid the comments of Bree's very first video, a YouTube user named Bukanator commented, "This is wonderful." Bukanator responded favorably to every early video Bree posted, at times defending Bree from critical comments. Bukanator was supposedly a 38-year-old software engineer from San Francisco.
After less than a month of videos, on July 16th, Bukanator announced in the comments of YouTube that he had created a fan site for Bree at lonelygirl15.com. As Bukanator was supposedly a 38-year-old man, this struck many people as very strange and inappropriate behavior. The site contained a blog of all the videos as well as a forum for discussion, which seemed unnecessary since lonelygirl15 had posted relatively few videos at this point. On July 19, the blog Liquid Generation reported that YouTube users looked up the site registration of lonelygirl15.com.
A search in a WHOIS directory revealed that the site had been registered on May 12, 2006, along with lonelygirl15.org and lonelygirl15.net. Since Bree had not posted her first video until May 24 and her first vlog until June 16, it was impossible for a random fan to have registered the site that early. The site had been registered through DomainsByProxy, the default proxy registration site of GoDaddy.com.
When confronted about this discrepancy, Bukanator claimed that Daniel had registered the site. Daniel then claimed in YouTube comments that he had been teasing Bree about how she was going to be a famous vlogger, and he registered the site as a joke. He further claimed that Bukanator had e-mailed him about starting a fan site and so he let him use lonelygirl15.com.
Virtually nobody believed the story. On July 20th, YouTube user gohepcat became the first to post a video listing arguments that lonelygirl15 was fake, citing the fan site registration, the story arc, the use of fill-lighting and the odd fact that Daniel is allowed in Bree's bedroom with the door closed.
