DON’T GO ALONE
NICKELODEON SERIES
Don't Go Alone
is a narrative point-of-view horror anthology created for Nickelodeon's YouTube channel in partnership with YouTube Studios. Conceived as a modern heir to Are You Afraid of the Dark, the series tells a run of self-contained scary stories entirely through the eyes of the viewer, pulling the audience directly into each escalating nightmare. Produced by Mind Jam Media and directed by Jarrett Sleeper, it features a cast that includes Alie Ward, Audrey Whitby, Reid Miller, and Madeline Whitby, with me serving as director of photography.
Every frame was captured from a true first-person perspective. We built the look around a head-mounted Sony A7S fitted with an ultra-wide 11mm lens and rigged for wireless video and remote focus, so the camera could become the viewer's own eyes, moving and reacting in real time. The effect puts you inside the story rather than watching it unfold, turning every glance and every turn of the head into a beat of suspense.
We pulled it off with a lean crew and an ambitious slate of practical sets, leaning on strong production design and precise lighting to sell each world on a nimble footprint. The format asked the camera to perform like the lead actor, and shaping that immersive, in-the-moment visual language was some of the most fun I have had on set. Don't Go Alone lives on Nickelodeon's YouTube channel, where its first-person stories still pull viewers straight into the dark.
CREDITS
DIRECTOR | JARRETT SLEEPER
PRODUCER | ZEKE THOMAS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | BRENT COBLE
PRODUCTION COMPANY | MIND JAM MEDIA
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY | MICHAEL GAUTHIER
STARRING:
Alie Ward
Audrey Whitby
Reid Miller
Madeline Whitby
CAMERA & LENS Sony A7S, 11mm
(head-mounted POV rig)