In the early days of the internet, Jeff Kaufmans job title and description might have sounded vague.
Whats digital just all the stuff that couldnt make it to real TV?
Now digital is the oxygen that surrounds all of visual entertainment and Kaufmans duties have understandably expanded.
Thankfully, he has one of the most digital-friendly shows possible in his arsenal inMr.
We sat down with Kaufman earlier this fall to discuss the intricacies of his job,Mr.
Robotseason 3, and where this whole TV thing is going anyway.
Ad content continues below
Den of Geek: Thanks for sitting down withDen of Geektoday.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
Jeff Kaufman:I started my career with MTV and worked there for a little over a decade.
Youre the SVP of Digital for the USA data pipe, what exactly does the SVP of Digital do?
This is a nerd cubed situation.
In some ways this is a chance to do that on a really grand scale.
Robotcan and should unfold across a lot of different access points.
Thats really important to the show and requires a considerable amount of collaboration and partnership.
We sort of look at it like were building out the story world of Mr.
Robot in the same way its going out on television.
When producing shows for TV everyone wants a hit and these days theres more choice than ever.
I think its important all round, butMr.
Robotis the perfect show to create an immersive story world around.
Robotsize show comes along what are the go-to digital elements youd look to include?
These are crucial elements forMr.
Robotbut I think can be applied in a general way.
In terms of offering an immersive experience how far could you go?
I think one thing weve learned, and I cant speak to other shows, but atMr.
Robotwe always think wow, we can go much further with this.
Were constantly and pleasantly surprised of the depths to which the fans ofMr.
Robottheres the expectation that we do it in a cool way.
Robotits going to be something a little bit different and more creative.
With the use of Easter eggs inMr.
Sure, we think about that a lot.
Its an unknown entity you’re free to interpret in various ways.
When we started a lot of people assumed it wasMr.
Robot, then fsociety, we purposely dont state whose perspective youre seeing things from.
E Corp has a website online and email addresses and weve had to build all of those things out.
Sam does that incredibly well; hes created a universe.
So we see to it that everything works within this universe that hes so brilliantly created.
I read, with regards toMr.
Youre right in that its a serious thing that the show has shined a light on.
Are you trying to rebrand hackers?
I would not presume to say anything that I am doing is branding hackers.
That value proposition hasnt changed, and it isnt going to, I dont think.
Digital media represents the opportunity for people to connect and thats what TV is all about at its core.
What were doing here with Mr.
