Isn’t this the typically crucial element to any book, film, web clip? After all, if there is no cohesive story, what’s the point? I recently went through an exercise of creating a “treatment” of this film project for National Geographic. Who knows if they’ll buy the idea, but the exercise was invaluable. A treatment consists of a concept, theme(s), characters, and summary of the film.  Now, the concept, and themes I have nailed.

From the treatment:

Concept:

One consistent element of human society is change, and in current Western society the economy is a principal motivator of change. Many regard the technological innovations of the Information Age to have been revolutionary, increasing corporate productivity, and decreasing the perceived distance between people. These changes have been the results of what is called Web 1.0 – information delivered over the Internet that is principally static.

Today, however, Web 2.0 – the virtual universe – is upon us. This new universe is interactive, where participants receive instant feedback from other participants in the same universe. It is not mature – a few technological and conceptual hurdles are restricting its growth – but we are in the midst of crossing the threshold where the virtual universe – everything from blogs to interactive worlds like “SecondLife.com” – will have a greater impact on society than did the birth of the Internet.

The approach of Virtually Real is a combination of that used in Nova’s scienceNow and National Geographic’s Explorer. The film examines the inevitable cultural change that will occur when this virtual universe matures – an event that is closer than many might think. Interviews with users, authors, industry executives, and academics will distill basics from hyperbole, and paint a view of the future that lies somewhere between the fear and evangelism that precedes any cultural shift. 

Theme:

Virtually Real is an examination of the cultural change the virtual universe is creating, and how people react to it. Interviewees will be from two camps: 1) fearful of the virtual universe’s potential, and 2) optimistic regarding what the virtual universe will provide its participants.

The expected conclusion through the series of interviews is that reality inevitably lies somewhere between the extremes of fear and evangelism. The words “fear,” and “evangelism” are important here for two reason: the discussion of language is integral to the topic of technology, and discussions regarding this new virtual universe are very tied to spirituality.

Linguists state that language is a reflection of culture. We will see how opponents and proponents of this new virtual universe use the same words to their own advantage, and how common words, even ancient words, have been taken over by the virtual universe and given different connotations, if not different definitions.

Though the virtual universe appears as far from spiritually linked as one could imagine, some argue it is a potential path to enlightenment – a place where people can discover and live a life of their true, authentic self, unencumbered by the trappings imposed by society.

The issue(s) arising now, however, are the details of the summary. The details, coming from the interviews, are what will flesh out the truly compelling story that lies within this concept and these themes. And isn’t the devil always in there somewhere?

At first I thought the hard work was going to be coordinating schedules and getting interviewees on tape, but now that the interview process is cruising along I gulp while looking ahead to the task of managing all of this material, finding the real audio and visual gems, and getting a great story out of this.

Well, therein lies the art of this — right?

And process is what I’m all about. Consulting at KPMG. Managing web materials at Mellon Financial. Managing myriads of materials is my forte.