Abstract
The telling of first nation screen stories by outsiders presents a complex set of challenges. This chapter maps the ‘invisible’ scripting practices of Australian VR creative Lynette Wallworth in Collisions (2016) and Awavena (2018). These case studies are explored via analysis of a long-form interview with Wallworth and through a praxis as research approach. The chapter frames ‘screenwriting’ for VR as problematic because it fails to capture the critical early interactions between the parties and the dance of understanding, listening, and trust which, for Wallworth, must be in place for the story to be offered and received. Wallworth has described her process of working with communities who want to articulate something to an audience as a ‘gift’ or ‘transmission’ (Munro 2019). This ‘joint approach’ moves the work from the ‘feeling of being there’ to becoming attuned to the perspectives of those who actually ‘are there’. Of key significance is the question whether Wallworth’s discoveries at the frontiers of new technologies could be transmuted back to traditional forms of documentary/drama ‘scripting’, offer clues to challenge the ‘straightjacket’ of prescribed mainstream screenwriting’ (Ross and Munt, Journal of Screenwriting 9:191–209, 2018) and development funding, and introduce innovative strategies for inclusive filmmaking.
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Notes
- 1.
‘Stories of Change supports the creation of compelling film and media projects inspired by the work of renowned social entrepreneurs; builds and sustains a network of independent storytellers and Skoll-Awarded Social Entrepreneurs; and enhances story skills and the exchange of knowledge between these communities. This collaboration is predicated on common values and the understanding that working together, independent storytellers and social entrepreneurs can reach audiences and find pathways to a better world’. “Stories of Change- Sundance.Org,” accessed November 6, 2022, https://www.sundance.org/stories-of-change/.
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Landers, R. (2024). A Net of Invisible Things: The VR Development Practices of Lynette Wallworth in Collisions and Awavena. In: Dooley, K., Munt, A. (eds) Screenwriting for Virtual Reality . Palgrave Studies in Screenwriting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54100-1_11
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