Society. Spaces. Screens

Abstract

Working with ASU Interplanetary Initiative and the “Lessons from the Past” project directed by Design School Professor Elena Rocchi, I am at the beginning of a process of designing what might modestly be called “the world’s biggest documentary.” This project will bring together storytellers, scholars, researchers, designers, and engineers to build a series of cinematic learning experiences designed for massive screen projection (Vegas’ Sphere), state-of-the-art domed and large format cinema technology (IMAX), virtual reality, and traditional screen media forms. The subject: what can we learn from our collective past as explorers on this earth that can better serve us as we make the leap into living on other celestial bodies like Mars and the Moon? What are the images, mythologies, and histories of earth exploration that best prepare us for this next, most amazing journey? In addition to introducing this multi-modal documentary media project, I will also present a model for making this production a global call to filmmakers, scientists, scholars, and museums all around the world: that we collectively engage a global community of makers to deliver versions of this project that will speak to specific communities and peoples in their own language and traditions. Can we, indeed, collaborate across national and political lines to tell this most amazing story in the largest and most impactful way we can? Can we indeed imagine the biggest movie ever made?