After years of working with faculty on various curriculum projects, I’ve long known that it helps to have a loose hand on certain aspects of a project but to run with responsibilities seriously in all cases, too. A recent project involved brainstorming a series of scripts for a new website, and the webisode preview of one of those scripts recently was launched to some very positive feedback. I was running through a “lessons learned” from that work.

Remembering Team

A script by itself is a fairly inert object. While it can be read as a literary object, it doesn’t really come alive without a director with a vision, a videographer with complex skills, actors who can make the learning come alive, settings in which to shoot, and props.

I had honestly forgotten about the script when I heard that it was the basis for a webisode series. (As an instructional designer, I juggle a number of projects simultaneously. And once a project is launched, I will often be invited back to work on different aspects of a project, but I usually leave the talented videography team to do the work as funding on projects allow. I don’t hover over others’ work, and I like to be surprised by the outcomes.)

A Script Makeover

What happened prior to and during the filming work was that the script got a healthy makeover. The rewrite followed the concept of “less is more”. It was witty; it was funny; it was imbued with a youthful energy.

This was a great example of synergies, with multiple imaginations filling in particular visions and gaps.

The Webisodes

Then, too, when I wat6ched the webisodes in an office with the grant’s PI, I was inspired by the chemistry between the actors and the main actor’s charisma. The familiar settings where some of the scenes were shot looked new and fresh. The live human interactivity and smart comic timing really impressed me. The director (who also served as one of two videographers on the project) did a superb job in making the vision come alive.

I realize that people who are too protective of their own scripts may sometimes squelch possibilities. It may sound like I’m advocating forgetting about projects and scripts, but that’s not quite it. I’m all for getting all the parts of a project executed as possible, but it’s just very cool to have that nice echo of work done in the past that resonates powerfully in the present.