I wish I could

by Jack Seay

June 2, 2003

Watching a movie, Twister for example, I link segments to segments of other movies, such as the Wizard of Oz. Record my own commentary, noting how I would do something differently, link to some news reports, storm footage I recorded, tornado animations others have done, and notes on what would make the script more believable.

If I was watching "The Perfect Storm", I could choose to read or listen to the book, and at all the relevant places, the movie segments would be shown. I would also have access to all the author's source documents, movie out-takes, special effects files, bloopers, original audio tracks, etc. I could, if I wanted, assemble a new edit of the movie, changing only the parts I wanted to. Someone could edit my version slightly. All changes could be traced by anyone.

"The Climb" and "Into Thin Air" are two books about several groups caught in a storm on Mt. Everest in 1996. I could link all the contradictory narrative and speculate on why these two accounts of the same events differ so widely. Also linked would be the Outdoors magazine article and all correspondence associated it, as well as the IMax documentary.

Every word in every document is linked to dictionaries, encyclopedias, thesauri, etc. Each category of link would be a different link type, and each type could be hidden or shown in various displays.

Using a PDA, all the data is available to be included in any type of document. A person's name, address, phone number, etc. would be includable in an address book, mailing list, committee list, database, spreadsheet, book, slideshow, etc. If any of the personal info changed, that would be seen in all the documents. Previous versions could be accessed and all occurrences of the info viewed. Database records, spreadsheet cells, sound and video could all be included in a text, and modified. Since all changes are tracked, edits and authorship is known. There is no need to import and export data types or convert from operating systems or the Internet.

The two accounts of the sinking of the World War 2 cruiser Indianapolis - "In Harm's Way" and "Abandon Ship" can be compared side-by-side on Xanadu by a group of collaborative screenwriters. They extract quotations - dialog and description, from both books and other source materials, also published on Xanadu. Together they come up with a preliminary screenplay along with some story boards produced in animation for special effects and some rough-cut acting used as a visual storyboard for final production of acting sequences and special effects. After the movie is produced, edited of course, on Xanadu, the Internet version is published, you guessed it, on Xanadu. All of the collaborators in the screenplay, production, editing, special effects, lighting, acting, directing, etc. receive proportionate payments automatically for their efforts. Even after publication, new edits of the movie can be produced from the raw materials published on Xanadu. If these new edits are favorably reviewed on Xanadu, they are likely to receive wide viewership. The next project will be the even more gut-wrenching account of Castro's prison camps in "Beyond All Hope".

Design cities for the near future that use nanotechnology to replace all mass production and manual labor and enable new materials. Transportation will combine the convenience of automobiles with the safety and efficiency of mass transit. Artists will produce most of the visible part of the city. See the movie "Lord of the Rings" for ideas.

See also:

Watching a Movie in Xanadu

What would a Floating World chat look like?

From token word to Xanadu

When Worldviews Collide: Freedom and Xanadu

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