Well, I have been lurking while recovering from Dream. So here is my
two bits on the role of the producer.
The producer is the person in charge of making sure that all the
various pieces that go into a production (technical, acting,
marketing, funding) are all in place at the time when they are
needed. She or he is, in fact, responsible for making the thing
happen.
As the producer for VRML Dream, I learned that the most inportant
quality was patience mixed with a subtle kind of ruthlessness. In a
voluntary project, this quality is extremely important: you have to
get things done on time without antagonizing the people you are
working with.
A certain amount of flexibility was needed in terms of
time schedules: some models would come in later than others;
rehearsal time was limited; the software was being updated almost on
a daily basis. Certainly if one pays people to do something, the
producer has a great deal more clout. It was possible
to get things done in the Dream project because of the tremendous
commitment of the volunteers. If this commitment wer not there, the
project would not have been possible.
One lesson I came away with from this experience was the importance
of the producer's role as catalyst. It was not enough for me to ask
for things. I also had to provide feedback and encouragement to the
various parties involved. At the early stages, was content just
getting models in and setting them aside for review. What I needed
to do was to immediately review the content and send feedback to the
modelers. I have to thank Len Bullard for his advise during the VRML
98 symposium for sterring me in the right direction.
I also learned that the producer must also be able to delegate tasks
to people. In all respects, this job requires the person to
coordinate the efforts of people. Getting media coverage had to be
delegated to my busines partner Merrill Shapiro. The music was
coordinated by Len Bullard. Bernie was in charge of the software. I
was in charge of the voice rehearsals with the actors. Jonathan Kean
and I maintained the web site. But thoroughout VRML Dream's
progress, I as the producer had to make sure that each of the
different elements fell into place.
Ultimately, I have to take the blame for the failure of VRML Dream to
come off smoothly. As the producer, it was my task to make sure that
we had enough reheaarsal time, and that all the components were in
place at the right time. If we had a couple of more weeks, I think
the results would have been more satisfying.
Nevertheless, we showed that it is possible to have streaming VR
and audio on the Internet. So from a technical standpoint, VRML
Dream acomplished its goal. From an artistic standpoint, there is
still much work to be done. And we have already begun it.
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Stephen N. Matsuba
New Media Missionary Is't real that I
SHOC Interactive see before me?
341A St. Clair Avenue West --Shakespeare
Toronto, Ontario
CANADA M5P 1N3
phone: (416) 921-5274
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
web: http://www.shoc.com
ICQ# 9217827
My Personal Communication Center: http://wwp.mirabilis.com/9217827
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