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Make it easy for me to make the jump. Especially if we are jumping space.
These words were spoken by one my good friends the other day – spoken as we discussed the qualities captured in the TED video above. And I liked them. The viral video was created by Ridley Scott as a sneak peek into the narrative and production qualities of his upcoming film, Prometheus.
Background
If you did not know before, Prometheus is an upcoming film that is, in essence, the prequel to Scott’s 1979 film, Alien. It will also be a blockbuster summer film. Yes, Prometheus is also a very awkward word. Scott knows this. With the video above, he sheds light on his upcoming work – by immersing fans in the mythology of Prometheus, Zeus, man and fire.
Ridley Scott’s directorial efforts in the Sci-Fi film genre, while not large in number, have produced two of the most influential “Tech” films of all time, Alien and Blade Runner (1982). Both films have a massive fanbase – and these fans have loyally followed Ridley to his other projects, such as Legend, Black Rain, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down. Scott’s directorial quality is amazing and has repeatedly set new cinematic standards. Therefore, as you can imagine, the fan story that has unfolded for Prometheus is one of great expectations. In fact, expectations are so great, that most online fan comments reflect concern that the new endeavor will flop.
I mean, its name is Prometheus. What is that?
Negative sentiment can easily happen and spread in the connected-device world. It is quite possible that your best brand fans will actually freak themselves out, if you do not let them in on the secrets. And since the Prometheus team was very adept at film secrecy, Ridley’s fan base actually grew to be a little jaded. The raving fans needed something – a concept I like to refer to as Proof of Life. This is what Scott delivers in the video above. And the content of this production segment is awesome. It’s actually better than awesome. I can explain.
The take away is that, product-wise, it doesn’t matter if you are creating something incredible or not. Going completely dark can be a negative. With any big project, plan and share Proof of Life with your fans.
It’s Alive!
Whereas Blade Runner was classic Sci-Fi, Alien was actually a Horror film wrapped in a Sci-Fi framework. The interesting thing is that by suppressing typical Sci-Fi psycho-babble and simply putting an intelligent, black latex-coated, sexualized, shark-like creature with legs on board a spaceship – audiences discovered that it made the futurism of the film much more real. We suspended disbelief (made the jump) almost immediately, which is an incredibly hard thing to pull off in Sci-Fi. Much of this is due to the fact humans are genetically hardwired to flee stuff with big teeth. Think Jaws,1975. We were just flat-out confused with mortal fear, in space (the dark movie theater itself feeling like an extension of the ship). I loved it… more please.
Insert Peter Weyland, the fictitious industrialist behind the Weyland Corporation. Weyland Corp. is the company that essentially threw the original blue-collar ore-mining crew on a collision course with the aliens. Soundly asleep in hibernation on a space barge, the crew was awakened from their trip home by their employers and instructed to investigate a SOS signal on a nearby planet. Only to find out, as we ALL find out later, that a derelict spaceship’s beacon was really transmitting a warning to STAY AWAY. And transmitting that warning for very good reason; big freaking, shark-like creatures with legs and fangs were afoot! Whatever these beings were, Weyland Corp. wanted a closer look for potential Biotech research.
Before Alien, we had never seen a “real alien”. Until now, we had never seen the “real Weyland”. And yet here he is, at a TED Conference in 2023… talking the talk and walking the walk. The idea behind the clip above is incredibly smart since TED is a real-world phenomenon which uniquely supports the pretense and context of Weyland’s grandiose character. TED Conferences have become THE place and platform for some of the brightest people on the planet to share their learnings and vision. At $5K-10K a seat, it can be a personal game-changer for you to attend. Lots of bright people in the room. Lots of ego. Life-changing connections can be made. It is the perfect platform for an industrialist of the future to step forward and share his ideas – Ideas Worth Spreading.
In a Steve Jobs world, Ridley’s TED clip makes Weyland’s character fascinatingly believable.
Creating a Reality Field
There are those that believe mankind could not have progressed to its current technological capability without some level of outside intervention or influence. Simply put, some quasi-scientists believe that ancient astronauts landed on Earth, early on, and influenced mankind by sharing technologies. Sometimes referred to as Paleocontact. At its core, the debate is one of mathematics, ancient markings and unexplainable relics. See Nazca Lines. Some believe it is statistically improbable that we could be where we are today technology-wise, without help. Now, I agree that, that is a stretch. However, the kid in me is inclined to like that line of thinking; to uncouple common sense from the theoretical. Somewhere deep down, you know you probably like it, too. Carl Sagan, commenting on the topic, once said of Paleocontact, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.”
Peter Weyland
Well, what if we did find extraordinary evidence? People would go nuts. Enter Ridley’s Prometheus. Cue up a host of incredible filmmaking talent and hide their work in insane secrecy. Then, cue up a HD video of Peter Weyland in front of a massive audience. Have him walk audiences through a timeline of technological advances, such as fire, gunpowder, biotech, androids and M Theory – a variant of String Theory that explains interactions between Quantum Mechanics, Relativity and Supergravity. Hence, when ships do jump space, it will happen using M Theory. Plausibility grows…
A Sci-Fi film asks for a high level of suspension of disbelief. And your classic Sci-Fi fan, like the one writing this entry, understands and appreciates this all too well. In essence, what my friend Norm was saying was: I’m interested in going on your journey. Just make it easy for me to believe.
This reason to believe is exactly what Ridley Scott masterfully accomplishes with the video above. Sci-Fi genre standards are about to be re-calibrated.
// Christopher Jones
See: Weyland Industries
feb 29 viewcount – 5K
mar 01 viewcount – 35K
mar 03 viewcount – 48K
mar 07 viewcount – 55K
Copyright © 2012 Scott Free