Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011
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0:08 - 0:09Have you ever dreamt
-
0:09 - 0:11you had the power of magical flight?
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0:11 - 0:13As a child I was exposed
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0:13 - 0:16to two very beautiful
and extensive mythologies. -
0:16 - 0:19I grew up immersed in the classical myths
of ancient Greece, -
0:19 - 0:21and the dreamtime
of the Australian aboriginal people. -
0:22 - 0:24So I developed an addiction
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0:24 - 0:26for grand, interconnected narratives
-
0:26 - 0:28that involved magical flight
and time travel. -
0:29 - 0:32I was inspired by these stories
of gods, heroes and spirits, -
0:32 - 0:35facing and conquering
terrifying monsters, -
0:35 - 0:39travelling across the landscape,
singing the world into existence. -
0:39 - 0:42My childhood was one long road trip
through antiquity. -
0:42 - 0:45So these stories were passed down
to me orally -
0:45 - 0:49in the very sacred places
where the stories took place. -
0:49 - 0:52Here I am having a family picnic
on Mount Olympus, -
0:52 - 0:55where the Greek gods lived –
Well, they weren't actually real, -
0:55 - 0:59but for me as a child,
they felt so close and so alive. -
0:59 - 1:01So I learnt from a very young age
the importance -
1:01 - 1:05of being able to elegantly
blur fiction with reality. -
1:05 - 1:07Mythology is important.
-
1:07 - 1:10Every culture has their myths
to dream and live by. -
1:10 - 1:12Every culture has this.
-
1:12 - 1:15So beyond entertainment and spectacle
-
1:15 - 1:19the function of myth
is to teach us to cope with loss. -
1:26 - 1:28But what I loved most about myth
-
1:28 - 1:31is that it prevented me
from thinking in a linear way, -
1:31 - 1:33and an ideological shift
took place for me, -
1:33 - 1:36from the contained and finite story
-
1:36 - 1:39with a very distinctive beginning,
middle and end -
1:39 - 1:42to infinitely expanding story worlds,
-
1:42 - 1:45that force you to see
the inter-connectedness of everything. -
1:45 - 1:49So with a childhood of being addicted
to these infinite worlds, -
1:49 - 1:53you can imagine my delight
when jumping forward 25 years in time -
1:53 - 1:55and I've landed at this job at the BBC,
-
1:55 - 2:00where I'm given responsibility
for commissioning transmedia -
2:00 - 2:02for the BBC's most iconic show:
Dr Who. -
2:05 - 2:08As a child when I watched Dr Who,
I found it really scary, -
2:08 - 2:10I used to watch behind the sofa.
-
2:10 - 2:13And occasionally
I still have to avert my gaze; -
2:13 - 2:15the monsters still terrify me.
-
2:15 - 2:17That's because
the essence of Dr Who -
2:17 - 2:20has stayed constant
across its 48-year history. -
2:21 - 2:24It's the longest running
science fiction series ever created -
2:24 - 2:27and its longevity is due to the fact that
it's more than just sci-fi: -
2:27 - 2:29it's an anthology show.
-
2:29 - 2:33It crosses all genres
from drama to horror to comedy -
2:33 - 2:36and it's created to thrill
the child in all of us. -
2:36 - 2:39And of course, who doesn't want
to take a magical time ride -
2:39 - 2:44to save the world as indeed
the Doctor does in every episode. -
2:46 - 2:47Who is the Doctor?
-
2:47 - 2:50He's a Time lord
who travels back and forth in time -
2:50 - 2:53in a police box Time Machine,
-
2:53 - 2:57tiny on the outside, massive
on the inside, called the Tardis. -
2:59 - 3:02The first time I visited
the Dr Who's setting in Wales, -
3:02 - 3:04it was definitely a career highlight.
-
3:04 - 3:07There I was in the Tardis
with the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, -
3:08 - 3:09amazing,
-
3:09 - 3:11such is the magical sway of the story.
-
3:11 - 3:13I knew I was on a set
-
3:13 - 3:16but at that moment, once again,
fiction and reality blurred -
3:16 - 3:17and I thought to myself,
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3:17 - 3:20"How fantastic would it be
to give all Dr Who fans -
3:20 - 3:23this experience of not
just watching the show, -
3:23 - 3:27but being able to step into this
deep mythological space for themselves. -
3:27 - 3:31What if you could actually be the Doctor
and save the Universe?" -
3:31 - 3:33So this is the motive
that led us to design -
3:33 - 3:35the Dr Who adventure games.
-
3:36 - 3:40In 2010 the BBC created
17 episodes of Dr Who. -
3:41 - 3:4613 TV episodes and 4 extra episodes
that were actually games, -
3:46 - 3:503 hours of extra game play
within each. -
3:50 - 3:52This has been,
I think, a very unique moment -
3:52 - 3:55in television and transmedia history
-
3:55 - 4:00to finally have this type of seamless
TV transmedia story world integration. -
4:02 - 4:04One of my favourite moments
-
4:04 - 4:07was when I took
the game's designers to the Tardis -
4:07 - 4:09to collaborate with the show's team.
-
4:09 - 4:11Charles, the game writer, asked,
-
4:11 - 4:13"What's that door over there?",
-
4:14 - 4:16and they replied,
"That's your door. Take it, use it -
4:16 - 4:19do what you like with it,
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4:19 - 4:22take the Doctor to places that
we can't take him on the telly". -
4:22 - 4:27So, in that moment, after years
of working across the silos, -
4:27 - 4:29traditional media organisations,
-
4:29 - 4:31desperately trying
to get people to understand -
4:31 - 4:33how transmedia
couldn't reach their stories, -
4:33 - 4:37In that moment we'd finally achieved,
what we thought was impossible, -
4:37 - 4:40to get into the very DNA of a production
-
4:40 - 4:45and create stories and characters
on par with the rest of the franchise. -
4:45 - 4:48With these games we've managed
to future-proof the audience -
4:48 - 4:50for the new generation of kids,
-
4:50 - 4:52but also to give the die-hard fans
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4:52 - 4:55the ability to step into a Time Machine.
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4:57 - 5:01I know I've been gushing in a very
Dr Who geeky manner right now -
5:01 - 5:04about this show.
It's an occupational hazard! -
5:04 - 5:07But, I think all the most amazing
and effective transmedia -
5:07 - 5:10is born out of connecting
with your inner fan. -
5:10 - 5:14Without the feverish passion of a fan,
you can't deliver the best experience. -
5:14 - 5:16You've got to tap into
the collective unconscious, -
5:16 - 5:21the muse, the universe, whatever
you want to call this unlimited energy -
5:21 - 5:23that is the origin
of all grand narratives. -
5:23 - 5:26I tried to get to
this non-verbal place. -
5:26 - 5:30At the core of the story, where I'm not
thinking but feeling. -
5:30 - 5:32It's like learning a new language.
-
5:32 - 5:34Once you start
dreaming in a language, -
5:34 - 5:36you know you've finally mastered it.
-
5:39 - 5:42As story-tellers we need to we need to tap
into mythology -
5:42 - 5:44to reach into this collective unconscious
-
5:44 - 5:45and tell the stories that matter,
-
5:45 - 5:50the stories that help people deal
with the secret pains of life, -
5:50 - 5:52that no one is immune to
-
5:52 - 5:56the things we all have to face
at some point of love and loss, -
5:56 - 5:59and love and loss,
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5:59 - 6:01this never-ending dance of life.
-
6:01 - 6:04It's in the most recent
episode of Dr Who: -
6:04 - 6:07the Doctor is lamenting
his impending death, -
6:07 - 6:12for even Time lords
can't avoid this very real pain. -
6:12 - 6:17We can use transmedia to try
ideas out in a game space -
6:17 - 6:18before the real world
-
6:18 - 6:20to understand consequences,
-
6:20 - 6:24to connect with each other through
magic travels through time and space. -
6:27 - 6:29Magical mythologies are an essential tool
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6:29 - 6:31to helping people through the cycle of life.
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6:31 - 6:33It's the perfect way to ease people
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6:33 - 6:36through beginnings,
endings and transitions -
6:36 - 6:39in a way that leads
to actual change in their life. -
6:39 - 6:41At the beginning of my life,
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6:41 - 6:43my mother told me stories
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6:43 - 6:45to help me cope
with the years ahead of me; -
6:45 - 6:47of the Greek gods and how
they dealt with life's traumas. -
6:48 - 6:49At the end of her life,
-
6:49 - 6:54I told her stories that helped her
confront her last days with courage. -
6:54 - 6:59What if we could comfort, inspire and
encourage each other with transmedia? -
6:59 - 7:01What if we could take
that Dr Who approach, -
7:01 - 7:04that successful recipe
of 48 years of entertaining, -
7:04 - 7:06and find a unique way
-
7:06 - 7:10to add a magical layer
onto our very real world stories? -
7:10 - 7:14(Applause)
- Title:
- Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011
- Description:
-
Rosie Allimonos has pioneered the development of online drama and narrative gaming, overseeing the strategy and delivery of the BBC's most successful transmedia brands. She is currently responsible for commissioning the next generation of connected TV, mobile, online and IPTV platforms for BBC Drama, Films and Acquisitions.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 07:20
Helene Batt edited English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 | ||
Elisabeth Buffard approved English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 | ||
Elisabeth Buffard edited English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 | ||
Tatjana Jevdjic edited English subtitles for Dr. Who and Mythology: Rosie Allimonos at TEDxTransmedia 2011 |
Tatjana Jevdjic
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