What if?

This co-create provides writers with the opportunity to explore what might have happened if one of the crew did not choose the path that took them to space. It allows the character to reflect on a “sliding doors” moment in their life which was pivotal to their future and imagine the alternative. The story could be presented to represent another reflection in The Disco Ball or be presented as an inner monologue about what might have been.

Once the backgrounds are available for each crew member there should be enough information to allow co-creators to identify a sliding doors moment. For example in Marcus’ backstory he met Jackie. What if he had never met her. What would his life have been like and how was it different for better or worse than if he had met Jackie. Would he still have been a YouTube influencer? Maybe he would have continued with science but is now working in a lab for a large drug company. A tiny cog in the huge corporate machine. So many possibilities.

The Co/Create

There are two possible lengths for the Co/Creates

• A short version would be 500 to 600 words. Enough to tell an alternate story but short enough to only take up to 3 to 4 mins in screen time. This would allow us to combine 3 or 4 different sliding doors moments for each character into one “What if?” for the crew member.
• We could explore several pivotal moments in the character’s life. For Marcus these moments could be:
  • Meeting Jackie
  • Asking Jackie to marry him
  • Deciding to post on YouTube for the first time
  • When Jackie asked for a backrub a few times, getting her to see a doctor earlier thus saving her life
  • Choosing a different degree at College
• Alternatively we could look at 4 different outcomes (by different writers) of the same pivotal moment (we would tell them which moment to write about).
• A longer version would be up to 1500 words. A more detailed examination of one pivotal moment.

The Production

The production would be a flashback to when the moment occurred and then an exploration of the alternate path narrated by the character.

If 3 or 4 moments are chosen then they could be combined into one story branch or released as a short series of story branches between chapters.

If the mechanism is an internal dialog where the character is wondering “What if” each story branch would start with the character saying “Sometimes I wonder What If, I {insert pivotal moment}....”

If the mechanism is a moment from a different reflection (the characters would know about the different reflections in The Disco Ball by now in the story) each story branch would start with “What if I was in a reflection where {insert pivotal moment}.....”

Types of Co-creates

Writing

• The co-creators would have a choice of a long or short story.
• Multiple creators would tell very different stories for short stories which would be combined into a single story branch.
• The same pivotal moment could be examined in 3 or 4 different ways or 3 or 4 pivotal moments could be examined.
• There could be no limit to the number of What ifs that are created for each crew member. We could continue to produce them as the main story evolves and we find out more about the characters. Particularly if they are presented as being the action from an alternative reflection.
• Profit points and any compensation would be split equally amongst the writers for each crew member (for a long co-create the individual writer would receive all the profit points and compensation, for shorter co-creates the profit points and compensation would be split equally between the writers).
• What ifs could be created for:
  • Alma
  • Jora
  • Marcus
  • Grace
  • Grisha
  • Az

Art

• For the shorter stories a single one or two pieces could be created for the background to the voiceover for the story. Each piece would have a single distinct style emphasizing the difference in the sliding moment.
• For longer stories 3 or 4 pieces would be prepared by a single artist ensuring a consistent theme.
• The artists would have access to the draft script to inspire their artwork. Artists would apply to create thus retaining some control over how many people read the story before it is published.

Voice Acting

• New characters introduced into the alternate story could become new voice acting opportunities.

The co-creates are for all the community to participate in.