The post-production team at John Cabot University has been working hard on the narrative challenge of making The MRP Series accessible to a general audience. How do we help people who don’t know much about computer modeling and simulation feel connected to the enterprise of developing a cutting-edge technology that can test and validate scientific theories of religion? Animations are helping us achieve this goal, but lately we’ve been talking about adding a clearer “narrator’s voice,” especially in the early episodes, to guide the audience into the technical enterprise of the MRP team.
We decided that MY voice, as the producer/director/cinematographer/editor “one-woman band,” is the best way to lead people into the concepts of the docuseries, since when I started out I had no clue about what M&S is and I had all the same questions a “general audience” member might have. So we have crafted a narration script that is hopefully inviting and something viewers will connect with. The narration is more present in earlier episodes in order to orient viewers, and it becomes more sparse as the episodes start to stand on their own digital feet.
I’m so grateful for this team of clever, motivated assistants! They are making this very long documentary journey much more personally meaningful and keeping me inspired to dream of a bigger future for this project than I could muster on my own!
