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HBO: Your film is unique in that it's the first
documentary shot entirely inside a virtual
world. What were your sources of inspiration?
Douglas Gayeton: Well, I made perhaps the first documentary
about interactive television back in '93. Right
afterwards I made one of the first interactive
movies called 'Johnny Mnemonic' with William
Gibson. So I always gravitate to the place
where technology and storytelling converge.
When the latest wave of virtual worlds first
appeared in 2006 I studied them closely and
realized there were a number of compelling
stories to tell. I starting making the film
without even really knowing how, technically,
I was going to do it.
HBO: 'Molotov Alva' is the avatar or character you
created for yourself to navigate through this
virtual world. For the uninitiated, can you
explain what an avatar is?
Douglas Gayeton: We're living in the Avatar Age. If you have an
email address or an account for sending
instant messages, you are using a digital
approximation of yourself to speak with other
people. You've probably even given this digital
approximation of yourself a name. An avatar
is simply a 3D depiction of this identity,
except here you can decide how it looks, even
its sex. I think that five years from now
everything from banking to certain aspects of
entertainment will take place within
immersive three-dimensional environments.
And this 3D avatar will be how you are
represented.
What's interesting is that many people see
their avatar as representing aspects of
themselves which aren't perceptible in the real
world. In fact, for many people there's a
complete separation between their avatar and
who they are in the real world. Each has a
distinct name and identity. When I made the
documentary I learned very quickly to never
ask somebody what their real name was, or
what they did in the real world because they
really wanted to be defined by who they were
inside Second Life. Their avatar represented
the full extent of the personality and person
they wanted to convey to me. Their other life
was irrelevant.
HBO: It's interesting the way reality and fantasy,
and virtual and "real" intersect both in your
film and online. Some people feel like "virtual
reality" isn't real at all. What are your
thoughts about that?
Douglas Gayeton: Well, it's very interesting that you're asking
this question on a telephone because we don't
even know what each other looks like, and it's
quite possible that I could stand beside you
on a subway train and not even know that I'd
been on the phone with you fifteen minutes
earlier. So phones are a primitive form of
virtual reality. They attempt to create the idea
that you and I are having a shared real-time
conversation. Virtual worlds add one
additional layer to that, the sense of being in a
shared SPACE at the same time. And the
impact of this visual element can't be
discounted.
In terms of virtual worlds being a valid use of
someone's time and somehow a "real"
experience, it helps to think of it like this:
people sometimes use virtual worlds to
redefine themselves and the world in a way
that's closer to the vision that they have of it
and themselves. A lot of times people feel that
geography or physiognomy, you know, certain
things that they have no control over, have
established and set their path through life.
Virtual worlds allow people to reinvent
themselves as something much closer to how
they see themselves in the real world.
And quite often you find people who are
entirely different in the real world from how
they present themselves successfully in a
virtual world. And when I say "successfully"
it's because if success is judged by the
number of friends we have and the depth of
our interactions with them then virtual worlds
are tremendously powerful social equalizers.
Somebody who in the real world might never
sit across from you and share a coffee will be
more likely to do so in a virtual world,
because the visual factors which define or
prejudge what you think of a person don't
exist. In fact, this phenomenon is well
understood by people in Second Life. Many of
them refuse to meet each other in the real
world.
HBO: Because it would shatter the illusion they've
created online.
Douglas Gayeton: Precisely. But they wouldn't call it an
"illusion" either because of how distinct and
"real" their alter egos or avatars are for them.
HBO: How did Molotov begin? And how did it evolve
into your wanting to make a documentary?
Douglas Gayeton: I came into Second Life with the sole purpose
of making a documentary about it. I've been
around virtual worlds dating back to the mid-
90s, so I was certainly familiar with them.
But they'd never gotten to the level of
sophistication I saw in Second Life. What's
fascinating about Second Life, and what
makes it really a landmark moment in the
history of the Internet, is that everything
inside Second Life was made by the people
who are there as opposed to being made by
some company that allows you to navigate
through a bunch of pre-packaged
environments they've delivered to you.
Second Life grew so quickly and has
continued to have such a loyal following
because of that very radical proposition.
As for Molotov, I think he will offer people a
window into something they wouldn't
normally see on their own, yet would still be
curious about. The film grew out of my
realization that this was a groundbreaking
moment, one that would make for a
compelling journey. In fact, as a companion
to the documentary, we've also created
Molotov Alva's Interactive Journey through
Second Life. Viewers will be able to log onto
Second Life and embark on their own curated
journey with Molotov and his mentor, Orhalla
Zander. An elite group within Second Life,
NPIRL (Not Possible in Real Life), has also
contributed greatly to the journey. There will
be a few surprises and a reward at the end,
and along the way viewers can visit many of
the same locations and meet people who
appear in the documentary. It isn't often that
a documentary provides its viewers with a way
to have such an immersive experience, so we
really look forward to launching this in
conjunction with the documentary airing on
Cinemax.
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