11. A Net of Invisible Things: The VR Development Practices of Lynette Wallworth in Collisions and Awavena

The telling of first nation screen stories by outsiders presents a complex set of challenges. This chapter maps the ‘invisible’ scripting practices of Australian VR creative Lynette Wallworth in Collisions (2016) and Awavena (2018). These case studies are explored via analysis of a long-form interview with Wallworth and through a praxis as research approach. The chapter frames ‘screenwriting’ for VR as problematic because it fails to capture the critical early interactions between the parties and the dance of understanding, listening, and trust which, for Wallworth, must be in place for the story to be offered and received. Wallworth has described her process of working with communities who want to articulate something to an audience as a ‘gift’ or ‘transmission’ (Munro 2019). This ‘joint approach’ moves the work from the ‘feeling of being there’ to becoming attuned to the perspectives of those who actually ‘are there’. Of key significance is the question whether Wallworth’s discoveries at the frontiers of new technologies could be transmuted back to traditional forms of documentary/drama ‘scripting’, offer clues to challenge the ‘straightjacket’ of prescribed mainstream screenwriting’ (Ross and Munt, Journal of Screenwriting 9:191–209, 2018) and development funding, and introduce innovative strategies for inclusive filmmaking.