The Inuksuit Script
Too often corporate writing assignments go like this: I'm given an obscure list of "keys" or "platforms" (bullet points from a hideous PowerPoint presentation) that I have to make fit with a half-baked, overarching theme.
A theme like, "ACME...we've got what you need."
So I take all of the disparate elements, juggle them around in my synthesizing, lateral-thinking machine, and spit out ideas that meld the previously incongruous concepts together into a compromise that will make all parties reasonably happy. And while I'm very good at this—creating a glue of content that keeps corporate meetings, speeches, videos and other presentations from collapsing on themselves—I prefer those projects where I truly learn something. Like the one I got yesterday.
Yesterday a client gave me an assignment to write a video script on inuksuit, those sculptures of uncut stones created by the Inuit people to guide hunters and provide solace to lonely travelers. What's cool about this is that I'm actually learning stuff, and the bridge between the concept of inuksuit and the company department hosting the conference is not that far-fetched. It's a pleasure to work on this because someone smart obviously spent a good deal of time doing the pre-think or, as they say in TV-speak, the pre-production.
I need to get back to work now, but I'd like to leave you with three photos of inuksuit. Hopefully they'll inspire you to go learn more about them yourself.
