What we need is "real virtuality," the ability to point a computer or camera at something and later look at it from any point of view.

__ Storytelling__

Having actors and sets hang around in our TVs isn't going to do us a lot of good unless we can tell them to do something interesting. So, in addition to objects, we need a script that tells the receiver what to do with the objects in order to tell a story.

TV conceived as objects and scripts can be very responsive. Consider hyperlinked TV, in which touching an athlete produces relevant statistics, or touching an actor reveals that his necktie is on sale this week. Bits that contain more information about pixels than their color - that tell them how to behave and where to look for further instruction - can be embedded.

These bits-about-the-bits will resolve a problem that has beleaguered Hollywood directors faced with one-version-fits-all screens and made them envious of graphic designers, who can design postage stamps, magazine ads, and highway billboards using different rules of visual organization. Television programs could react according to the originator's intention when viewed under different circumstances (for instance, more close-ups and cuts on a small screen).

You think Java is important - wait until we have a similar language for storytelling. TV is, after all, an entertainment medium. Its technology will be judged by the richness of the connection between creator and viewer. As Bran Ferren of Disney has said, "We need dialog lines, not scan lines."

- This article was co-authored by V. Michael Bove (vmb@media.mit.edu), Alexander Dreyfoos Career Development professor at MIT's Media Lab.

Next Issue: Building Better Backchannels