Right on the heels of the Oscars, I've got a hot take on an old title. Nothing breaks the 4th wall like taking in a movie with a Subject Matter Expert who has inside knowledge about the contents of the movie. It's hard to watch a medical drama with a nurse, or a movie about war with a veteran soldier, or a pivotal courtroom cross-examination with a lawyer. In the Ven Diagram of theatrical content my friends and I consume, It's not too frequent that I get the opportunity to ruin movies for my friends as they do for me. But one of my favorite instances of my success was with "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"
Don't get me wrong, in modern cinema, there are plenty of chances for discussion of CAD and digital modelling with modern movie magic. The Academy's recognition of Autodesk's software and contributions to the technology alone is worth tons of conversation, not to mention the fantastic works of Otto Descinski, but that is not the sector in which I work. Cinematic arts and movie magic is on the other end of the spectrum from where I earn my money. I work largely in industrial and process design for the gulf south region. I have worn many hats while working in this sector, and one of the many tasks I have been saddled with over the years was at the center of the 'Rogue One story'. I am speaking of course about the wonderful world of document control!
Document control is directly at the center of this sci-fi adventure. Document control is the axiom on which the whole movie pivots. Whilst rewatching this great movie and the heroic exploits of the crew of the Rogue One craft unfolding before us, I'm delighting in sharing my snarky quips to my friends. In the scene with the magnificent 'design vault' of the citadel tower on the screen I say; "Tell me you have an aversion to using cloud storage with out telling me you have an aversion to using cloud storage." As K-2SO give his life for the resistance; "There is no way these designs went through a proper HAZOP." As the rebellion takes down Scarif's shield in the last minute to transmit the plans I jokingly say; "Wait a minute, this is the feasibility study! We gotta go back, we didn't get the issued for construction set."
It was all ripe for my obnoxious commentary, but honestly it did give me a feeling of a little bit of inspirational pride in my occupation. I watch it play a key role in the story and realize the depth and importance of this aspect of the design cycle even in a fantasy setting. It really had me running down all kinds of day dream rabbit holes about the state of documentation today and in a galaxy far far away. The implications of configuration management, be it information security, Data management, Data platforms, Naming conventions ala "stardust", Documentation Standards etc. etc.. are all encompassing even in a galaxy far far away. One thing about industrial design that I frequently indulge in, is reading drafting standards. I love perusing standards for organizations like NASA, so I naturally nerd out just imagining how awesome it would be to go through the Imperial Drafting Standards of the Imperial Bureau of Standards.
When I'm doing Document Control type work, its never quite the exigent life and death struggle, but I can relate to the seemingly quixotic task. I don't get into blaster fights, but I do know what its like travelling to a distant site only to struggle with their documentation management system and looking for that one pivotal piece of information which will open up the informational trail to the design I'm working on. I also know about the difficulty in trying to get this information from place to place. I may not be flying in a space ship beaming data sets, but I frequently do send large Navis files which can be a Sisyphean task. I have been on some epic journeys into file rooms and vaults trying to acquire documentation, but they did not end with a death star weapons test... only paper cuts.
So if you are in need of some Engineering Design Documentation drama and inspiration, I recommend watching, or re-watching, "Rogue One" and try to take it in from a document control perspective.
PS: I found this fun link while putting this piece together.
https://bim360resources.autodesk.com/connect-construct/rogue-one-the-empire-s-6-steps-to-constructio...
