Final Post

I was frustrated when I first began this class. I am so used to being given a subject to write about and so I was lost, as well nervous, the first couple of weeks. Write what you want? Are you joking? This was nothing that I expected it to be and everything that I needed it to be. My fear in not getting it exactly right before moving onto the next paragraph cripples me. This class has helped me weaken that perfectionist syndrome. Write first and rewrite later.

I loved the Zinsser reading. I also enjoyed the lecture readings because they were so passionate and engaging. This workshop has improved my writing and understanding of the writing process. Sure, there will be days when I write poorly. But so long as I write it out I can revise it later. Brevity is an issue but I will continue to cut and refine. KYD is the key. That is already improving my writing.

My persona for the semester was fun. It was fun to wear the mask and still be me. The proposal I wrote for my midterm still stands. My writing and the process of writing was my main focus. I did write more blog posts on movie reviews. I also continued working on my novel on the side. It was a ‘Learn to Write Better’ campaign. My work on my novel has taken the story back a few steps to the outline stage and yet I feel I’ve made so much progress in doing so. I feel the writer’s block cracking. This is going to happen.

The more I think about my proposal under PlotLingo the more I can see it happening. We are already moving towards more interactivity with our television. The ultimate avatar that’s controlled on primetime shows. In a few years we’ll be voting on our favorite character’s choices. What to wear to the party? And these small interactive choices are going to yield more revenue for those shows.

In the end I call myself a work in progress. Writing is a craft and mine will continually improve thanks to this course. The tools learned here is going to help me complete that novel.

It has been such a pleasure working with my classmates as well as with Professor Kalm.

Thanks for those memories and lessons learned!

Social Media Campaign – Dove Real Beauty Sketches

This campaign resonated with me emotionally.  The “you are more beautiful than you think” line touched me. It received my full attention and, according to the iMedia Connection article, 54 million views. And this is despite the slow build to the message and lengthy video. In fact, if it were not for the title on the video I would have no concept of the message the first minute in. Why? It’s because as the story unfolds we keep asking why. Why is the forensic artist drawing these women? What is the point? And then we find out and it moves you.

This campaign is not only about advertising for Dove but a real attempt to make a change for women and their perception of themselves. Social media campaigns like this is smart. It conveys a deeper message with the advertisement of the brand thereby linking the brand with the deeper message. This social media campaign is a success.

The social media campaign for my proposal is going to keep the audience by pushing interactivity. The deeper message for my proposal is going to be audience connectedness with the characters of the story. The audience is going to feel like a part of the show. I would definitely use YouTube and Twitter for my medium in communicating with the audience. YouTube could show audience reenactments or mock ups of scenes with dual endings. This can also be done with puppets or cartoon reiterations of the characters alongside the actors audio. Twitter would be used by the characters and actors to reach out and give opinions on plot progression. The idea is rough around the edges but it is definitely something to further delve into.

Horror

Why do I give in to my friends and agree to see that new horror movie in the theater? I don’t like movies with gore and I especially cannot handle religious horror. The only time I do agree to see a horror film is in my own living room with access to the remote control for auditory defense and a pillow for visual defense.

I’ve enjoyed many horror movies that way and I am thrilled I have little visual idea of what went on. Instead, I have a second hand retelling from my sister to keep me up to speed on plot arcs. Of course, I am curious on specifics. How scary did the girl from The Ring look? Now I have a vivid imagination and sometimes feel my imagination is worse than the actual visual from the movie. Ok, maybe I feel that way a lot of the time.

I know I am not alone in this. So why do you spend time trying to watch horror movies when, if you are like me, it is going to scare the sleep out of you? Have we become adrenaline junkies? Is it the instant criticizing power in watching other people not survive death when they don’t listen to your advice and run out of the house instead of running into the attic? What’s wrong with you people in the movie? What moves you to watch these types of movies? What moves me?

And why on earth did I watch The Conjuring? This movie still keeps me from sleeping and I watched it a few weeks ago. I, alas, was outvoted and had to join my boyfriend and my sister in watching this horribly well-made movie. I think the absolute worse part of the movie is the description that it was based on a true story. Please don’t tell me that. I have had my own weird experiences and unlike fanatics who go to a psychic or medium for answers I run the other way. I pretend it never happened. It never happened. See?

It seems horror begets more horror.

I think things are triggered when you fuel belief and fear into it. It’s no surprise. People feed off other people’s weakness and fear to feel stronger and more empowered. My mother’s fear of driving gave me the courage to learn to drive. Weird but true. And, from my experience, it usually doesn’t happen consciously. If you believe in an afterlife what makes you think this stops when people pass away?

Now I understand that the movie industry’s job is to make money and so a true story will turn into an extravagant and very loosely based true story. I know this – but it doesn’t stop me from connecting the events to reality. It doesn’t stop me from researching to find out the ‘true’ telling of that haunted house from one of the daughters of the family The Conjuring was based on. Why did I do that?

I think, especially with the horror genre, remakes, sequels and prequels will live on and as intricate as plots can get you will always see the typical horror plot arcs. Death will always be part of these plots. What makes us driven to see these stories and repeat stories is that kick of adrenaline we get from trying to escape the danger around us. During the movie we suspend belief. The camera is our eyes and we are part of the horror story. Will you survive? Will I? I do know I won’t be sleeping.

Supernatural Script

Finally completed. I tried to get to the point quickly with my words. Brevity is difficult for me. Hope you enjoy!

Paranormal Activities

Pacific Rim Loses to Despicable Me 2

Timing is everything when trying to deliver what the audience wants. I was floored to see Pacific Rim lose out to Despicable Me 2 on its opening weekend in the domestic box office. That a children’s movie could beat an action end of world new age Godzilla movie surprised me.

Timing.

IMAX theaters has changed the timeline when movies are released. Summer blockbusters need to schedule movie releases on weekends to avoid or take on lesser competition. But if the movie is released in IMAX the movie also has to coordinate and schedule for availability of the one IMAX screen at the movie theater. The availability is needed for opening weekend and several weekends thereafter. Of course producers want every opportunity to make back their money in producing the film. So with scheduling for IMAX, summer blockbusters no longer concentrate on May through early July releases. We are experiencing summer blockbusters longer now.

This is Pacific Rim’s time to shine in IMAX and it lost against Despicable Me 2 in opening weekend sales. According to Box Office Mojo‘s domestic estimates for July 26-July28 Pacific Rim has brought in 84 million when it cost 190 million to make. In comparison, Despicable Me 2 has brought in 306 million when it cost 76 million to make. The law of diminishing returns is in effect and both movies has been out a few weekends now. Even so, these numbers do not include international estimates that should allow Pacific Rim to enjoy a profit albeit a small one as compared to Despicable Me 2.

However, timing is so much more than screen availability. When is the best time to release the movie? What are your target audiences doing during that time? We know families with younger children were at the movies to see Despicable Me 2. Where are the adults and adolescents? Away on vacation? I know when I went to Aruba the last thing on my mind was going to a movie theater. In fact, I think it’s blasphemous to go to a movie theater while on vacation. And I go to the movie theater practically every weekend when I am home. I think most family and friend groups operate under the same laws unless they are visiting other family and friend groups. Even then, watching movies seem like something to do on vacation when there is nothing else to do. This is conjecture – only my opinion so feel free to disagree.

Now I watched both Pacific Rim and Despicable Me 2 and I have to say the major plots for both are strong. However I enjoyed Pacific Rim more because it was more geared towards my age bracket with the action and fighting. Despicable Me 2 was cute and definitely something I could have waited to see on HBO kids. The onslaught of kids at the movies told me the parents were happy to get them to the theater for this. It also made me wonder if more of these families were home.

What is your competition? What is your IMAX schedule? Where is your audience when you release your movie? And what are they in the mood to see? Anticipating these things can make you a lot of money at the movies.

Maybe Pacific Rim will do better on DVD sales domestically. That being said, thank goodness for international sales.

Presentation

This has been an ordeal. But it is done!

View PlotLingo’s presentation on YouTube here.

Speech

What’s my destiny? You vote. You decide. Hi. My name is PlotLingo and today I want to talk about where television is going. We have moved into an era of media interactivity. The audience no longer wants to sit and watch a television show passively. We want to engage and be engaged. Already we interact with broadcast networks via votes on competition shows like American Idol, The Voice and Dancing with The Stars. And we also interact with TV via social media. Broadcast news, for example, commonly use twitter for audience comments where tweets are continually posted at the bottom of the television screen. Now let’s bring that interactivity into television’s fictional world.

Imagine watching The Walking Dead and right before we cut to commercial Rick has to decide whether he will allow newcomers into his camp. The question pops up on the screen. You open the app on your phone and answer yes he does or no he does not. The total votes tabulated within 45 seconds will make Rick’s decision. This is two-way communication and it will change how stories are told on television.

Now the concept is not about giving the audience total control over the major plots of the story. Rather, it is about giving the audience choices that may change minor plots on the show. Therefore writing for the series will become twice as engaging as the writing will involve forks in the plot of a particular episode. Ultimately, the writers will navigate the story – what the audience sees, hears and what choices are given. And choices can be given at any commercial break throughout the show and/or at the end of the episode. It’s your decision.

This is the beginning. Eventually this idea can bloom into more complex writing and plots. Audiences could choose sides and make decisions for the protagonist or antagonist. The talent on the show will, in a way, become avatars pushing interactivity to another level.

This idea can be applied to any number of television shows but I suggest we start with shows that already have a strong fan base. Shows like Supernatural would be ideal because of the length of time it has been on the air. Likewise, once popular shows that are losing ratings may be brought back to life with this new function.

Cost. The cost will vary depending on how many extra scenes are cut for a particular episode, the voting technology, and production costs to switching out scenes depending on voter outcome. The cost should be negligible if the show strengthens its ratings and add to its consumer base. This idea could drive up revenue from television advertising. Another potential added bonus would be increased DVD sales with the option to choose the unaired story forks for viewing. Lastly, voting demographics could be used to target advertising on the app.

The voting technology should not take more than six months to complete with testing. Within that frame the timing for story movement and voter choice with commercial breaks can be formulated for production. So this new phase of interactivity can begin as early as six months so long as that aligns with the show’s next season pre-production schedule.

This is the next step in television entertainment. Investing in this will bring revenue. It will also give you the lead in this new inevitable interactive change for television. Take the lead on this change.

Thank you.

Citations

[Untitled photograph of a family watching television]. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from: URL (http://www.nag.co.za/2013/05/29/the-xbox-one-reveal-and-why-the-industry-sucks-at-marketing/)

[Untitled photograph of Dancing with the Stars’ Brook Burke Charvet, Derek Hough, and Kellie Pickler]. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from: URL (http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Kellie+Pickler/Brooke+Burke+Charvet/Dancing+Stars+Season+16+Episode+1/34bPzEOuO5Z)

[Untitled screenshot of The Ed Show]. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from: URL (http://newsbusters.org/blogs/ryan-robertson/2012/10/24/romney-won-last-debate-msnbc-they-cant-believe-anyone-would-be-stupi)

[Untitled screenshot of The Walking Dead]. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from: URL (http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s135/the-walking-dead/recaps/a442131/walking-dead-recap-worlds-collide-in-when-the-dead-come-knocking.html)

[Untitled screenshot of The Walking Dead]. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from: URL (http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-walking-dead/images/32297743/title/daryl-dixon-wallpaper)

[Untitled screenshot of The Walking Dead]. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from: URL (http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/the-walking-dead/images/33489757/title/walking-dead-wallpaper)

[Untitled screenshot of Supernatural]. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from: URL (http://fallingpandas.tumblr.com/post/34750279007/smallwind-supernatural-s8e05-high-definition)

Executive Summary/Abstract

 

What could be more engaging when watching The Walking Dead on AMC than having control on whether Rick Grimes enters the dilapidated building in search of medical supplies? This can be an app to vote, courtesy of AMC, during commercial breaks and/or at the end of the episode. This idea to involve the audience can initiate growth and profit. The concept can be instituted by any major broadcast network with or without commercial breaks. Narrative storytelling will continue to thrive but it doesn’t need to be a one-way street. We are already in a generation when the audience wants to be a part of the show, wants to interact. Reality TV allows the audience to identify with the story and with the cast of the show on a visceral level. Reality TV also lets the audience decide contestants’ outcome on competition shows. Now, let’s apply those functions to fiction TV and, traditionally, narrative storytelling. This is the future. And it can happen as soon as the show’s next season depending on when production starts. Producers can affect this change in television storytelling concept as they will also be funding it. The cost will vary and can be as little as one extra scene shot during production. Of course, how many decisions you want the audience to vote on in an episode is in direct correlation to how many scenes to shoot. Doing this may or may not give away control of the narration for the main plot. You decide what to let the audience vote on. The technical side on this idea would involve marrying the voting and broadcast process for recorded television. If the audience is voting during commercial breaks I assume the speed in being able to change scenes from the voting outcome would be controlled by software. Votes can also be tallied at the end of an episode to affect change in an upcoming episode. It all depends on what choices you allow the audience during your narration. The timeline in producing this idea can be within a year. The technical aspect would need to be worked out in detail in the first six months and production should begin soon after.

Pitches

Interactive Storytelling via TV Series

What is the next step in television’s evolution? Interactivity. We already see it in new models that have apps and browsers for web surfing. The television is our new computer and as such wouldn’t you love to be able to control the destiny of your favorite character in a television show? This is the future. Let’s talk about the fork in the road in a wonderfully complex story that’s being played out on the television. The character thinks seriously about three options and knows he has to decide on one and that choice will move the story forward. Cut to commercial. Those watching are logged onto their account via the app on their phone and quickly choose one of the options. The option with the most votes win and moves the story when the show comes back on from commercial. This will change the way we view fictional television series and can quite possibly change the industry. Control over the storyline is not wholly given away to the audience but the certain choices that are makes the audience feel even closer to the story and its progression. A part of it. This is our next step.

Gaming and Television Show Merges – War of the Worlds

Let’s move beyond Defiance on the Syfy channel and create a game where World of Warcraft and Rift meets Star Trek – The Next Generation. The idea is similar in merging and interacting both game and television show but on a more direct level. The game should be a fully functioning world environment where players create their own characters and do what they want in the game. The only goal is to survive. The story of the game will be directed but the catch is there can only be one mission winner or winning faction for any given quest on the game. Those winners are then represented in the television show to continue and move forward the story. Rather than having a set cast and one hero or heroine on the television show there would be a number of lesser known actors/actresses (mission winners) to move the story in direct response to the game story and vice versa. The only set cast on the television show may in fact be the antagonist. This is a work in progress but it is definitely something that I can see in our future of interactive storytelling.

Writer’s Support Group App

Sure there are plenty of writer’s support group websites but is there an app for one? When I suffer from writer’s block I like to go to the park and relax. It would be nice to have an app on my phone for me to log onto to connect with other writers who suffer any myriad of other problems from all types of industries. Camaraderie. The app should essentially be a virtual social networking chat for writers.

Alternate Publishing Plan

To be honest I am not exactly sure where I could publish most of my articles. My posts seem something that would be well suited to stay on PlotLingo’s blog for future reference. These posts are opinionated and are in need of more rewrites and facts to back up my arguments. But with those corrections they can be near perfection.

E-How.com would be a great place to publish my How to Grow Your Creativity article. The article could then be freely accessed to those who suffer writer’s block like myself. It’s concise and my personality shines through on this piece. For me to attempt this I would need to be hired by Demand Studios in any hopes to publish that article on e-how. This would work out great so long as I got the job. I do love this article but my passion doesn’t lie in publishing how to articles.

My mind has been focused on my novel. I would love to add parts of my About Me (Rewrite) article to my About the Author page for my novel. For any of this to be plausible I would need to complete the novel first and submit it for review to be published. I am not familiar with this process but I know where I would want to submit my novel and that would be Tom Doherty Associates, LLC. My excerpt from my first post would be used and also added onto to meet one of the submission requirements. That is, to submit the first three chapters of the novel. My genre is Sci-fi/Fantasy so this is a great match. The only real issue is writing a great novel that gets their attention.

If that leap is too great I could always publish my novel on original fiction websites such as fictionpress.com. I am not too familiar with this site but it looks to run along the same guidelines as fanfiction.net.

There are a lot of possibilities but with the amount of noise in the industry it will be difficult to stand out.

Is there any e-how article on how to stand out? Or how to self-publish?

These ideas are great but how do I turn them into reality?

Midterm Proposal

This has been a difficult semester for me so far. The difficulty stems from my need to succeed and my naive intentions in writing my fiction. This class has brought about self-discovery on my writing and my love of stories.

Writing is hard. My obsession over getting every sentence perfect has actually stopped my progression. Not that obsession is bad. It can be a great tool so long as it doesn’t take over your work process and in my case it has. The assignments in this class so far has taught me a good routine. Write first and rewrite later. I love this routine. Sometimes I cringe when I read back through what I’ve written but that’s ok. It’s a process and I know my rewrite is going to be better. The important part, getting all of my thoughts on paper, is complete.

So I need to stay with PlotLingo to see how she develops. I need to get my novel on paper and she is going to help me do it.

Early in the semester you asked if my subject should be the process of writing or just my writing. After going through these first few assignments I know my answer and it has to be both. My subject will be my writing as well as the process of that writing. That is where I will take PlotLingo.

My goal will also still be to review and analyze plots and story structures across a variety of mediums. So far, the analyzing isn’t where I want it to be. I will get more specific with the subjects I analyze. I will get more personal in my thoughts. But I will also work on my fiction as well and I want to document that process. The idea is to tell my story – as Zinsser puts it.

Originally I thought my chosen topic/pseudonym for this course was too generalized to pursue. Now I know it will only be as general as I want it to be. Because my structure is not solid my focus will vary. But that’s ok. This is a process.

How do I know this is the right choice? Because it’s the hard choice. Finding the right words are hard for me. It’s not because I am not passionate enough but because I overthink. This is why I have such difficult time writing my novel. The rewrites are helping me break down these barriers. I can now allow myself to write freely and every rewrite will be better.

I love my About Me rewrite: “My love and deep appreciation for story construction makes me the perfect candidate in analyzing what works and what doesn’t in the media industry.”

But let’s take this one step further and study my writing and writing process. The idea is to infuse my stories with my personality. I am PlotLingo.