TOP TEN Electronic Media Writing Reflections I have learned in 2011!

Push The Boundaries!
"...the primary aim of video producers too often still seems to be to present material that will not offend anyone(Hilliard 3)." Because financial rather than artistic or social considerations control programming content and decisions, the producers try to capture as large a viewer segment as possible. Media executives fear controversy and devote their time, energy and resources to get good ratings with the highest possible viewings. Programs that deal with hot and touchy issues with controversial material do not usually fall under this pretense. Now there are some programs that tentatively make up the exceptions such as Boston Legal and 60 Minutes, yet these only mildly touch on the sensitive topics. Shows that are bold enough to delve into our cracked system and exploit our hidden issues are yes, aired, but not for long. Take a look at a show that was dumped by both CBS and FOX despite the thousands of people who enjoyed viewing it on a regular basis: Michael Moore's TV Nation.



Know Your Tools!
"(Writers) must know the tools the director uses to bring the script to life, whether for a 6hour mini series or a 30second commercial...(Hilliard 20)." Writers must know what medium they are writing for so they can mold their scripts to the medium and access its strengths and weaknesses. With each medium comes its own variables- microphones, studios, terminology, cameras and visual or sound effects- and their own way of being incorporated into the scripts. When using television as the medium for production, visual and sound effects are both great tools to work with and around and can help push the audience towards a certain conclusion, or emotion the director wants. And with the help of special effects, the writer can use those to their advantage and build upon them to create a fuller script to match what the special effect video willproduce to viewers.



Know Thy Audience
"Advertisers seek audiences who are most likely to buy their products or services(Hilliard 80)." Using such information as demographics (age, gender, occupation, income, martial status, location, ethnic background, etc.) helps the writers and producers to understand their audience and from that, figure out what they would be interested in spending their hard-earned money on and how to get them to actually spend their money on these things. Advertisements and commercials are designed to appeal to their target market from all aspects of the production levels. This particular commercial is narrowly targeted at those parents looking to dress their young children in high end, designer clothing. Directed towards families who have money to spend and to who are concerned to with appearances; they themselves most likely wear designer clothing as well.



What Am I?
"The kinds of content and the level of presentation must be understood by and must appeal to the target viewers or listeners (Hilliard 154)." Each news station aims for a distinct style, aims for a certain target market, provides certain types of news to the people (local, global, controversial, hard or soft news), and tries to portray a specific personality. FOX News looks to provide stirring, current, shocking, hard and bias news; while local news station WCAX will focus more on local happenings, weather for their area, perhaps region news, such as New England, and emphasizing actual 'stories' such as home or school stories. People like to have a variety of these new station personalities to choose from so they are able to view a large range of news and information, each privy to its station and source.



The Highest Form of News and Information Art, huh?
"Many broadcast news personnel say that the documentary, combining as it does news, special events, features, music, and drama, is the highest form (of television and radio art)(Hilliard 229)." A good documentary can have a profound influence on social, political, or economic developments if written, produced and distributed correctly. Documentaries do present a point of view towards the subject and deal with controversial issues and have them aim to persuade their viewers to take action or a stand with the documentary's focus. I watched a documentary recently on the United State's Debt, it is called I.O.U.S.A and sheds light on our current debt issue and clearly takes a stand on the issue while presenting many facts and figures.


Here is the link to the "byte-sized" documentary online: http://youtu.be/O_TjBNjc9Bo (Unable to embed video: disabled)


"Reality" Programs
These monstrosities were introduced to the US in the 1990's and became an instant hit. We Love Drama! We are attracted to the format's combination of truth-based events, highly dramatized scripts, productions, and the competitive aspect of each of these shows. Reality shows deal with originally real events, but with much added scripture action to increase its likability in American's eyes. Many reality productions are actually scripted after the show has been filmed such as on America's Next Top Model. They film day to day, trying to capture usable material that will be entertaining enough to show on television and in the end they compile all the shots that made the cut, along with their scripted bits of video, and voila there is your reality show! Survivor was one of the first reality shows I watched with my parents and it is a show about people being placed on an island and trying to survive while there is drama and conflict revolving around the group.



No Full Scripts!
Talk shows and interviews do not require fully prepared scripts and are either outlined or a rundown or routine sheet are created. These scripts are not usually fully prepared since the interviewee is usually not able to read a prepared script and sound normal. It is also near impossible to previously judge the responses of the interviewee and sometimes the interplay of ideas and feelings does not play out as scripted and it is easier for those involved if they do not have a script to get back to. :The key to a successful interview is preparation (Hilliard 269)." Extensive research is a must in the interview so they may ask appropriate questions and be ready to base their next question off the answer received. In the case of a book being involved in the interview, the interviewee must be sure to read it as there has been many instances in where the interviewer asks bland, irrelevant questions to the book which ends up offending the author and their faithful readers. In this case the book is Harry Potter and the interview is from the Daily Show with JK Rowling.



The Sound of Music
Music can be found on all sorts of mediums nowadays; anywhere from the good ol' radio to the high speed internet and even on television too! Whichever you are hearing your music through, the program "must have organic continuity.. (Hilliard 303)." Although the sounding of a disc jockey eludes spontaneity, the meat of their programs is always meticulously planned with a clear focal point all the material revolves around. Like TV, each radio station and DJ have their own image to hold up, and their music and technique reflects it but just through different medium than TV. Although they all have images and themes to uphold, their stations must include variety to keep the listener interested. (Found at: http://www.topnews.in/files/FM-channels.jpg)


How to Train Us, to Train Them, Through This
"Perhaps the most widely served corporate purpose is education and training (Hilliard 328)." Video training programs are made by many companies to aid in training all employees through equal methods, reiterating the same values to each. They are produced for many reasons to introducing a new product into the company, to training new employees or how to stop sexual harassment in the workplace. Writers for these must know the exact purpose as to why the company wants this video to be produced and from there learn the target audience and how to reach them. Corporate videos tend to be a bit dry and bland, and therefore not penetrating their audience as they had planned, the writers and the company must get together and decide what approach they need to take to reach their listeners and leave them with the urge to take action on what they had just learned. Here is a video showing how to use corporate videos to re-engage your workforce and managers.



Copyright!
"To protect yourself, copyright your work. Unfortunately, not everything that the writer creates for television and radio is copyrightable (Hilliard 462)." Ideas are not copyrightable and you may see or hear your idea on the air under someone else's name but it might not be a rip-off as more than one person can have the same idea at virtually the same time. According to the US Copyright Office, narrative outlines, formats, summaries of plays and movies and other outlines cannot be registered for copyright in their unpublished form, yet copyright will protect the literary expression of the author's ideas, just not the ideas themselves. To copyright a script, it must be ready for performance. For more information, here is a catchy song so you may learn more about copyrighting for yourself!


Book Referenced:
Hilliard, Robert L. Writing for Television, Radio, New Media. Boston, MA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. Print.