The Writer's Advantage

by Laurie Scheer

  1965–1979 — Generation X

  Many of this generation have more in common with the Baby Boomers because they were raised without computers. If we use the date of 1993 as the last full year of print-only communication and look to around that same time as the time when home computers first appeared in many households, the math results are that these folks were in their late teens to twenties before accessing media via digital ways and means. Therefore, they have a vague idea of what it might have been like before a transmedia world existed. They certainly understand cable and blockbuster movie releases and have adapted wholeheartedly to the digital age, as their children are now being raised with computers. This is the generation that also understands what goes into “consumer-created content” because they have been creating their own content along with consuming commercial content since their twenties.

  1980–2000 — Millennials or Generation Y

  2000/2001–Present — New Silent Generation or Generation Z

  These generations have, for the most part, grown up completely with computers and the digital age. They know how to instantly access the web for information and they know how to create content. They process media at lightning speeds and access every mobile device they have on hand. Information and all content is available at all times via their cellphones and tablets via apps and other mobile platforms. They are not on a path to find their answers. There is no path, for they have already arrived. They’ve arrived and are eager to both create and consume media and content 24/7. They are changing the way media is consumed, completely embracing binge watching via Netflix and downloading movies whenever they wish. They go to movies for the experience of the event flick, texting throughout the movie so they can share their thoughts within their social media forums. Their entire life has been available via social media platforms such as Facebook and they have shared all of their favorite media with all of their social networks via the web.

  As we can see, even in these brief summaries of media behavior per each generation, Baby Boomers consume media differently than Millennials, etc. There are always exceptions within these groups. There is an excellent website to access to know more about the generations who have been born past that 1993 date. It is Ypulse at ypulse.com. If you are from one of the generations pre-Millennials and Gen Y, this site is essential for you to understand how media is consumed. For those of you from the Gen Y and Millennial group, the site is also important, as it reports on both traditional and transmedia platforms.

  SO THERE YOU HAVE IT

  It is my hope that now you can see why those of the Gen X and younger generations viewing “The Evolution of Dance” video may be misguided regarding its content. Additionally, by being aware of the way media has been radically altered by technology and how it is consumed, we begin to see how certain generations may not understand references to popular culture due to where they exist in that said culture. We’ll continue to examine this in upcoming chapters. For now, do you plan to binge watch Orange Is The New Black on Netflix this evening, or watch an episode of Duck Dynasty in real-time? Depending on your answer, I bet I could guess what generation you’re a part of.

  TOOLKIT SANDBOX

  A Sailor Man, Some Questions, and Some Old People In Love

  CASE STUDY: Popeye The Sailor Man

  Popeye The Sailor Man, a comic that first appeared in newspapers in 1929, enjoyed popularity throughout most of the 20th century. It went from a newspaper comic to a theatrical cartoon series in 1933. The character was also featured within a radio series between 1935–38. Popeye’s likeability continued to grow and, in 1938, the adventures of this sailor who is capable of coming up with untangled solutions to problems he and his friends encounter, earned him the label of being Hollywood’s most popular cartoon character at the time. The last of the 125 theatrical shorts was produced in 1957 and went into television syndication. A syndicated cartoon series was developed in 1960 and 200 episodes aired over two years. In 1978 The All New Popeye Hour debuted as part of CBS’s Saturday morning children’s programming lineup and ran until 1983.

  In 1980 a film musical entitled Popeye, starring Robin Williams as the title character, met with mixed reviews. In 2004, for the 75th anniversary of the cartoon, Popeye’s Voyage: A Search for Pappy, a computer-animated feature, was released on DVD. To this day, Popeye is being broadcast and consumed. The franchise will enter the public domain in 2025.

  Through this short run on the history of this franchise, you can see how those creators and consumers who enjoyed the comic strip in the ‘30s–’50s went on to create newer versions for the ‘80s. However, since the early ‘80s Popeye and his pals haven’t exactly been seen at the top of box office or television or even comic strip lists. Here, unlike The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, we see a franchise that, while still active, has not played much of a role in popular culture in the last thirty-plus years.

  In 2010 Sony Pictures Animation announced that they would produce a new version of Popeye. Their plans are to present the content as a CGI, 3D adaptation with Genndy Tartakovsky (he has a background in cable series animation and directed the 2012 animated favorite Hotel Transylvania). The question is, can a talented director and featured animated special effects save this franchise that has been for the most part out of the public consciousness for so long? In other words, will the techniques so often utilized in action films such as 3D save a storyline that simply may not be relatable to 21st century audiences?

  The film, currently slated for 2015, has already suffered a number of setbacks over the past few years. Due to its lack of popularity over the last two decades, this is an example of how execs need to carefully evaluate concepts within popular culture. How adaptable is the storyline to contemporary consumers? Is there anything within the storyline that can relate to young consumers? If the creators are relying on visual effects and techniques, that’s not enough. There’s another animated character that is in a similar situation — Mr. Magoo. Made hugely popular through a series of theatrical short cartoons and television series throughout the 1950s and ‘60s, Mr. Magoo has had very little exposure during the past few decades. Since an unsuccessful 1997 movie version starring Leslie Nielsen as Magoo, this once-iconic character has barely registered on the pop culture charts.

  If a franchise is not kept up to date, there is very little that can resurrect it, unless you the writer can find a way to make it relevant within today’s current (and future) marketplace.

  QUESTIONING WITH THE WRITER’S ADVANTAGE

  Do you see your idea appealing to audiences beyond just your peer group?

  How would your grandparents view your work? Would they understand it?

  How would your younger siblings (or children) view your work? Would they care about what you are saying?

  Do you understand how different ages/generations might find your work to be interesting?

  Do you understand how different ages/generations might find your work to be dull — or how they simply might not understand it?

  Have you ever found yourself questioning the chronological order of a specific genre, wanting to know how the genre evolved and being fascinated by artists within the genre that inspired one another?

  Do you think you can create a piece of content that will appeal to all generations?

  EXERCISE

  The Notebook

  Nicholas Sparks’ novel The Notebook (1996) has been highly popular among Gen X and Millennial readers, yet the story involves an aged couple dealing with health issues. Research why and how this seemingly Baby Boomer-orientated book and movie appeals to younger generations.

  CHAPTER 3

  TRANSMEDIA

  As digital technology continues to refine itself, media in the 21st century is undergoing many changes. On one hand, stag­­nation exists with so many sequels, prequels, spin-offs, reboots, and remakes of already tested content, while on the other hand there are so many
new opportunities for writers. Lets look at how we have arrived at this point in the transmedia marketplace. From that perch there will emerge a cornucopia of new and unique writing opportunities not to be missed by writers following The ­Writer’s Advantage.

  PUBLISHING IN A TRANSMEDIA WORLD

  The publishing world remains steady in that new writers will always have the same opportunities to write within the tried and true genres that have existed for years. For instance: Romance, Mystery, Women’s Fiction, Self-Help books are mainstays. The Young Adult market, however, has presented itself as an emerging arena — so much so that a new genre entitled “New Adult” has been established.

  New Adult is a term that is used when 1.) a Young Adult book begins to attract older (18–25) young adults, and/or 2.) a book designed for the Young Adult market crosses over into the mainstream — a book such as The Hunger Games (2008), for instance. Actually, it was the extreme success of books like The Hunger Games trilogy that lead to the publishing industry realizing that authors appealing to the Gen X and Millennial markets could break out beyond just those readers. New Adult protagonists deal with the same issues that Young Adult protagonists deal with, however with a bit more of a realization of what life is all about from a wizened post-teenage perspective. The publishing world needed to identify and brand for this new group of readers. The fiction world is now divided between older (25–65+) readers and younger (18–25) readers. Many of these titles have addressed topics with sexual identity and LGBT issues, drinking and drug use and its legalization, economic and job-finding scenarios, immigrant rights — in other words, issues that many within the 18–25 age range currently deal with on a daily basis. These issues are not always shared with the older reading population who may have more difficulty relating to these scenarios. This existence of a new genre proves that writers can make changes in media. And, should a Young Adult title break out into the mainstream reading population, it would probably do so because there is something within the book that resonates to all ages on the universal human need scale. This is something to think about when you are composing your new novel. The publishing industry will embrace a new genre when it attracts large reading populations — and you could be the writer to establish that new genre. The onslaught of self-publishing and digital publishing has also led to changes in the industry. Digital books are surpassing the sales of paperbacks in some genres. Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi and Young Adult are all genres that do well in a downloaded world — mostly due to their dedicated fans. See if you can create your whole new genre for a specific group of readers.

  MOVIE TRANSITION IN A TRANSMEDIA WORLD

  Movie industry pre-awareness of titles and characters has dominated the marketplace, resulting in a glut of sequels, prequels, remakes, and reboots. This is a commercial world where very few authentic ideas exist. Movies now feature “trailer moments” — most often things being destroyed. When budgets for movies reach well above $100 million, it seems that the storyline has to include blowing up something to save the world. Blockbusters have played themselves out. So the question now stands: Where do we go from here?

  There are a number of reasons for this phenomenon. One of the biggest reasons is that we now have a preponderance of fanboys writing these types of movies. Not all screenwriters possess basic writing skill sets. Instead of knowing how to construct characters with depth, complex storylines and meaningful dialogue, they really only know how to construct one-dimensional characters and plots based solely on what is known within a thin pop culture realm. They are writing from a fragmented viewpoint — as they have rarely taken the time to study the history of, say, a superhero or well-known genre, and are writing based on what they and their peers know — which is only what has been known from trailers and commercials, sequels and forums, and spin-offs and reboots that display and discuss the material.

  We have had twenty years of writers raised on content that has been based on previous content. It is no wonder why there are very few new, authentic ideas. The death of the original screenplay happened a while ago. Additionally, many of these action-heavy films are dominated by directors — not writers — and their vision for the screen. The result, sometimes known as “Chaos Cinema,” is a great amount of digital destruction versus story. Unintelligible sensory overload abides in this arena and the result is a sad state of modern action, and what was once known as the big blockbuster film comes and goes in our theaters without much fanfare — or box office success. We have lost the construction of an authentic storyline, and without story, movies can’t exist. We need to make movies that are well researched, feature characters with depth, complex storylines, and yes, meaningful dialogue based on the building blocks of their genre.

  TV AND THE TRANSMEDIA WORLD

  The days of real-time television watching are gone. The days of appointment television — where one would make a note of the day and time of a specific show to be watched — are gone also.

  Broadcast networks especially are losing adult viewers under fifty. Why? Because in a transmedia marketplace the viewer can consume television content anytime they want via any mode they wish. The result is that network shows aren’t what they used to be. How does a network appeal to the vast public, the public once known as mass media viewers, when those viewers no longer exist?

  This is why we’ve seen the decline of long-form television content such as miniseries and “Movies of the Week,” and in fact the only types of television content that can appeal to all demographics are religious-themed, fantasy, or music-based. We’ve seen the great success of cable networks and the chances they have taken with iconic series such as The Sopranos (1999–2007), Mad Men (2007–present), Breaking Bad (2008–2013), and Game of Thrones (2011–present), to name just a few, and that trend will continue... and it will continue on the television screen, computer screen, tablet screen, and smartphone screen.

  TELEVISION’S THIRD GOLDEN AGE

  The trend in television is the opposite of what we are seeing within the movie industry. Writers are embracing complex characters and sordid storylines. That’s all good. In fact, after the first wave of television programming in the 1950s, considered TVs Golden Age, and then again in the 1980s, when we saw the dawn of the serialized procedural dramas and new classic comedies, the writing for television has just been getting better and better. Perhaps this is because television writers must concentrate on their well-formed complex characters in order to have the storylines move forward on a week-by-week, or episode-by-episode, level. The difference is so plain and clear — less gets blown up within a television series, and the writer tends to concentrate on the development of the characters from which storylines emerge.

  So it is proven that audiences want nutritious programming — they’ll watch it via the networks and websites, heck, they’ll even binge watch it when they get addicted to it. And they’ll watch it again and again. There are fans of Downton Abbey (2010–present) who watch the entire series over again every season as they anticipate the new season. This is the way content should be consumed — with a fanatical enthusiasm. The creators of these series are to be applauded. They are generating content that displays their expertise of their genre. The television industry is light years ahead of the film side.

  That said, networks and advertisers need to broaden their focus beyond the 18-to-49 marketplace. We now have a connected world of DVDs, DVRs, Video-On-Demand, and web streaming. And guess what? The combination of all of these various ways of media are more powerful than the mass media template ever was.

  TALK OF THE TOWN

  In the days before consumers could manipulate the way they would consume content, a popular show would run in real-time and the following day everyone would talk about it around the water cooler, or Xerox machine, at work. This action became known as “water cooler conversation.” When the audience is fragmented, as we know it now is, it is difficult to discuss a piece of content the next day after viewing the show b
ecause everyone is viewing the show at different times in different ways. “Spoiler alerts” have to be announced in most cases in case someone in the crowd hasn’t watched said content. As a result, the water cooler scenario has moved online, and mostly to Twitter.

  Twitter buzz — chatter posted while a show is being broadcast (usually on cable), has been known to boost TV show ratings. This works for the remaining shows that appear on regular broadcast and cable television schedules and when series appear on Netflix for the first days or week. As more and more consumers gorge themselves with marathon viewings of series on Netflix and Amazon, binge watching becomes more and more popular. Add to this the Twitter dialogue of one or two popular celebrities or digital mavens and the series’ cache is elevated to high levels. In some cases, those folks who “cut the cord” from traditional cable companies are returning to cable because they want to be part of the “it’s happening now” experience.

  There has been a large amount of viewers who chose to go rogue and view television content via their own time, place, and venue. The model for television content is evolving. One wonders why broadcast networks are obsessed with the traditional TV pilot system. The question should be “Why even have a new fall season at all?” within this transmedia arena. (Since the dawn of television, broadcast networks have operated on a system that includes a period of time called “Pilot Season,” usually held in January through April of a new year. This is when development departments choose and develop pilots — as in the series’ first show that will “take off” into a new series, chosen from pitches they would have been listening to since mid-year the previous year. Network execs then choose which of the pilots they want to go to series and those series appear to much fanfare and publicity in the fall of every year, when viewership picks up again after summer breaks, hence the “New Fall Season.” This process has never been followed by cable networks — they pretty much use the process of “throw it up against the wall and if it sticks, we’ll make more episodes” — in other words, they do not have money to develop ideas and produce pilots, they just shoot on a low budget and run it on their networks. If consumers like it, they make more. As the transmedia universe continues to grow, this remains the template used to move forward with new material to be shown on traditional TV.)