COM 117/4: Multimedia Storytelling

I saw Social Media Marketing Manager Deanna Govoni speak in April.  This lecture was truly an interesting experience because not only was the room overflowing with interested students and faculty, but there was an online audience that was engaged in the lecture using twitter.

Govani talked about how her company Cisco reaches their multimedia audience.  She talked about how there is no definitive answer to how a company can engage their consumers though media, but Cisco reaches their audience through maintaining 32 blogs.  700 employees contribute to the multi-media hub that they call the Cisco Quad.  Part of Cisco’s strategy is to utilize each employee’s engagement to create a better customer experience.

One of the most surprising things about Govani’s lecture was when she talked about how social media is a business investment.  She said that companies who are engaged in social media can see profit spikes of up to 18%.  While the tools that companies use to engage in social media are usually free, companies still need to factor in overhead costs for their social media reach because they need to dedicate time and capital.  To succeed, Govani said companies need to invest time and maintain an internet presence.

Attending this lecture was really a positive experience, and it turned out a lot better than I thought it would at first.  Govani spent a lot of time talking about how Cisco is a good company to work for.  While she was also giving career advice, the information about Cisco as a company did not tie into the overall theme of social media in the work place until much later in the lecture.

Being a history major, I really appreciated the timeline of social media development that she provided.  She even had maps depicting fictional territories for each aspect of online media and the purpose of these maps was to show the growth of internet content culture over the past two years.

Overall, I thought that Govani did a very good job of stressing the importance of online business integration.  She simplified the business terms so that the content of her lecture was accessible to anyone and in general, the topic of social media is an accessible one which made her perspective even more interesting.  I found it extremely motivational to listen to such a young professional talk about new technology like this, it shows just how dynamic the job market has grown to be.

On Wednesday, April 6, 2011 at 9:30, the I-3 Center of the Newhouse School was graced with the presence of Jon Greene, one of the writers on the Law and Order spinoff, Law and Order: SVU. Greene discussed how he broke into the business and how a lot of talent, hard work, and a considerable amount of luck got him a great gig in TV.

The most useful piece of advice Greene offered to aspiring screenwriters like myself was not to make the same mistake he did, and to GO to LA to pursue your career right after graduating.  Greene, recalling his own past, said that working in a broadcast setting in small towns all over the nation prevented him from doing what he really wanted, and moving out to LA was the best thing he’d done career-wise.  He also talked a bit about how important it is to write and rewrite, and how revising and changing your work can often make it much better than it originally was.

Greene also discussed a few technical tidbits I never knew about that I’ll hopefully learn in higher-level TRF classes, such as the differences between serial and procedural shows and the difference in crediting writers as “Jon and Bob” or “Jon & Bob.”  “You need to do what youre doing until you get bored. Once you get bored doing something, then you need to do something else.  If you want to write, then you can do it,” said Greene and his partner. “This is a craft.  This is something you have to know how to do.”

Greene inspired me to continue working towards my goal as a writer and helped me realize its definitely what I want to do.

On April 1st, 2011 in Newhouse 1, a fashion show consisting of Newhouse and VPA students took shape. Boys and girls walked the catwalk dressed to the nines in fabulous garments put together by fashion students. I was lucky enough to score a spot in this years fashion show as a model. It was an interesting process to see people transform from everyday “Average-Joe’s” to models, strutting their stuff. There were many sub-themes involved in the fashion choices that night, but the overall theme was diversity.

People of all shapes, sizes and ethnic backgrounds participated in the show, and I must say, they all looked gorgeous! It is important to have a diverse body of students involved in an event of this magnitude because it not only promotes diversity, but embraces it. I know it’s probably cliche to say something like “It’s beautiful to be different,” but it’s true.

It wasn’t only the models who were diverse, but the outfits as well. The first collection was an androgynous assortment of outfits that were hand-selected from various thrift stores by the fashion students.

After the thrift store looks came many other collections such as Breast Cancer Awareness pieces which were mainly pink in color. Overall, it was a really neat show to be a part of and I’m sure it was fun to watch as well. In fact, I am looking forward to being a part of it again next year!

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In looking for another storyteller to attend for this blog, I wasn’t seeing anything that caught my eye. The few that did, were naturally scheduled during classes. So I was pretty optimistic when I heard that Newhouse alum Danny Zuker was speaking at a time “convenient” to me. All that I knew about Mr. Zuker (Danny, as he told us to call him) was that he was a fairly successful writer, surely a storyteller, and he worked on a show that I’d seen from time to time.

Looking back, it was one of the best decisions I’ve made this semester. Danny sat on a pannel with two Newhouse writing professors (as the lecture was part of a writing class that was open to other students) and spoke openly about the writing process, his inspirations, and his specific role at his current job- oh yeah, he works on Modern Family. Turns out, everyone gets writers block. Whether you’re writing your fiction pitch for COM117 or a treatment for the season finale of Modern Family, it happens to everyone. Also, apparently it helps if you have a loveless marriage. At least that’s something that Danny referenced several times, along with his other “life experiences” that he said most students just don’t have enough of to write some of the material that the writers of Modern Family can come up with. He also proudly claimed that he was responsible for writing the four most expensive episodes in Modern Family’s run so far.

Overall the talk was well worth it. A very cool insight to a true industry professional. On top of it all, the entire lecture was hilarious. One specific episode Danny cited was “Manny Get Your Gun.” The majority of the ideas from this episode came from his home life, including how his wife always misplaces her keys and acts as if they were stolen. “Yes dear, they stole they keys and left the car.” Gotta love a loveless marriage.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTOvZdAqrwM[/youtube]

On April 7^th, one of the head writers and co-executive producers for “Law and Order: SVU” stopped by Newhouse to talk about screenwriting. Professors Richard Dubin and Tom Seeley were also there to discuss the ins and outs of being a writer for television. The question and answer type of discussion allowed for a comfortable and laid back setting, especially when Professor Dubin threw in many of his jokes and anecdotes. Coming to this discussion, I wasn’t sure what to expect and I had no idea what I would take from it. But by the time I left, I had four pages of notes and a head swimming with exciting thoughts about my future.

There is so much information and advice that I took from that hour and a half talk. From coming up with ideas and writing for changing tv characters to technical aspects like writing processes and outlines, I now have a better understanding of just what I might be getting myself into…and I can’t wait!

Some of the most valuable advice that I took from this discussion may seem a bit cliché and possibly like common sense things, but they didn’t really seem real or relevant to me until I heard them from people who have actually “made it” in the entertainment business. So here they are: 1) take risks & be bold. 2) ALWAYS be ready to hear “NO!” 3) You have to have something to contribute: skills, creativity, the ability to work hard no matter what, people skills, putting in the time needed for any task. 4) Write as much as you can. 5) The entertainment business is all about building relationships. 6) Find a mentor who means something to you/can help you achieve the things you want. And 7) after college, LA is the place to be in order to surround yourself with writers & to start making connections ASAP, even the littlest ways help.

With a hundreds of girls (and some guys) spilling out of the auditorium to hear Kelly Cutrone speak, the atmosphere was filled with anticipation and excitement. I had first heard of Cutrone through the show “The Hills” that featured her PR firm, People’s Revolution, where Lauren Conrad worked. Seeing People’s Revolution on TV was one of the first encounters I had with PR firms, and it influenced my decision to want to major in PR.

Often times, PR firms become glamorized on TV, so it was nice to hear the reality of  difficulty of becoming successful in the fashion PR world through Cutrone, and her journey as a person through it all. It allowed me to understand that more times than not, working in a fashion PR firm, such as People’s Revolution, can be high stress and busy. It was refreshing to hear how certain events in Cutrone’s life developed her as a person. For example, after becoming mother, she changed her lifestyle because of her responsibility as a mother.

One of the reasons why Cutrone is so admirable to me is because by the end of the night, I got a strong sense of the person she is. During the night, Cutrone talked about how, at one point of her life, she did not know who she was, and she discussed the importance of finding out who are you. Sometimes, I find myself struggling to figure out who am I, and it was encouraging to hear someone as successful as Cutrone also dealt with similar issues.

This is the site to Cutrone’s PR firm, People’s Revolution:

http://www.peoplesrevolution.com/

In this speaker event, various journalists, such as Marilyn Serafini and Craig Harris discussed political reporting. A large part of the evening was spent discussing the healthcare act and the difficulty in reporting on an issue such as that due to its complicated language, difficulty in obtaining reliable sources, and political ressearch. It was informing to see how a reporter with experience like Serafini viewed political reporting.

Serafini discussed the amount of complicated rhetoric that is thrown around in news stories in political reporting I was glad to hear that complicated rhetoric was an issue that both Serafini and Harris brought up during the panel discussion. As a citizen, it is hard to decipher the language used in bills and legislation, which is why it is important to have political writers dissect complicated issues and bills for those who are not familiar with the political jargon.

Obtaining sources can be one of the most daunting tasks for political reporters. Serafini talked about how she often uses a source once or twice and then does not hears back from them until months later. I thought this to was surprising because I assumed that once a political reporter finds a source, they often go back to him or her when necessary. Because of this, it made sense to me as to why Serafini and Harris both believe it is important to respect the requests and statements of their sources because it could tarnish their reputation, which would then make it harder to obtain sources for their stories. Harris discussed the impact of the overreliance of technology in political reporting, particularly in interviewing sources. It was interesting to hear how technology can actually hinder the effectiveness and accuracy of political reporting. Today, technology plays a huge role in one’s day to day activities, so it was surprising to hear someone who has won various awards in political reporting advising our generation to take a step back from technology in order to get sources for political news stories.

Serafini also urged students to think outside the box and not to report on topics that journalists are supposed to be covering but rather on issues that journalists should be writing about. When she reported on the healthcare bill, she stayed away from solely political issues and focused on stories that would eventually get to the broader issue. Serafini’s view on how to report on a story is effective because of how complicated political issues can be. It is necessary to take a different route in order for an uninformed citizen to want to read a political story and learn about a political issue. Serafini also discussed the importance of research. However, Serafini talked about the difficulty of research in political reporting because of how time consuming it is for the reporter.

Politics are daunting to the average American citizen, which is why political reporting becomes so important. It was eye opening to see how even experienced political reporters found new difficulties in reporting on issues such as the healthcare bill. It made me realize how complicated political reporting is.