Catching the Liquid Media Wave

May 2nd 2007 Auckland

Catching the Liquid Media Wave

The fluid nature of New Media content means stories can take many forms across multiple formats and writers must prepare themselves to catch the liquid media wave. Such was the advice from three of New Zealand s leading New Media aficionados, Gordon White (New Media writer and Network Business Manager for APN Digital Media), Bevin Linkhorn (New Media Development Executive for The Gibson Group), and MC Russell Brown (multimedia guru and creator of Public Address) who featured at the April Writer s Room.

New Zealand s first mobidrama, The Gibson Group s My Story, premiered in April. In true liquid media style, My Story plays on C4 in the evening, can be downloaded to cell phones the following day and then viewed on a secure website the following Sunday. My Story Producer Bevin Linkhorn described how the writing team had to fit hooks, story progression and cliff hangers into just two minutes of drama. Such considerations meant the production demanded more story than was first thought. Initially we wrote a script plan for twenty eps said Linkhorn, then we realised, no, actually that would all be used up in the first 8 eps! In a further example of the fluidity of New Media, Linkhorn went one more step and created web pages for the My Story characters on MySpace and Bebo. These on-line profiles explain the characters in depth and lessen the pressure on two minutes of drama, allowing the story to move much quicker. So far audiences are welcoming this blurring of the lines between characters having both fictional and non-fictional on-line personalities.

Gordon White s main message for writers was, Don t panic! adding that getting content onto new platforms requires little technological knowledge. Russell Brown agreed. My computer ability is limited to what I d do in Word, he stated, I didn t design the Public Address, I don t design magazines, I just write in them. All panellists emphasised the importance of quality content with White stating that, Good content, no matter where it is on the web, will get found and be passed around. Bad content will sink. When asked if the increase of user generated content will cut writers out of the picture, White replied with a resounding No!

He pointed out that only 0.16% of people who visit You Tube actually post content there. Anyone can upload footage but viewers still expect good stories. Anyone can write a novel but only if you write a good novel are you a novelist, said White. In the same way anyone can grab a camera, edit some footage and upload it to the web - but that s junk that s not a good story.

The New Media scene is a level playing field where content is still king. Anyone anywhere can have the best rated video online now and money can be made if the stories are good. However, this often relies upon advertising. Usually an advertisement appears on the web page or precedes the footage.

Higher rates can be demanded from advertisers depending on the number of page impressions or the frequency that people view the page. You need to have a 360 degree awareness of how appropriate your content is and where it will be delivered says White. Building an audience is a prerequisite to increasing the number of page impressions and You Tube is a great place to start. Having gained an audience, a writer must then know what to do with them. Within five days you can have millions of people on your site , says White, but once you have their attention you need to direct them to a place where you can make money from hits.

To help web shy writers get started, Gordon White has put together a Writer s Tool Kit with the latest links and advice. The Took Kit can be found at: http://gordon.p.white.googlepages.com/toolkit. To learn more about New Zealand s first mobidrama view My Story by texting MYSTORY to 246 or find it on the web at www.watchmystory.tv. The New Media Writer s Room provided an enormous amount of vital information for local screenwriters, said Rebecca Kunin, Executive Director of Script to Screen.

We have only just begun this conversation and plan to hold future events that will help screenwriters stay abreast of the rapidly changing landscape of New Media content development . The Writer s Room Series continues in May with a focus on the process of taking television drama from initial concept to fully realised on-screen production. This is a change to the advertised programme and replaces the Writer/Producer night which will now be held in July.

ENDS

© Scoop Media