Studios Rebooting The Classics: No Room For New Ideas?

           Over the past few years, I have started to realize the increasing boost of studio networks rebooting classic television shows, which has made me speculate what exactly is the intention on rebooting these shows? The first thing that instantly comes to mind is the question, is Hollywood running out of original ideas for new concepts?

             In all honesty, I feel as though this increasing want to reboot a series year after year is getting out of control. There are so many new ideas waiting to become produced, but apparently Hollywood is afraid of change and adapting new ideas. The real concern I have is that I feel most of these shows were such popular classics, and to reboot such a popular show brings an instant chance of failure only because the show will be compared to its predecessor, the original series, and no matter what, the original will always stick out as the ultimate success.

           I would think the studio networks would become concern and cautious after the recent failures of the reboots of 'Charlie Angels' and 'Ironside'. I watched the beginning of both reboots, and neither one had the spark to match the original version, which is what reboots are bound to do, compete against the original version. On the other hand, reboots such as 'Nikita', 'Battlestar Galactica', 'The Twilight Zone', 'Dallas', and  '90210', have seen success. So, not all reboots are destined to fail, but it is surely a risky approach.

           According to Lisa France from CNN Entertainment, she states that studio networks are rebooting these television shows because its hard to make a new television show a success. But I would think that its hard to make any television show a success. Our industry is all about taking a chance at success, that is how magic works in Hollywood, you have to experiment. As 2013 comes to a closing, studios have already ordered the reboots of 'Murder She Wrote', 'Max Steel', 'Charmed' and 'Boy Meets World', which were all successful classics, most have actually just ended not to long ago, like 'Charmed' and 'Boy Meets World'.

            I feel like the bottom line is that there are many new ideas that should be produced, and hollywood should really take a step back from history, and enter the future of new content. Rebooting a successful series only brings in competition against the original series, and like they say, there's nothing like the original.

Graduate School Of Entertainment Business: Master's Candidate Review

Another milestone completion in the works, as I complete my last week in Graduate School. As I reflect over the course of my graduate program at Full Sail University, I must say that I have become more character developed as a entertainment media professional, with enhanced knowledge of one of the most creative, craziest and sleepless industries in the world, Entertainment Business. I will now share with you all my personal reflection of each of the courses studied through the duration of my twelve month program.

Media Literacy & Research Methodologies

MLR, the introductory course into the program, which helped to start or further improve our online presence, while researching media-related case studies pertaining to the adapting society of our digital age of advanced technology. This course made me realize the importance of one, especially a entertainment media professional, to have a strong online presence, and to comprehend the variety of social media platforms that allows one to develop their online professional reputation. During this course, is when I realized how vital it was to have a professional network such as Linked-In. MLR has certainly allowed me to build online networking relationships, as well enhance my knowledge of why media literacy is important in entertainment business. 

Executive Leadership

EXL, was one of my favorite courses pertaining to the reading material. This course examined the qualities necessary to become an executive leader in today's entertainment industry. For the course, we read Robert Greene's '48 Laws of Power' and John Maxwell's 'Developing the Leader Within You'. We analyzed both core concepts of the books as we studied the different styles, traits and process of decision-making to how one becomes a successful leader. As the course came to a closing, I was able to determine my own leadership qualities, and what areas I needed development in, and how I could possibly build them as I enter entertainment business.

Project & Team Management

PTM, having taken previous courses in Psychology and being a Communication minor, I really appreciated this course because it focused on team building in a work environment, in relation to interpersonal communication skills. This course was very useful especially considering the entertainment business is all about executing team and crew projects, which most jobs in the industry require some sort of team management to be developed. This course helped explore and evaluate a productive team, including team member skill sets, keeping a team motivated, focused and empowered towards a team's success.  

Business Storytelling & Brand Development

BSB, During this course, we became more descriptive in forming our business plan projects. This course further build from MLR in relation to developing an online presence in the business and consumer market. During BSB, we learned the factors and techniques of how to make our business into a narrative brand for consumers. Furthermore, we were able to study storytelling principles to strengthen our business, to deliver a superior customer experience while identifying and shaping our brand identity. Moreover, we developed a SWOT analysis for our specified business company, which helped determined the potential strengths and weaknesses for the success growth of our business plan. Additionally, I was able to really capitalize on how I wanted my production company, J.A.C.E Films & Media to be conveyed in the entertainment industry by using techniques from business storytelling concepts, which further helped to ensure a strong brand identity focus for my production company. 

Entertainment Business Finance

EBF, I will admit that this course surely became the class in the entire program that I became cautious about, considering I'm not a fan of mathematics, but as the course began, I noticed how vital it pertained to the success of the development of my business plan. The course focused on the financial decisions and issues facing an entertainment business industry professional. I was able to research financial opportunities for startup funding, and learned key concepts within selected topics of financial planning, capital management, operations expense management and personal finance. This course was all about the numbers, and just how important the numbers meant in running a business in the entertainment industry. For this course, we developed a complete pro forma for our final business plan, which helped structured the financial division of our company's funding operations. 

Entertainment Law: Negotiation & Deal-Making 

NDM, This was pretty much one of my favorite courses in the program because it became my first law class ever taken, which I learned a lot, as well, developing knowledge I knew pertaining to group mediation and negotiation skills. NDM was a very insightful course regarding essential business skills that enable business professionals to develop companies, establish strong business presence and enhance product development, through the the psychological process of becoming a strong and equip business negotiator and deal-maker. This course covered topics such as deal-structuring skills, self-awareness, negotiation skill development, development of deal memos and contracts. I was able to learn how professionals negotiation contracts deals and why it presents such a critical process in determining an agreed deal for many professionals in entertainment business.

Product & Artist Management

PAM, Everything an individual needs to know about entertainment management was structured into this course. This course focused on the essential needs on how to manage an artist and/or product. I highly appreciated the course detail because it displayed the benefits of schedule management, production planning, risk management, which all addressed different management styles when applying principle techniques in entertainment management for an artist and product service. 

Advanced Entertainment Law

AEL, this course is the more detailed and advanced topic law course of entertainment business. The course taught us how to protect our business in legal matters and concerns, particularly in intellectual property content. Furthermore, it explored the law strategies of exploiting rights within a digital domain, with a focus on the role that entertainment law has played in the industry's evolution. I now have much more cautious insight on just how the legal system works in entertainment media, and just how important it is for one to protect their business, product, brand and even reputation in this industry.

Entertainment Media Publishing & Distribution

MPD, This course was my favorite course thus far in the whole program. MPD was a course that focused on how a business's product and service is published and distributed into the consumer market for successful sales. The course addressed selected topics such as piracy, social media, digital rights and legislation. I was able to analyze traditional and new digital age publishing and distribution methods. I learned just how vital distribution forms are for a business, and why so many business instantly fail, while others continue to grow, in regards to the structure of a proper publishing and distribution route. 

Digital Marketing

DMK, Digital marketing helped us to explore the many effective promotion and advertising routes when developing our business companies on social media platforms. This course focused on marketing initiatives across online and offline channels, for desktop and mobile audiences. We further explored digital revenue models, mobile trends, and how marketing success is measured and analyzed. I highly appreciated this course because before this course, I hardly knew how SEO worked, which I have now become more aware of the marketing process in determining how to successfully promote and advertise a business plan operation. 

Business Plan Development

BPD, as the program came to a near closing, BPD allowed us to construct our entire business plan, by compiling everything we learned from all previous courses throughout the program study. We began to finalize our professional written business plan, by constructing our business research report, financial, marketing and management plans. This course allowed us to make any adjustments needed as we focused in great detail of the realistic standpoint of our business plans. 

Capstone Project: Business Plan

BPL,  Final course of the program. Our Capstone course, which consisted of the completion of our written and presentation business plan, which would be reviewed by a faculty panel in a live pitch session environment. This course put the entire program into full perspective as we learned financial and career possibilities in professionally executing our business plans as we enter the entertainment industry, after completing graduate school. I enjoyed this course the most, because the program finished strong with inspiring special guest lectures and enhancing knowledge material for career interviews, elevator pitches, business investments and the importance of maintaining a strong network within the entertainment industry.

Overall, the entertainment business graduate program here at Full Sail University has become a real life experience, as I have had the opportunity to be taught by real industry professionals, given countless opportunities to further explore networking within the school and developing bonding industry relationships with the instructors and my peers. I am proud to say that I am a Graduate of this prestigious program of study, Entertainment Business. 

 

Outside The Box of Considerations

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to watch a pre-screening of the film adaptation of 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty", and Sean Penn's character said something that really sparked up a thought in me. He said the things that we merely pay attention to are the things that deserve attention, it is the things we do not look at, that give us moments to appreciate. As a filmmaker, this statement has really presented itself as the epitome of this year's motion picture premiers.

     
We are closely entering awards season, and I must say this year has become one of the most challenging award seasons in a long time. According to Indiewire, in the year 2013, many people are starting to see independent films as main competition as opposed to the attention seeking studio films. The 2013 Spirit Award Nominations were recently announced, which garnered some surprises to the public. Gaby Hoffman was one of the surprises in the leading female category, which many expected hollywood's  Julia Louis-Dreyfus to be surely be one of the top nominations, but in this case, it was the unknown Gaby Hoffman that took the attention for her spectacular performance in
'Crystal Fairy'. An additional surprise were Melonie Diaz's nomination over oscar-winner Octavia Spencer for 'Fruitvale Station'. Ms. Diaz has been acting for quite some time and now her acting is starting to dive into the spotlight, like many other independent film performers.
   
Moreover, many independent films have been getting raving reviews, especially for oscar contending, films such as 'Fruitvale Station', 'Nebraska', 'Lee Daniel's The Butler', Dallas Buyers Club', 'Frances Ha', 'Stories We Tell' and many more. This has surely become a year that many can expect a high contenders number of independent film success during the awards season, which says a lot for our film industry. Now, people are able to realize that studio films are not the only major contenders when it comes to the best acting, directing, writing, producing and etc. Independent films are making a bold statement, and its now time we all start paying attention outside the studio system box, because we may just miss out on something spectacular if we do not realize what really needs our attention.

Here's a link, posted below, to the list of the top 2013 indie films that Indiewire encourages moviegoers to go check out. I highly suggest one takes a chance to see some, if not all.

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-50-indie-films-we-want-to-see-in-2013?page=7#articleHeaderPanel

The Business Plan of The Film Industry

I recently had the chance to learn some interesting insight on a Film Business Plan experts, Ryan Colucci and Erick Sherman. Both of these men have been in the business of film for quite some time, and here is some background insight on well of a career they both have accomplished as presenting successful business plans.

Ryan Colucci, well known for producing an independently financed science fiction film known as White Space. Ryan worked as a producer at film finance and production company, Snoot Entertainment. Overall, he has over ten years of experience in the film industry. He consults with producers and directors on financing, structure and proposals for individual films, slates, entertainment companies and publishing ventures, when not in production on his own projects. Moreover, Ryan was nominated for a Goodreads and Horror Comic Award for Best Original Graphic Novel. As of education, he received his BA in Film Studies and Production from Hofstra University, and then pursued his MFA in the producing program at USC. He is currently an established member of the Lambda Pi Eta Communications Honor Society and the Gamma Phi Business Honor Society. Overall, he's a successful producer, publisher and writer.

Another prominent expert is Erick Sherman. Mr. Sherman is well-known for his extensive experience in corporate communications while consulting professionals in the entertainment industry on business plan development. He is also the author of nearly ten published books. He have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, the Financial Times, Chief Executive and the New York Times Magazine and many more written works of publication. Erick was born in Los Angeles, being raised in the film industry as he watched his father on Hollywood backlots, Vincent Sherman, a film director that starred golden age performers such as Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Humphrey Bogart, Paul Newman, Bette Davis and others. Furthermore, Mr. Sherman has been a director and production consultant with Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, which he has worked with Hollywood's leading writers, producers and directors all of times.

In one of his online blogs, Erick expands on his book on how to plan, produce and distribute independent films.  He felt that aspiring professionals have become so concerned on the legal business on producing film and video, advertising, DVD and videotape publishing and how Blu-Rays and other new media formats are developing into the business of film.

Overall, both of these men are well accomplished because they are able to execute a successful business plan, and they both know the key factors, especially in the film business. I learned from both of these individuals that financial research is one the vital aspects in creating a business plan. One should always outline the business plan's potential budget, which will show how all finances will be spent. Studio executives and investors are all about the numbers, and its always a beneficial factor for a business plan to outline the appropriate financial summary. Next, it is important on how the plan will market and promote the project. Sales do not come easy, which is why marketing and distribution is so vital in the business of film.  Now the great thing about both of these business plan experts is that they both have knowledge on the law of entertainment, which is also a key component for a successful business plan. There are so many scams going on that is is smart for all business plans to become protected, copyrighted and rightfully documented.  Ryan Colucci and Erick Sherman are both successful professionals because they both have applied all of these key factors in their career of business plans, therefore, I believe anyone that plans on developing a business plan should really make sure they apply these components in their business plan developments.

Read more: Film Business Plan Expert, Ryan Colucci - Complete Investment Packages for Independent Film Makers http://www.filmproposals.com/Film-Business-Plan-Expert.html#ixzz2jga6CNTa

Film Industry Rights & Rules

          For any entertainment professional considering a career in the film industry, one should really pay attention to the term ‘Liability’. In the realm of cinema, there are certain rules individuals must become cautious about when entering into an industry that is all about money, especially when someone’s rights and safety are considered. The law of film and entertainment media is one of the most vital and legal services that individuals tend to disobey over and over again. As a film artist, some of the most important liability functions I have dealt with have been option agreements, copyrights, talent agreements and licensing, but overall, intellectual property has become the most cautious factor of entertainment law for my profession.

           Over the many decades in cinema, there have been various legal controversies that have impacted the film and television industry. pertaining to the law of entertainment media. Earlier this year, there was an intense battle between production companies, Warner Brothers and Weinstein Company over the title rights for Lee Daniel’s recently released and one of box office's highest grossing film,  'Lee Daniels' The Butler’. Warners Brothers filed a lawsuit over the title rights, because they had the exclusive property rights for the title ‘The Butler’ for their 1916 short film version in their film archive. Warner Brothers demanded Mr. Lee Daniels change the title of his film, but Mr. Daniels declined the request, which is what led the battle into further controversy. Mr. Daniels felt that his team worked hard on the production, and it was not fair for Warner Brothers to demand a title change for his film that had already been set for distribution and theatrical release. Warner Brothers  won their arbitration case with the MPAA, but TWC then appealed the decision because they felt because of the time frame between both movies, there would be no confusion with both films, especially considering Warner Brothers 1916 version has not been publicly displayed for nearly a century.

             Another issue recently occurred over Tyler Perry’s script for his 2012 film ‘Good Deeds’. A novel author named Terri Donald sued filmmaker, Tyler Perry over another intellectual property factor. Ms. Donald claimed that Tyler Perry’s film was based on original work, 2007 book ‘Bad Apples Can Be Good Fruit’. She reported that she sent Mr. Perry a copy of her book before ‘Good Deeds” went into production, and years later discovered that her storyline appeared on screen, but not enough information were acquired to allow the lawsuit to go any further. 

           The bottom line of both situations is that by one doing research and having the exclusive rights, it is simply the best way to handle such factors. Lee Daniels and Weinstein Company would have been better off if they had done prior research on the title rights before confirming their selected title. Thousands and thousands of film titles have been in negotiations all due to intellectual property. Now, when it comes to Tyler Perry’s issue, it may be quite different in a sense, only because in today’s society, everything is recycled. Therefore, writers may have a challenge claiming their original work is being copied, because as long as the original work is not reused in its actual form and entire structure, then it would become hard to state that someone else has copied original work, which is sort of a win-lose situation in this industry. The reason I say it’s a win-lose situation is because everyone can have the same ideas, but you cannot copyright ideas, you can only copyright written and created work. So, in a way, Tyler Perry or anyone else can have the same idea as another person (that being the excuse), and say that their version is different because they did not use the same character names, same film title and may have altered the storyline a bit.  But then again, there are millions of people in this industry, and people with this type of creativity are bound to have the same ideas. Again I say, one cannot copyright ideas, one can only be safe by copyrighting written work, in hopes that its adapted with permission.

         Both of these claims have allowed me to realize just how important the law of film and entertainment media is, because if this industry did not rely on film industry rights and rules, originality would be hard to recognize. Again, this is an industry all about money, and people will try to gain it in any way possible, especially when someone’s credit and work is being compromised.

Gravity's Remarkable Touch On Cinema

           I recently had the chance to review Alfonso Cuarón’s Gravity at a pre-screening event, and I must confess that this film was beautifully touched, displaying cinema in such a daring, unique, yet remarkable form. The interesting thing about this film, even though it was billed as science fiction, I saw nothing but pure authenticity on screen. Before watching Gravity, I assumed this film would be another Hollywood film about aliens, considering majority of the film is set in space, and there is only so much one can present in a space realm, but after observing this incredible work of cinema, I truly understand there is a whole other world for filmmakers to deeply explore for the silver screen, which is what Gravity accomplished.
           Mr. Cuarón took a daring chance with this film, which has now become something to remember; not only in sci-fi cinema, but also as a touching dramatic piece. Most people are going to rave about the visual effects, but it is the powerful storytelling and stunning acting performances that really captured the essence of what pulled gravity together as a masterpiece. Sandra Bullock’s performance was like one with the audience. As an audience member, I felt one with her throughout this entire journey, as if we were one on a pending quest for survival. As a viewer, It is like Bullock takes you with her, emotionally and physically, that is just how beautifully executed her performance was. Moreover, George Clooney’s support surely adds on, providing a great sense of comfort, control and trust that helps build the amazing chemistry of the two actor’s performances.
          The main reason I adored this film is because it did not appear as a cliché film about space extraterrestrials taking over the world, but it actually presented a dramatic situation in realism. Sandra Bullock’s character displayed such an incredible transformation arc dealing with isolation, depression and the struggle of hope and fate. This is one of the few films that successfully took realism into space with such storytelling accomplishment, and I definitely foresee an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. ‘Gravity’ was absolutely ground breaking; it proved that while in life the sky may be the limit, but in cinema the limit tends to go beyond. Check out the review section of Gravity on Moviepilot.com for more interesting reviews on this film. Additionally, watch the amazing trailer that captured the attention for many movie-goers. 

65th Emmy Awards: History-making, Predictions and more...

         Did you all watch the 65th annual Emmy awards last night? Well, if you were not aware by now, the Emmys is one of the most prestigious nights in our television industry as we honor and recognize the most prestigious works of all entertainment professionals in TV; from a television crew, screen actors, choreographers, producers, directors, designers, hosts, musicians and so much more. This past Sunday night, shows like Modern Family, Scandal, 30 Rock, Homeland, The Newsroom and Breaking Bad were honored for their great acting and crew work. Furthermore, 'House of Cards’, a digital streaming show starring Kevin Spacey and Robin Wrights, made history by winning an Emmy, particularly in directing, for the first time for Netflix, a growing and technologically advanced digital streaming service, which was surely a history defining moment for television.

         On the other hand, something that has been irritating me is the point how most individuals are not aware how the Emmy awards are won within nominations. This past Emmys season saw an uproar in some of the category wins, particularly in the acting sections. Here is the issue, most people assume that these awards are determined by an actor’s entire body of work, some assume it is determined by the entire season, but the truth is, winners are actually voted by the actor’s submitted episode of work (sometimes multiple episodes, but mostly one particular episode).

         Therefore, nominees are competing based on their work solely from one episode of their performance, which is hopefully an episode that displays their best performance of the nominating season, knowing this may help a lot of people realize why some actors have won in the recent years and beyond. To top it all off, its vital that everyone realizes that for every award show, most of it is based on a popularity vote, so just to even be considered a nominee is a grand accomplishment, whether its for acting, directing, writing, editing, hosting, designing, music composing, producing and etc. Well, if you did not know much about the Emmys before, hopefully you have somewhat of a better knowledge of what tends to happen during Emmy season now.

TV Ratings: Measuring a Step-Forward

            Recently, it was announced that Nielsen, one the top ratings measuring systems, will begin adding mobile devices as an additional measuring device to determine ratings.  More and more everyday, television viewing is emerging in this intensifying era of digital media. No matter what an individual may state, television viewing is one of the most interactive technologies an individual uses for a daily source of entertainment, especially in America. Every month, week and day, television viewers are presented with advertisements and promotions for new and upcoming television shows, and as these new shows premier, this results for other shows to come to an end. Now, the question is posed, how are these shows being determined to be canceled or renewed? The answer appears to be through an audience measurement system known as TV ratings.
Nielsen Media Research, a marketing research group, which measures the popularity of American television programs through consumer viewing behavior and demographic information.

Through this development, ratings are not qualitative evaluations of how popular a program is, but instead, how many people watched, which determines the viewership of America’s TV ratings. Through this strategic use of viewership measurement, Television ratings seem to unravel a controversial method that has led to criticism in the entertainment media industry due to digital forms, viewership and demographics, which possibly proves inaccuracy with our audience measurement system, TV ratings.

Moreover, within the advancement of digital technology, television ratings have possibly showed much inaccuracy based on viewership through other digital forms. As stated before, television viewing is increasing more and more everyday, which conveys the point that there must certainly be a high quantity of viewers, but if ratings appear so low then where are these viewers watching TV? The answer is simple, on other digital forms. Research demonstrates digital forms such as online streaming, DVR’s (Digital video recorder), Smart-phones, IPAD’s and more mobile advanced technologies all affect TV ratings, which can prove a strong inaccuracy if viewership measurement are solely based on television systems (Stelter, 2012). Many viewers, whom possibly do not own a TV set, watch their favorite programming on online-streaming systems such as Hulu, YouTube and Netflix. Therefore, many individuals that are loyal fans to their favorite TV shows will not be counted in the sample pool of measurement because they are not watching their favorite programs on an actual Television set. According to journalist, Bill Carter, the growth in online-streaming is speeding up, making it harder than ever to assess the total popularity of a show (Carter, 2012).  
In conclusion, this brings up the point that I believe Nielsen has made a smart decision by now allowing mobile devices to be accounted for as a measuring tool for television ratings, which is definitely a step-forward in the measurement of television ratings.

The Numb3rs Gam3

              Over the past few months, I have come to realize how important numbers are in the entertainment industry. The entertainment business is a game played with numbers, and those numbers determine a whole lot of factors, especially in the marketing aspect of the industry. If an individual wants to become successful in this business, well I think they ought to know how to play the numbers game, and its best they know how to play it very well.

            Now, a lot of people are probably reading my blog and speculating on what the numbers game consists of. Here’s the deal, the numbers game is about strategy towards success. In this industry, the numbers are the ratings on television shows, the amount of viewers on social media sites, the amount of tickets sold at the box office, the amount of sales from a product sold, the amount of people tweeting about you and your company, the amount of times people search for you online, which ultimately determines your number of influence over people.

            Please realize that the numbers game can be very risky and dangerous if you are not a good player. For example, no matter how well-written a television show is, or how many prestigious celebrities act in it, or even if its Emmy worthy of a nomination, if that program does not get enough ratings for the network, that show can be canceled in an instant second, game over. Many television shows over the last few decades have had to face the reality of playing this risky numbers game due to low ratings. Every year networks must decide which shows will return for a new season and which shows must come to an end, which is all determined by numbers.

             To be honest, there is really not an easy way to avoid the danger of the numbers game, but one can be well prepared when playing the game. One of the most important factors about the numbers game is the having a smart strategy in marketing yourself and product; one must know how to manage their product during this numbers game. Marketing is a major beneficial factor in helping one gaining the awareness and popularity status of a product or person. The numbers game relies on a status of popularity, which can be managed through marketing techniques, especially through social media platforms. Additionally, I recently learned about a new site called ‘Klout’ which is a web-site application that measures a person’s influence through all types of social media platforms, compiling a rank number which determines an individual’s Klout score, which is basically a popularity number.

            The bottom line is that the numbers game is a game that is continually playing, while some are loosing and others are winning; but one thing for sure, is that if you plan to enter into any form of business as a career, especially the entertainment industry, you better become accustomed to playing the numbers game.

The Future of Television

             Over the past couple of years, society has seen an emerging shift in television viewing, from network television to online streaming.  In Today’s modern society, people are becoming accustomed to watching their favorite programs online, whether it be on a computer screen, smartphone device or a tablet such as an IPAD. The point is, the trend of watching television is quickly shifting into an online community.  Some people would ask why would I come up with such a claim, well let me explain in detail for you all.

            First of all, we are living in a microwave society, people want things fast and on-demand.  Here’s the problem, when an individual watches a show on TV, they have to construct their life to the network’s schedule on TV, which is why many shows have seen a decline in viewership, because most people cannot afford to watch their favorite shows at the fixed network time. On the other hand,  online streaming television such as Hulu, YouTube and especially Netflix allow viewers to watch their favorite programming when they want to, at any given time, and place. For example, most shows on television can only be seen on that network, and if there is a replay, it will possibly take weeks, or even a syndication deal in order for that show to have any type of replay option. But with online streaming services, the viewer is allowed to watch their favorite programming on many optional devices, and not worry so much about commercials and fixed scheduling, unlike network television.

            Now, I am not saying that network television is becoming an extinct reality; I just feel people are becoming accustomed to our highly digital age of advanced technology, which displays a sense of demand in technology. Recently, YouTube and Netflix have started producing their own scripted series, which have become very popular, which could be due to the whole factor of people having the option of viewing their entertainment when they want, and not when a network schedules a time that may not work for them.  Online television has really seen an increase in viewership over the past few years, because people are realizing that these online networks provide the demand that viewers want, unlike television networks.

            Furthermore, our whole society trend ties into the factor of product management because an online streaming must have a sense of marketing and sales procedure in order to maintain their viewers, which has obviously helped through the source of social media.  An online service such as YouTube must know how to manage its online service well, because they must know how to maintain the same viewers on a daily basis, as well provide a sense of branding who they are. The same goes for Netflix. Netflix started as an online streaming service for movie distributions, but now it saw that its brand was becoming popular and well managed, to the point it decided to create its own programming, which is currently seeing a major success, as some television networks are becoming afraid of Netflix’s growing viewership, which is increasing.

            Once again, I am not stating that network television is dying, but online television is certainly becoming the place where television viewership is taking over.

The Art of Negotiation and Deal-making

             During the month of June, I have been studying vital techniques and factors for the art of negotiation and deal making. Therefore, I have recently reviewed three video sessions pertaining to the essence of negotiation. The three sessions I have reviewed were William Ury’s “Negotiating for SustainableAgreements”, Margaret Neale’s “Negotiation: Getting What You Want”, and Joel Peterson’s “Conducting Effective Negotiations”. Each and every one of these speakers were able to present key points about the importance of negotiating in real world experiences, especially in the form of conducting business. 

             The first video session I observed was presented by William Ury, who is the co-author of the best selling ‘Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In’. Mr. Ury shares the strategies he has developed at the Harvard Negotiation Project for creating sustainable agreements in diplomacy and business. In this video, he is presented by the Institute for Peace and Justice at the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies at the University of San Diego. Furthermore, Mr. Ury made really outstanding points of dialog when he spoke about global negotiations, and how an individual’s way of communicating with others will affect the way he or she can possibly negotiate with people in all walks of life.

               In the next video session, I was advised by Professor of Management, Margaret Neale on the structure of successful negotiation. Mrs. Neale reminded me that negotiation is all about problem solving. She states that the goal is not to get a deal; the goal is actually to get a good deal. We must be able to separate a good deal from a bad deal. One of the most important factors she demonstrates is the best alternative to a negotiated agreement. She firmly believes that the people with the better BATNA will always do better in the negotiation process. Over the duration of the video presentation, she recommends four steps to achieving a successful negotiation: Assess, Prepare, Ask and Package. There are three questions to prepare an individual when they enter into a negotiation: Why are you asking? How are you asking? For whom are you asking? Margaret Neale's research focuses primarily on negotiation and team performance. Her work has extended judgment and decision-making research from cognitive psychology to the field of negotiation. 

           Now, in the last video segment, I paid close attention to Mr. Joel Peterson as he talk about how to conduct an even more successful negotiation. Mr. Peterson’s approach was more towards business strategy, which I believed is an important form of negotiation in today’s society. He advises people to always set expectations that may reach the individual’s objective criteria. Overall, explains the difference of formal and informal negotiations and how both can benefit the deal-making process. In conclusion, all three of the video presentations have enhanced my knowledge of performing well-planned and structured negotiations for all type of life situations.

Low Budget Success

            Many believe that in order to produce a successful film, one must have a wealthy financial budget or at least a well-known studio company to invest in their film project. The film industry has always epitomized the importance of how success is obtained by producing the best content, but only the moneymakers on top can help achieve that status of success. Some individuals would agree that a person in this business must have money if they want the success, but over the pass decade, that theory has been challenged, and has proven to Hollywood that one does not need a big budget to produce a film for success.
           Over the years, I have recognized that a lot of successful films have been some of the industry’s most low budget films to date. These films are mostly considered independent films that are solely produced by a group of regular citizens who just simply want to become successful filmmakers; most of these films do not even have investors at all, and are financed by the production crew themselves. Again, regular people with average jobs who just want to become successful.
           In 2004, young and aspiring filmmakers, Jared and Jerusha Hess created a film about the king of awkward Napoleon Dynamite, based on Jared’s previous short film, Peluca. The $400,000-budgeted project could only afford its leading actor for a simple $1,000, which is extremely nonsense to Hollywood executives, most actors would never agree to sign on a film project with that kind of amount. The filmmakers shot the movie’s memorable title sequence in the cinematographer’s basement, edited on a MacBook computer, and completed production in only twenty-two days. The film would then premier at the Sundance film festival that gained a grand amount of success with critics applauding it and the audience loving it from start to finish, making it a hit in cinema. Fox Searchlight Pictures won the rights to distribute it, which made a gross amount of over $46 million. A new era of low-budget films would begin its road of success, proving Hollywood’s standard to be wrong about success only being achieved by moneymakers.
           Films like Napoleon Dynamite gave inspiration to other aspiring filmmakers to not be afraid of producing a film with a low budget. This whole idea has proven that bigger is not always better, and that an individual does not always need a moneymaker to obtain the success of a project, but it can surely help.

Celebrities & Kick-starter

             Recently, I have noticed an interesting trend that has been developing in the entertainment industry. On March 13 of this year, actress Kirsten Bell launched a kick-starter project to raise $2 million, which instead exceeded her expectation by reaching the highest kick-starter fund in history with a nearly $6 million-dollar funding. Yes, a celebrity took the initiative to seek over a million dollars from her fans, and now her project has been picked up for a movie deal. Now, only if she knew that her kick-starter success would cause controversy, maybe she would have taken a different approach. Before I move further, Incase you are not familiar with Kick-starter, it is basically a fund-raising promotion that provides social media tools to raise funds for creative projects via crowd funding that seek financial help. So, here’s the question that has raised many eyebrows in the community, should celebrities use kick-starter to fund projects? Is it wrong?           
           Since the success of Kirsten Bell’sfund-raiser on kick-starter, other celebrities such as Zach Braff, Luke Barnett and Tanner Thomason have also joined the trend, and not too long ago I realized on my Facebook newsfeed, actress Andrea Lewis, raised a little over twenty-thousand for her new web-series project. So, what’s the issue? Well, if you ask me, I think it can become a bad habit for society. I am not going to argue that their projects are not important enough for funding, but let’s be real, do they really need the money, or is truly a selfish and manipulative way to earn a little extra cash in their pocket? The questions can go all day long. I feel that instead of raising money for film and video projects, these celebrities should be using that money to help others instead. Why not launch a project for hurricane victims, poverty, charities, or just simply launch a project that can benefit someone that really needs the funding.
            Being the realist I am, I would say that it would be a huge risk; To be honest, people would rather fund a project like a comedy film sequel before even thinking to fund a project for a celebrity that wants to raise money for cancer research, and that’s just the reality of the situation. Now, this does not mean celebrities still should think its right to use their status to raise money for projects that really do not need funding. Celebrities must realize that they are role models for this society, and if people continue to follow this kind of funding trend, like the saying goes, the rich will get richer and the poor will get poorer.