Irvin Kershner: my harshest critic

"What you do is amazing," Frank Wuliger often told USC students in the School of Cinematic Arts/Business of Writing course. Many of the students would graduate after the semester was finished. Though the classroom was full, drawing on his many years in the industry Mr. Wuliger predicted that fewer than 10 would find full-time work as screenwriters.

Guests during the semester included studio execs, writers, agents, managers, attorneys and Writer's Guild staff. Many spoke about the challenges of content distribution and technology (I remember a discussion about one sentence in an agreement between writers & producers about the then-new DVD technology that would go on to cost writers and agents millions of dollars). And always the question: what technology is coming next?

On more than one occasion after the guests had left, Mr. Wuliger (he told us to call him Frank), often repeated the words, "What you do is amazing. What writers do is amazing," adding that the guests he had invited loved stories and writers. Many of them, while not able be screenwriters themselves, chose their professions because of how much they love stories and respect writers.

Recently during a meeting at work, the discussion turned to populating a news website.

Would doubling posts make the site more popular? What days and/or times of day would result in more clicks? What if the number of new posts was quadrupled? 

We didn't discuss what articles were getting zero clicks, or what may have contributed to the popularity of the current top posts.

On Blogger I know if someone in France is reading a post and which post they're reading, in real time as the person is reading. Last year, research into what Facebook counts as a video view is three seconds. 

Time is one thing that the most powerful or wealthy person cannot change. As a storyteller and content creator, I always think about the listener/viewer/reader.

In a second a headline can catch someone's attention; in the next two, an image, design. During the fourth second: the teaser. Then, the click to see more. If the first sentence is a disappointment, trust may be broken. If it is as promised, that first sentence (or second of audio or video) leads to the next... 

As successful content has been developed, hundreds of choices have been made. The principles apply to writing and to audio/video.

In Part II which I will post later this evening I'll talk about Kersh, who I met the first night of the first class I took at USC. Over the years Kersh shouted and swore. He was my harshest critic and said I worked harder than anyone he'd ever met. And now when I approach a new project it is shaped by what he taught me.