After completing the master of professional writing program at University of Southern California, I continued taking classes at USC. The university allows alumni to continue to take courses that interest them with permission of the department.
I looked for classes that would give me the confidence to be able to complete a screenplay on my own, without workshopping it in the safety of screenwriting courses. I was looking forward to taking some of the classes many students dreaded including structure of writing for the screen, and the business of writing. Writers want to write, I'd learned. I recently read a quote about how if we listen we begin to realize how much we don't know and that can be terrifying.
]I learned the answer to a question that had baffled me in a class that examined the structure of writing for the television series. The professor, Pamela Douglas who chairs the television track in the School of Cinematic Arts' screenwriting division, spoke about how feature films differ from television series.
She explained that characters in TV/cable shows truly are our friends. We look forward to spending time with them each week (or more recently for entire weekends as we binge watch their shows).
We know who they are, with their quirks and imperfections and as the storylines unfold we know them better than they know themselves. They don't change very much from week to week; character arcs occur over six or seven seasons.
As a feature film begins we meet a character who, while living through great conflict, becomes self-aware. We watch as the protagonist is transformed so definitively that even after being tested, will not and cannot become the person we were introduced to less than two hours earlier.
I've invited a friend to write a television pilot with me and as I shared what I'd learned with her, I realized that the structure of film vs. television writing is identical to marketing vs. public relations.
The team I work with has been meeting with consultants who are reorganizing our department. Over many months they interviewed leadership throughout the organization. Then they with the editor/writers to identify several dozens of areas and projects that have been divided into individual beats and assignments. As planning continues to take place, the consultants told us that we will need to show how our department added value to the organization.
The editors have been asked to estimate how much time the assignments will require.
I struggled with this until I realized that value PR departments bring to an organization is similar to the journey of the protagonist in a television series.
Here's an example: as I began writing about a new discovery a few years ago I became convinced that it would be life changing for tens of thousands of people. However, it was in its infancy. It existed as an idea within a department; research looked promising but completing and publishing research can take many years.
The marketing department would never invest time or resources on the new discovery--marketing is like a character in a feature film. Systems are ready; resources are assigned to make the public aware so they can access the product or service right away.
But the public relations team is there, patiently working with entire departments over many seasons, supporting real people as ideas are formed, new staff add additional possibilities. Through storytelling and news releases the story reaches individuals within the organization who will need to support it for its success. The PR team is there as research is completed and published and the product/service is green lighted.
At work we're at the end of a character arc that began several years ago. Systems are being put into place to handle the response. Only recently has the project become ready for the marketing team, and the feature film has begun.
This is just one of many ways public relations brings value to an organization but it is important enough that I will be including it in the report I'm working on that will be presented to the consultants next week.
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