Masha Lavie

May 06
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How I Did It.

The process of creating a multimedia filled article for an online publication, is much more difficult than expected. It begins with finding a story that you are passionate about. A few months ago, I met these two guys who are in the process of creating their first feature film production. They sent me a copy of their script, and I absolutely loved it. I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to discuss the struggles they are facing financially.

First thing that had to be done was that a few basic questions needed to be answered.
•    Has the economy affected the film industry? If so, how?
•    Have less independent filmmakers been creating films?
•    What are the cut backs that are being made by filmmakers, film festivals, film commission, etc?
•    What can be suggested for aspiring filmmakers?

When the basic questions are established, finding the right people to talk to is the next step. I google searched Long Island Film and Nassau County film. In that search, I discovered the Nassau County Film Commission and the Long Island Film Festival. I found the contact information for the directors of both, and contacted them with my interest in how the economy is affecting the local film industry.

After a few phone calls, and a few emails, in person interviews were scheduled with the Executive Director and Executive Director of the Long Island Film Festival and the director and producer of Lightning in a Bottle Productions.

Interviews are a vital part to the article. Lindsay Dahlstrom came along as the camerawoman to record the interviews. A cup of coffee and an hour and a half later, Ian Rosenblum and Seth Rosenfeld of Lightning in a Bottle Productions told us about their difficulties in such an economy, and how they are not giving up no matter what.

After all my interviews were conducted, putting the video together was most difficult. Finding an appropriate place to shoot the intro and outro was not easy. Cutting up and putting together the rest of the clips is very difficult in the sense of trying not to make it look too choppy.

Finally, writing the article is just rereading all the information gathered throughout the interviews and putting it together to make it an interesting and attention-grabbing article for local residents of Nassau County.

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Social Media Plan

In creating a social media plan, it is necessary to figure out which audience the article is targeting. Since the story is about how the economy is affecting the film industry, it would be wise to focus on film producers, directors, actors, and crewmembers as the primary audience to capture.

Following Long Island film production companies and Long Island actors and film fanatics would be a way to start. When they start following back, you can post up links to articles about how to save money and actually fulfill your dreams in creating your film.  It is imperative that you listen to what your audience wants to hear.

Once you understand what people are talking about, you can continue to spark up conversations about certain issues or topics you would like feedback about. It is important to engage in conversation with your listeners, so that they can understand and get more information from you upon request.

Twitter is a great place to begin following local residents interested in the film production industry. One you get a grasp of who they are, find out what they are interested and what they want to hear about.

Once readership is established, make sure that you can keep the readers interested by posting videos on YouTube.com with interesting video clips that may help them in their own production process.

If and when the viewers respond to your postings, listen to what they have to say, and use their input as basis for future investigations and stories.