When movies first came out, they looked like theater, just on screen. From a screen-writing perspective, that means there was lots of dialogue. You know, talking heads. It took movie makers a few years to get used to their new medium. Now we see long sweeping shots of landscape, and so forth. Movies are not just theater on screen. They are a whole new medium.

Now, we have so many new media. In the 21st century, how will media affect content? Some questions…

• Video: On a small screen, like an ipod, the material works BETTER when there are talking heads, more like movies in the 20s and 30s. Are we headed backwards to an older form to accommodate the videopod?
• Books: I am an audio book convert. A recent article in the New York Times suggests that because of the iPod, audio books in mp3 format are on the rise. Will books change? Will there be “books” that are simply issued for audio?
• Short Stories: Consider the eBooks newly released by Sony and by Amazon. Fabulous devices for reading, they will probably be most in demand for their ability to allow the user to download periodicals and newspapers for reading on a plane or train. Short, consumable content. Makes me think of the short story. Could the eBook bring back the short story? Don’t even get me started on the use of the eBook by kids instead of textbooks.
• Illustration: Again on the eBook topic, we know that illustrations/photographs are expensive to produce in printed form. Does the eBook bring into being a new form of more highly illustrated book?