On Thursday ScreenCraft held its third seminar "The Future of Disruptive Digital Entertainment," and we're happy to report that it was a big success. In association with Digital LA, The Wrap, Heineken and viral video and digital entertainment agency Mischievious Studios, who gave us  their West Hollywood office space as a venue, we facilitated a lively panel discussion on one of the most relevant topic for writers and content creators today: how to find and cultivate an audience in the brave new world of 21st century media consumption.

PR agent Gabriel Del Rio moderated the lineup of panelists, which included: Mischievious Studios CEO Christiano Coveno; Fullscreen Brand Strategy VP Brendan Gahan; Marc Husvedt, Head of Entertainment for social video platform Chill.com; Will Keenan, Director of Programming and Network Optimization for Maker Studios, one of the top multichannel networks on Youtube; and Courtney Lischke, who oversees the development, sustainability and management of YouTube's global networks.

These visionary executives are on the cutting edge of online media creation, distribution and marketing, and they shared their insights on such salient topics as crowd-funding, brand creation, content monetization, and commerce/content synergy.   As writers and storytellers, we have to acknowledge that it's a whole new world out there now, with new possibilities and new outlets for short form and long form content.

It's clear that the internet has fundamentally and irreversibly changed not only media marketing but also media consumption, and it continues to do so at a constant, staggering pace. YouTube started as a simple, amateur video network less than a decade ago.  Now it's an interactive worldwide phenomenon with channels, networks, and high production value content, and ad sales that rival major studio networks.

It's all about interactivity. It's not enough to just provide a great story. Now you have to provide a relationship, an ongoing dialogue. Look at the campaign for Fox's upcoming tent pole The Wolverine. James Mangold is tweeting photos and messages and teasers almost every day. Before we got a glimpse at the trailer, we first had the teaser for the trailer, and the Vine teaser for the teaser trailer. Hugh Jackman is already doing his press tour, dutifully participating in online Q & As with fans, and the film hasn't even come out yet. Similarly, Amazon recently released all of its pilots for potential series at once and made them available for every denizen of the earth with an internet connection to watch them, comment on them,  and influence which ones get picked up to series.

Like it or hate it, and believe me, it's okay to hate it, this is the reality we all face as storytellers now. Faceboook. Twitter. Youtube.  Instagram. Vine. Netflix and Amazon original content. And whatever comes out next week. Having a knowledge of all of the elements of this subculture turned super-culture is invaluable, because it tells you how to target your material and track down an audience.

But don't take my word for it; listen to the experts. If you couldn't attend the event and missed the live stream, don't worry, we filmed it too. Check back soon for clips of the panel, both here and on our YouTube channel, and stay tuned for news on our next event.