Don't Spend $10K on a Short & Have it Sit on Your Hard Drive

The August 2015 edition of the On Stage With RB webcast was a smashing success with over 3 hours jam packed with information! It's now available on-demand for you to watch for FREE!

RB’s first guest Joe Bohn (1st AD) talks about how it’s vital to behave on set in order to make for a positive on-set environment. He breaks down what, in fact a 1st AD does on set and that you have 2 bosses – a director and a producer. They discuss how everyone on set has an opinion, but it’s how you phrase your communication that makes you a professional and helps you get called back for jobs. Joe talks about networking and why it’s important to learn all the disciplines on set so you can understand each position and gives advice on the business now.

Take away from Joe: “’No’ should be in your vocabulary to a Director.”

After Joe’s interview RB brought on James Kicklighter (Producer and Director) to chat about how networking is crucial to a creative. James talks about what to keep in mind when you’re looking to submit your film into a film festival and how short films are a great proof of concept for your potential for a feature. James goes over longevity of your career in the industry – it’s about treating each of your films as their own brands or products and what are the tangible steps that you are going to take to get there.

Take away from James: “You don’t want to spend $10k on a short film and have it sit on your hard drive.”

To watch click here!

Then, for over 2 hours RB answered questions that came in from over 2,000 Stage 32 members from all over the world including:

• How do you get distribution for your TV show once you have your pilot done?

• For pitching a short film to a potential funder/sponsor, beside the logline or treatment would you recommend to sending, the approximate budget to the financier? Or would you keep the conversation open, by not sending the approximate budget you need?

• First of all, Stage 32 is an incredible resource. A friend on set just told me about it and I joined last week. I’m a director and I’ve have 4 features that I’ve done financed by Lifetime and TNT. I’m about to go off on my own independently and am starting a crowdfunding campaign. It’s so different than what I’m used to Do you have any advice?

• Hi RB, I have a full length feature completed, its not the best quality. I am torn sending it out to producers as proof of concept or self-distributing it. What do you recommend?
• I'm a Meisner trained actor, who has done innumerable short, student and feature films and I've found that the films are often pretty awful and/or are never completed. Do you have any suggestions for vetting projects that are offered me? How do I avoid the landmines?

• I’m an LA based actor and I have a reoccurring role on an MTV show. I love acting, I love my work, but I definitely don’t feel challenged. I feel pigeonholed, so how do you recommend I expand my creative scope?

• I have done 6 films – 2 have made the festival circuit, where I’ve had small rolls. Through my on set contacts I’ve been offered a lead role in an indie-it’s my biggest role yet. Problem is, it involves nudity. The producers are tied in with Sundance, I know, because I’ve been there with them on one of the films I’m in. I’m struggling with the nudity part and the writer and director are not willing to budge. I’m at a crossroads and I don’t know what I should do.

• A smallish film studio optioned one of my scripts and now CAA may have interest in the film, so what are the opportunities and what are the pitfalls?

• What is the max length of a short screenplay?

• I am a writer, age sixty-nine! I’m writing horror books… am I too old to interest film people in my writing?

• Hi there RB and Amanda. I'm a screenwriter in Canada and a regular attendee here. RB you mentioned to another writer that they should look at getting a manager before an agent. There's a lot of lounge discussions about the differences between managers and agents and how the lines between them are getting blurry, so I'd love to hear your take on the differences between them and how best to utilize them.

• I want to invite people to this site, but I am not going to send out an email blast. Is there a link that I can post that will somehow credit my invites sent if someone responds?

• Hilton from the Dallas- Ft. Worth Stage 32 group here. Thanks for you and your staff for the bling at our fourth Meet Up. We are 80 members now, working on 20 projects, and handed out 5 or more jobs at the last meeting. This program is great for networking and getting the acting community involved in more projects. We are proud to work with you in expanding the future for us all. The more the population of the world grows, the more performers will be needed. Remember this.

• How do you feel Netflix, Amazon, Hulu will change the traditional cable market?

• Question for filming commercials about do's and don’t’s. What would you do when a client is interfering the process of creating the commercial? How polite should you be?

• I would like to know what to do as a foreigner, to get into the field in the states? I'm thinking of moving away from the Netherlands. But how should a person in my position should I do? I’m a director, but during my studies in Prague I have been doing a lots of project as an AD, and I started as a Jr. producer for a Dutch company mostly on music videos. As a Director I have created some commercials and corporate films.

• What is your take on the concept thrown out at the TCA by John Landgraf that there is too much good television and it's going to shrink in the near future?

• Hi great webinar, I have two comedy writers that have written great scripts that are similar. As the producer on the webseries how do I get the writers to work together and produce one script?

• I am a new screenwriter and also new to Stage 32. Is it possible for me to post like a short screenplay on the website for fellow screenwriters to comment on?

• Do you agree that an aspiring TV/screenwriter should stick to one genre and one medium or should you just do whatever comes to you?

• I made a short film and I sent it to some festivals. While I am waiting for answers from festivals, can I market my short film in Universities, colleges, etc.?

• I made the quarters in one contest with my first screenplay; however, it has not done much since. It did receive a comment by one judge that it moved forward based on story alone. Another of my screenplays received some very good hype by the So. Cal Screenwriting instructor; however, again, it has not received any advancement in contests. I’m extremely proud of these two but I’m not sure where to go from here. I also have three others in the works.

To watch this FREE webinar, click here!

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