THE STAGE 32 BLOG Subscribe

Welcome to the Stage 32 Blog. Browse the archive, browse by tags, or search to get started...

Networking Tips from Someone Who Hates to Network

If I hate networking, how could I give you advice? I now consider myself really good at networking but I didn't used to be. I used to really hate it. It made me nervous and uncomfortable to know that I was going to have to meet new people in a full room. I didn't know how to approach a stranger and start a conversation. I wasn't good at breaking the ice and keeping a conversation going. I wasn't sure that the other people in the room would want to talk to me. I dreaded it. It took me a w…

Only We Can Change Our Industry

We have all done it. And we are all guilty of it. But we keep doing it. Most importantly, we hate it when it happens to us. So why do we say yes to it? Working for free is a hot topic in the industry, yet it has become almost a right of passage. And it is always what comes out of our mouths first: "I can get it for FREE. I can ask some friends to work on this for FREE. I can make this film for FREE." When we start out in this industry we are encouraged immediately to just go out and m…

Know Your 'NO' People

As an artist, I can always find people that will compliment my work, even when I know it is not worthy. It's always nice to hear great things about our work, but we really need to know what people are really thinking about our films, good and bad. We all have these 'yes' people around us. They tell us what they think we want to hear. They offer praise but no criticism. But we must have the criticism from trusted people to improve our craft. The best way to receive this criticism is to ha…

Filmmakers: Don't Take This Personally (My Opinions On Opinions)

When you make a film, it is a personal reflection of your vision. This vision is realized with the help of others. Everyone involved leaves a piece of them in the finished project. Everyone will see your film differently and that's a really good thing, but once the film is shown, people will have their own opinion and may offer unfavorable criticism, even the ones that worked on it with you. If these criticisms, the bad and also the good, are not taken personally, they can be used to imp…

It’s Not Hard to Take Charge: A Woman’s POV on Directing Films

As a woman, I'm sometimes asked why I picked a male dominated business to be in. My response is always the same, “Besides nursing and teaching (with the exception of university, then the workplace mostly consists of males), most professions are already male dominated.” They stop and think about it and then say, “You’re right.” Any woman that wants to have a professional career of her own must always compete among the men. So I have had to learn to adjust mys…

register for stage 32 Register / Log In