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How Stage 32 Turned A Dream Into A Reality!
Captivating Heroic Journey Narratives: The Art Of Beat Sheets
Coffee & Content: The Benefit of Being a Multi-Hyphenate
Stage 32 Presents: Meet the Producers from this Year’s Cannes In-Competition Films!
Stage 32 Certification Is A Game Changer For Costa Rica!
5 Tips To Make Networking Opportunities Valuable
Coffee & Content: Are You Being Intentional In All Of Your Choices?
What I Learned From Nic Pizzolatto's Work Part 2: Themes, Tropes, and Conflicts
Always Be Filming. Real World Tips to Help Make Your Feature Film a Reality
Red Carpet Roll-Out: July 2024's New Educators & Executives At Stage 32!
I Wasn’t An Actor When This Thing Started - My Journey
Today's guest blogger, Dan Jablons, is proof positive that when you realize you are meant to be a creative, nothing stops you, not even a full time business executive job. Having jumped at the chance to audition for, shall we say, a "unique" national commercial, the acting bug bit Dan and he never looked back. Soon, he found himself on set with Larry David showcasing his improv chops. Below, Dan shares his hilarious journey and how he realized that, as an actor, you can never take yours…
Filmmakers: Your Payroll & Production Accountant Guide
What is payroll? Payroll is a list of a company’s employees and the amount of money they are to be paid. In the entertainment industry, most productions rely on the services of a payroll company. The payroll company is typically listed as the employer of record. What are the responsibilities of a payroll company? Takes care of both above-the-line and below-the-line employee payments. Provides Workers’Compensation Insurance. Pay all appropriate payroll taxes and u…
Coffee & Content: Podcasts & Webcasts
To all celebrating, a very happy Easter to you. (And a very happy Sunday to everyone else!) I always believe the holidays are for sharing, so I wanted to take a minute to post some podcats, webcasts and interviews that I hope will provide some inspiration today and as you move along in your creative pursuits. There's something here for creatives of all disciplines and all those multi-hyphenates out there! National Screenwriters Day with Spencer Robinson, Caytha Jentis, Rich…
Should I Take a Dollar Option on a Screenplay?
You get the phone call and it goes something like this: Friend: Hey, are you sitting down? (Smile in his voice).You: Yeah, what’s up?Friend: I have a producer who wants to option your script!You: (heart flutters) Oh my god …Friend: Yeah, he’s an indie producer I know—really talented, really connected.You: How much for the option?Friend: (long beat) Well, he wants a dollar option because you haven’t been produced yet. But he’s really connected, and he…
Avoid These Crowdfunding Mistakes on Social Media!
One of the more popular requests we get here at Stage 32 is information on best practices for promoting a crowdfunding campaign on social media. Recently, spurred on by the sheer amount of crowdfunding spam he was receiving on his Twitter and Instagram accounts, our CEO, RB, republished his popular Medium article: 5 Ways You Are Incorrectly Using Twitter to Promote Your Crowdfunding Campaign. Although the article singles out Twitter, these mistakes and ill advised practices are common …
Filmmaking - Follow Your Heart
For some time now I thought it would be great to do a series of blogs, which follows my journey as a filmmaker. The experiences I have encountered have been so varied, some good, some bad, some tragic! I thought it would be nice to start with how I got into filmmaking. I call this first blog ‘Follow Your Heart’. I’ve been passionate about filmmaking since I was nine years old, that’s almost 29 years ago now. I grew up on a rural apple orchard in the countryside. …
Quarter-Finalists Announced: 2nd Annual Comedy Writing Contest
The 2nd Annual Stage 32 Happy Writers Comedy Writing Contest was filled with some of the best comedy writing we've ever seen. Our judges consistently said how tough the competition was!Our feature writers had us laughing for (literally) hours! Our TV writers poured out some really creative and clever original pilots and wrote hilariously great specs for hit shows such as MODERN FAMILY, IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA, FAMILY GUY and more. Needless to say, the judges have been smiling f…
13 Pearls of Wisdom From Writer/Director Alexander Payne
Yesterday, I was speaking with a producer friend of mine and he mentioned that the buzz around Alexander Payne’s upcoming film Downsizing was quite strong. (A huge shout out to our teacher Jason Roberts who AD'd the film.) That got us talking about our favorite Payne movies and his estimable skills as not only a writer, but as an actor’s director. At one point, I recalled an article I read in MovieMaker where Payne laid down some knowledge. Through the power of Google, I fou…
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Artists
Prepared to be inspired. To get you motivated and keep your creativity flowing this weekend, I'm sharing a terrific video from the good people at the Blender Foundation (Blender Guru). Entitled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Artists, this well designed talk will inspire thought and introspection. Here are the 7 habits discussed: 1 - Daily Work 2 - Volume Not Perfection 3 - Steal 4 - Conscious Learning 5 - Rest 6 - Get Feedback 7 - Create What You Love Chances are you're alread…
Crowdfunding for Filmmakers - A Career for Breakthrough
Fundraising for a movie is the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life. I am an Emmy-award winning director and member of the Directors Guild of America. My films have screened at Cannes and I made a feature film in 35mm, yet, even with all I have accomplished, there has been nothing more difficult and, at the same time, more helpful for a director then a Kickstarter. Because it's not just about the money, it's all the PR packaging that a fundraise can give you. I knew abo…
My Filmmaking Journey from Africa to Scandinavia
Writing about oneself is sometimes challenging because you feel like writing your whole life on a piece of paper, at the same time you see limitations in writing. You want to write only what is necessary to fit the platform or your desired audience. My name is Michael Asonganyi and this is how I became a filmmaker in the African film industry. I was born and raised in Cameroon and at the age of 23, I moved to study in Sweden where I met my wife, a Norwegian national studying at the same…
Congratulations to Last Night's Oscar Winners
Last night brought us one of the most memorable moments in Oscars history when the wrong film was announced as Best Picture. Many anticipated a La La Land victory, but it was Moonlight, a film made for under $5MM, that brought home the top gold! 2016 brought on some of the most spectacular cinema we've ever seen. We want to congratulate all the creatives involved, including our 13 Stage 32ers who worked on films nominated (more on that here). Ultimately w…
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