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Stage 32 Now Certifying the Dallas Film Commission!
Film Contracts Made Simple: Expert Tips To Protect Your Work
Coffee & Content: There is No Hollywood Anymore. The World is Hollywood.
State of the Industry 2026 Now On-Demand: RB & Geoff Break Down What’s Next for Writers!
Stage 32 Is My Magic Key To International Networking And Education
Stage 32 Featured at the 43rd Torino Film Festival!
Coffee & Content: The Genius of Weapons and How to Know When Your Script Is Ready
11 Tips For Bringing Your Animated Characters To Life
Insider Intel: New Year, Same Hollywood. Or Is It?
Forbes Spotlights Stage 32 Certification!
Don't Panic! The 2026 AI Survival Guide: What's Real, What's Hype, and What Actually Matters
In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the Guide itself famously has ‘DON’T PANIC’ on its cover. That's still the best advice for navigating the unknown, including the flood of AI headlines you're gonna read in 2026. After thirty years in the film and TV industry, and years as an ethical AI consultant who spends every week tracking AI's collision with creative work, here's my current assessment of artificial intelligence as it pertains to the film and TV industr…
Finishing Strong: Practical Strategies That Help Filmmakers Complete Their Short Films
As filmmakers, we all know the high of wrapping production, that brief moment where the cast and crew are throwing high-fives, hugging, convinced for one breath that we did it. But anyone who has actually finished a short film knows the real work begins when the noise fades, and you’re suddenly alone with the footage, a blinking timeline, and a story that feels heavier than it did on set. On my most recent short, 'Loose Change', a 35mm project I wrote, directed, and edited, that s…
A Case Study In Slow And Steady
In car parlance, I might be a barn find -- a dust-covered vehicle that’s been unearthed after many years of storage. I wasn’t exactly in storage, but I was in the barn for 40 years, inching toward the door -- i.e., my lifelong goal to be a working actress. I worked 9 to 5 and was a single parent and couldn’t get an LA agent, so I simply did what I could around those parameters. For decades. At times, my forward progress seemed imperceptible. Then, in 2022, I went from …
Happy New Year! Let's Talk Goals!
Happy New Year, Creative Army! I hope you all had a restful, meaningful holiday season and are stepping into this new year feeling energized, inspired, and ready to create. Whether you spent the last couple of weeks reflecting, recharging, or quietly plotting your next move, today is your starting line. As many of you know, every New Year’s Day, we use the Stage 32 Blog to pause, reset, and look ahead together. This tradition isn’t about resolutions that fade by February. I…
From Beats to Boards: A Systematic Way to Plan Your Screenplay
Some of you may be familiar with Blake Snyder’s book, Save the Cat, in which he lays out the important steps for hitting all the required elements in a screenplay. For those who are not familiar with this book, I would highly recommend you read it before tackling your next script. What I want to focus on here is a template I created based on his suggestions for architecting the story before sitting down and starting to write. Given my business experience as a project manager, I…
Stage 32 Now Certifying El Paso, Texas!
The El Paso Film & Creative Industries Film Commission has just partnered up with Stage 32 Certification to bring their top-tier, industry-backed training courses straight to our talented regional film community. This strategic partnership comes at a truly transformational time for our creative scene, as our area’s film and media industry keeps growing, fueled by our trademark Borderland energy, diversity, and “can-do” attitude. Stage 32 Certification offers practi…
Coffee & Content: Know Who You Are, Know Who You’re Pitching To
Happy Sunday, Creative Army! I hope your weekend has been a creative one so far. Whether you’ve been writing, filming, editing, or sketching out the next spark of an idea, I’ve got something today that will give you a boost. So grab your coffee, and let’s dive in. This week’s featured video comes from StudioBinder and explores a question that’s fascinated filmmakers for decades: What makes Studio Ghibli’s work so powerful—and why is it nearly i…
The Author + Screenwriter Collaboration: Adapting A Novel Into A Screenplay
In 2020, I wrote a Stage 32 blog about how to use struggles as creative fuel: When Life Gives You Lemons, Open a Lemonade Company - How to Use Struggles as Creative Fuel. In the last paragraph of that blog, I wrote: "Although I did not find a new well-paid job, I would not change it for the world. And I have confidence in the universe." Shortly after posting my blog on Stage 32, a published author contacted me, mentioning that she had read my wonderful blog and would like to connect. …
Happy Holidays From The Stage 32 Team!
Happy Holidays, Creative Army! On behalf of the entire Stage 32 family, I want to wish you and your loved ones a very happy, healthy, and peaceful Christmas and the remainder of the holiday season. The holidays are often filled with celebration, but they’re also a moment to pause, reflect, and take stock of the journey we’ve all been on together. No matter where you are in the world or where you are in your creative career, I hope you’re able to take a breath, feel pr…
Stage 32 Certifying Columbus, Ohio!
As Film Commissioner for Columbus, Ohio and the Central Ohio area, I am proud to announce our new partnership between Stage 32 Certification and Film Columbus, which will offer Stage 32’s world-class, industry-endorsed film & TV crew training programs directly to our city’s creative community. This collaboration comes at a pivotal time for Columbus as our film and content media scene continue to grow. Before 2026 even starts, we already have FOUR series and a feature in t…
Coffee & Content: Low Stakes Stories, High Stakes Decisions
Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Let’s kick things off with a huge shoutout to everyone who has already jumped into this month’s Introduce Yourself Weekend. Thousands of creatives from around the world are connecting, sharing their stories, and building relationships that will lead to collaborations, opportunities, and lifelong friendships. If you haven’t yet made your introduction, you’ve still got time! Head over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge before the weekend…
Stage 32 Is My Magic Key To International Networking And Education
Hello everyone! I know this must sound like a promotional blog, a congratulatory blog, or a persuasive blog! Actually, it is none of these! It is just an account of what Stage 32 has done for me at this moment in time. So, please give me a moment for some backstory... My name is Selma Karayalçın, and I’m a fifty-year-old woman going on twenty-one who lives on the island of Aphrodite, which is called Cyprus. If you don’t know where that is, it is a tiny dot on the ma…
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