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How I Made a Short Film with a $0 Budget

As a writer, I wanted to improve my storytelling and gain more experience. When I reached out to one of Stage 32’s great leaders, K. Ross, asking, "What can I do to improve my writing?" her advice was simple and clear- make a film. Of course, like many writers, I didn’t have millions of dollars to make a blockbuster film. Heck, I didn’t even have hundreds! So, I had to get creative. I joined a 48-Hour Film Festival Group to kick-start my filmmaking journey. Ste…

Coffee & Content: Why Crime Dramas Dominate & How to Write One That Sells

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! First, congratulations to all of you who have already participated in our monthly Introduce Yourself Weekend! Thousands of connections have been made between entertainment creatives and professionals from around the globe. Whether you are a long-time member or brand new to Stage 32, take a moment to pop over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge and say hello before the end of the weekend. Crime stories have long been one of the most popular genres in the world,…

The Evolution of the Romantic Comedy: What Today’s Rom-Coms Teach Us About Love, Storytelling, and Success

Happy Valentine’s Day, Stage 32 Community! Romantic comedies have always held a special place in cinema. From the golden era of When Harry Met Sally and Pretty Woman to modern hits like Crazy Rich Asians and Palm Springs, the rom-com genre has evolved to reflect the changing dynamics of love, relationships, and storytelling. But what makes a romantic comedy successful in today’s market? How have audience expectations shifted over the years? And most importantly, how can scr…

A Stage 32 Success Story: Short Films - Stepping Stones Paved with Grit & Growth

My wife, Carolina, and I made a film, Expressway to Your Skull. It's not even close to the first film I've made, not even the first film my wife and I made together, but it ended up being the most challenging film to cross the finish line and the one we are most proud of. I want to share some of this story with you here and hope you can take something positive from our experience. THREE DAYS IN. I had accumulated seven days of vacation time at work, so I scheduled and budgeted a seve…

Stage 32 Partners with Bloomberg Original Studios to Train Global Production Teams!

Happy Tuesday, Creative Army! As you know, Stage 32 Certification was a dream of mind for nearly a decade and is near and dear to my heart. Since launching just over a year ago, we’ve welcomed over 40 film commissions and other organizations who are now utilizing Stage 32 Certification to train below the line professionals in support of their film incentives and rebates. Many more will be announced soon. Today, we’re thrilled to announce some truly groundbreaking news …

Coffee & Content: Are You Ready to Get Sh*t Done This Week?

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. We’ve all heard the saying, “there are no small parts, only small actors.” But what does that really mean? When we take a closer look at some of our favorite films and TV shows, we can see that minor characters—those with just a few lines, or even just a brief presence&mdash…

The Writer As An Entrepreneur: Part Two

A Little History Lesson... It was back in 2023 when Sandra Isabel Correia and I met during the November Write Club. We encouraged each other with our project targets and in December we kept in touch, supporting each other in our ventures. During that chilly December, the Universe whispered in my ear, that maybe Sandra could help me resurrect my Producer career and work on my feature film, Seeing Rachel. Towards the end of that month, I wrote to Sandra asking if she’d be open to a…

From the CEO - A Community for You, Built by You - Let's Keep Building!

Happy Thursday, Creative Army! “This is a community for you, built by you.” When I was conceiving Stage 32 way back in 2009, those were some of the first words I wrote down on a legal pad I titled THE MISSION. The mission hasn’t changed. The song remains the same. Many of you know the story. During our soft launch in 2011, I reached out to 100 of my industry friends and showed them the first version of Stage 32. I asked them to join and tell me what they liked and di…

Celebrate the January 2025 Stage 32 Community’s Successes

Hellooooo, Stage 32 Community! 2025 is off and running! Hope everyone is doing well and working towards achieving your goals for this new year! With that said, here we go with the first Success Story Roundup of 2025! This is our monthly salute to just some of the amazing and talented members of the Stage 32 community who have had some success to tout from this past month. This year really does feel like it’s kicking off with a bang, as we have some fantastic stories to share. We …

Coffee & Content: Finding the Heart of Your Story

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee, and let's dive in. When we sit down to write, we don’t always know what the story will become. Sometimes, the heart of it reveals itself in the process. In this week’s first video, Erin Foster shares how her own experience converting to Judaism led to the inspiration for her new Netflix romantic comedy se…

How To Learn Audio Engineering & Voiceover The Hard Way

I'm an experimenter who prefers to learn by doing. In the beginning, that meant significant errors in my recording process. Getting smart, I signed up for some audio engineering courses and learned a lot. I clicked and watched as what I recorded compressed, but not precisely in the way I imagined. And I forgot to save the original recording! My tendency to click and see what happens came back to bite me. Without fail, save your original recording in raw form. It's my number one audio en…

Stage 32’s February 2025 Education Schedule!

Happy Thursday, Stage 32 Community! February is here, and with it comes a fresh lineup of educational opportunities to help you elevate your creative skills and take your career to the next level! From screenwriting and acting to cinematography and production, these webinars, classes, and labs are led by top industry professionals who are here to guide you every step of the way. Below, you’ll find a breakdown of the incredible webinars, classes, and labs we have lined up this mon…

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