Filmmaking / Directing

The place to discuss, share content and offer advice and tips on all things filmmaking and the craft of directing. From pre-production to on set practices to navigating the industry and beyond, this is your forum

Maurice Vaughan
TODAY! – Writers’ Room AMA

Karen “Kay” Ross (Community Manager and Writers’ Room Producer on Stage 32, Screenwriter, and Producer) is having an exclusive AMA in the Writers’ Room Lounge, answering questions all day about “Juggling Writer & Producer Responsibilities: Learning How To Delegate!

Link to AMA: www.stage32.com/lou...

Expand post

Sam Sokolow

I love seeing a brilliant artist's early work and vision. This is really cool. Her Ewok party rocks.

Maurice Vaughan

That was fun, Amanda Toney! And it shows that filmmakers don’t have to start big or start with a lot of experiment and things. They can start with a short film or a short fan film. Coralie Fargeat is...

Expand comment
Maurice Vaughan
TOMORROW – Ask Me Anything with Karen “Kay” Ross

Karen “Kay” Ross (Community Manager and Writers’ Room Producer on Stage 32, Screenwriter, and Producer) is having an exclusive AMA in the Writers’ Room Lounge on February 21st, answering questions about “Juggling Writer & Producer Responsibilities: Learning How To Delegate!

This is gonna be a fun,...

Expand post

Sam Sokolow

Kay has so much experience and wisdom to share on this subject (and many other subjects). This is gonna be a great AMA! Thanks for the heads up, Maurice Vaughan!

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Sam Sokolow. I'm excited for this AMA! I know Kay is going to have a lot of advice and insight for the community.

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

Stage 32 has partnered with Bloomberg Original Studios to deliver world-class training and certification to their global production teams. This partnership means more training, more opportunities, and a bigger impact in the industry!

Find out more about Stage 32 Certification and what the partnership...

Expand post

Sam Sokolow

Thanks for sharing this awesome news, Maurice Vaughan! If anyone wants to learn more about Stage 32 Certifictaion or if I can recommend any of our courses (they're all taught by thevery best in the in...

Expand comment
Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Sam Sokolow. It's awesome news indeed!

Vincent Weberink
5 Skills Every Filmmaker Entrepreneur Needs

Filmmakers today wear many hats. Here are 5 skills every #FilmmakerEntrepreneur needs:

1.Budget Management: Balance #creativity with financial responsibility.

2.Marketing Savvy: Promote your work to reach the right audience.

3.Networking: Build relationships to expand opportunities.

4.Audience Engageme...

Expand post

Sam Sokolow

Totally agree with Richard "RB" Botto and there are specific skills on this list to that end that Stage 32 offers Certification courses on. These skills empower filmmakers on every front. We're curren...

Expand comment
Vincent Weberink

Thanks, Maurice, Richard, and Sam. I completely agree—understanding the business side of filmmaking is just as crucial as honing creative skills.

Stage 32’s Certification courses sound like a fantastic...

Expand comment
Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Vincent Weberink. I remember way back filmmakers had street teams (teams that went out and promoted their films). I wonder if it's common for filmmakers to use social media street team...

Expand comment
Vincent Weberink

Hey Maurice Vaughan, That’s a great thought. I love the idea of exploring how filmmakers use social media street teams today. I’ll definitely make that one of my posts—thanks for the inspiration....

Expand comment
Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Vincent Weberink. Looking forward to the post!

Pat Alexander
Pat Alexander

Maurice Vaughan yeah, that's kinda the blessing in his situation. He should be able to get bigger, better studio movies to work on from now on. So far, his 3 features have all been made for 11 million...

Expand comment
Pat Alexander

Dan MaxXx Tim Miller was more of a hired gun on Deadpool than the creative force behind it. As Marvel was doing that thing (which they do repeatedly) where they hire a no-name (in Tim Miller's case) o...

Expand comment
Pat Alexander

Mike Childress studios are pretty stingy with the merchandise deals. The famous ones - George Lucas on Star Wars and Downey Jr. on Iron Man - only really happened because studios really didn't believe...

Expand comment
Sam Sokolow

John Cassavetes classically did studio films to support his independent work. Many actors work on studio pictures and also do indie films as they go. Commercials have always been a great avenue to mak...

Expand comment
Willem Elzenga

Its not that easy to get into and stay in commercials. I need to get paid if I want to direct a feature.

Geoff Hall
Humanitas Opens Submissions Process for 2025 Awards, Expands Documentary Prizes (EXCLUSIVE)

Hi there community,

I just wanted to draw your attention to a new awards show.

The Humanitas Awards cover these categories:

“The Humanitas Prizes are for film and television writers across nine categories — including drama teleplay, comedy teleplay, limited series teleplay, children’s teleplay, drama...

Expand post

Maurice Vaughan

The Humanitas Prizes sounds like a great opportunity for creatives, Geoff Hall. So do the New Voices Fellowship and College Screenwriting Awards. Thanks for sharing the article....

Expand comment
Geoff Hall

Maurice Vaughan you’re welcome, Maurice.

Maurice Vaughan
Stage 32’s Invite System

Stage 32 has a new Invite System, making it easier than ever to bring new creatives into our community! We want to grow our network to 1.5 million members in 2025, and we need your help. We’re asking every Stage 32 member to invite at least five fellow creatives.

Expanding our community means more p...

Expand post

Aiden Barr
Interesting New Locations

I'd love to hear your stories about interesting places you've been to for production. Did you come away with appreciation for new places or cultures?

Aiden Barr

That sounds surreal. It's awesome that they tipped. That makes me curious about what the communication was like to get access to the club for filming. Was that weird or simply business like?

Sam Sokolow

We once did an independent pilot for a dance compeititon show at the Key Club on Sunset Boulevard in LA on a Tuesday from 6am-4pm - everything was paid in cash - that was wild. Aiden Barr - if you're...

Expand comment
Maurice Vaughan
How I Made a Short Film with a $0 Budget

Jill Godley talks about how she made a short film with a $0 budget in today’s blog, from finding a crew to resources to writing the script and more. www.stage32.com/blog/how-i-made-a-short-film-with-a-0-budget-4013...

Expand post

Maurice Vaughan

Hey, Dan MaxXx. "$0 budget" is an expression. It means really cheap/really micro-budget.

Lindbergh E Hollingsworth

I've done "zero budget" shorts, as we had all the gear, etc. But my zero budget did have a few expenses as I had a simple coffee set up with fruit, muffins, donuts, water, Gatorade, and sodas. Plus I...

Expand comment
Sam Sokolow

Totally agree, Lindbergh E Hollingsworth - you have to feed the cast and crew, especially if they are working for free.

Maurice Vaughan
Today’s AMA with Liliana Granados

Liliana Granados, Producer & Development Executive (Viola Davis’s JuVee Productions, Sofia Vergara’s Latin World Ent, Eugenio Derbez’s 3Pas Studios), is having a FREE Ask Me Anything all day, answering questions about “Developing and Producing Impactful Stories for a Global Audience”!

The AMA is fo...

Expand post

register for stage 32 Register / Log In