John L Bryant's Lounge Discussions

Hi, Erin Garr. Welcome to the community. Congratulations on graduating!!!

Here's a blog that'll help you navigate Stage 32 and make connections: www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...

Thank you!!

You're welcome, Erin Garr. I like your work, especially PRESS PLAY and PRODUCTIVE. I feel like they could be feature films.

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Welcome Erin!

welcome Erin !

happy to meet right here, it’ll be good to share something inbox

let’s us work together

Mike Boas It creates less headaches. Arguing with writers can be depleting. After heated talks with myself, I'm exhausted. I wish I would just shut up and listen to myself once in awhile.

from Democratic republic of Congo, looking forward to having a production

Welcome to the community, John L Bryant. Here's a blog that'll help you navigate Stage 32 and make connections: www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...

I hope my post about pre-production helps you with your production.

You can find other helpful posts here in the Producing Lounge.

Stage 32 also has Producing Blogs and Producing Education.

Producing Blogs: www.stage32.com/blog/tags/producing-22

Producing Education: www.stage32.com/education/search?term=Producing

Great question, Maurice Vaughan! As a former Development Exec, my process before even getting to the pre-production stage often varied depending on the particular project. If we found a spec script that interested us, then the writer was already attached, so the focus shifted to assembling the right elements—whether that was a producing partner, director, or key talent—to build the pitch together and make the package more enticing for buyers.

If we were acquiring a book, the process was different because we needed to find the right writer to adapt the material. That meant looking for someone who not only had the right voice but also aligned with how we envisioned bringing the story to life. In some cases, if the book was a bestseller or if we acquired a different strong piece of IP, we could package it with the right creative team and pitch it directly to a buyer. If they were interested, they might pay for the script's development, meaning the writer would at least be paid for each draft and revision. But that was rare—more often, we needed a well-written pilot or feature draft as part of the package to engage a network, studio, or streamer.

Even though that script would go back into development with the buyer to tailor it to their needs and audience, having a strong draft upfront was usually necessary to get a deal done.

If we were starting from a story concept, we had to solidify the right creative team first, ensuring we had a cohesive vision before pitching. And once the team was together, the process of getting the pitch materials—and sometimes the script—into the best possible shape was its own, sometimes very long, process.

"My process before even getting to the pre-production stage often varied depending on the particular project." I think that's a helpful mindset to have since each project is different/has different needs, Ashley Renee Smith. Thanks for the insight.