Gerald Bedeker: Art director, illustrator and animator in Cape Town, South Africa.

Hi everyone my name is Peter Butler. First off I want to say how much I love Stage32, it's great to be able to connect directly with such talented people within the industry which is one of the reason I'm posting this here. If you're wondering why the strange title for my post it's because I'm in a situation that has responsibility on one side and dreams on the other. I've written a little bit of a back story as I feel I need to let you know how I've got to where I am but if you want you can always follow Tim Bisley's advice from the TV series Spaced and "Skip to the end". I've always loved storytelling from the moment I picked up my parents JVC video camera in 1982 at the age of 7, I knew I wanted to make movies. I spent years shooting films with friends and family learning everything I could about the art of movie making. I decided in order to make movies, I needed to know everything there was to know, from directing to special effects (foolish I know). At the age of 18 I worked for an editing company in London. Unfortunately that company closed down and at the age of 20 I found another job, this time in the computer games industry. I'd always had an interest in CG and so I felt this would be a great way to learn VFX, which it was. Problem was, real life got in the way, meaning paying bills, mortgages and all the other crap that life throws at you. And so the small stint in the games industry became a career. Now I'm not complaining, after all working in games isn't exactly a terrible career path. But my heart was never completely in it. I missed the thrill of film making, the buzz of working with a crew and actors. The thrill of getting that perfect shot after two dozen retakes. The satisfaction of seeing all the hard work coming to life in the edit. And so after being made redundant in 2011 I decided it was the time to get back to following my dream. I decided the first thing was to test the water by creating an animated short film. After all I'd spent 11 years of my life learning computer graphics so I might as well use it. After 6 months I finished my first animated short Baggage, which if you like, you can view below. It's only 3 minutes long. https://vimeo.com/46352661 Baggage went on to win at a number of film festivals and has given me the confidence to believe in myself again, something I'd lost while working within the games industry. And since then I've also started up a film club/concept called 22 days later where by I have to make a film from to script to screen within 22 days using suggestions from Youtube users You can view my blog all about it here www.22dayslater.com and the first (silly) film here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl5tTvcOIJA Second movie trailer here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6yAHSsAjEM The problem is as I'm sure you all know, there's not much money in short films and so I begun shooting corporate work where ever I could find it. It was ok, because although I didn't have a lot of money coming in I still had enough to just keep afloat and also have the time in between work to carry on working on shorts. Freelance work has dried up and I've realised that to really get my foot on the career ladder in the film industry I need to find a permanent position, even if it means starting near the bottom. And this is where my big dilemma comes in and where I'd love your help. I've just been offered a job, a very well paid job too. Problem is it's back in the gaming industry, the area I was trying to get out of. It's also 240 miles away from everyone I know. There's an added issue too. I have a one year old son, he lives with his mother, we split up 4 months ago. So I've got two options. If I take the job it will obviously solve my money problems but everything else about it feels wrong. If I don't take the job then I can continue my dream but still have massive pressure of finding that open door into the industry I love. To sum up. I feel that if I take the job I'm going up a ladder but it's the wrong ladder. I'd rather step off that ladder and start from the bottom of the right one even if it's for a lot less money. But then morally should I just forget my dream and just think of the extra money I could give my son on top of the normal amount I give? I just feel I need to find that break, is Stage 32 the first step? Thanks for taking the time to read all my waffle. Peter

Hi Patrick Thanks for connecting. I am looking into doing a director's course here in Cape Town at the University. What kind of films do you work on? I am most interested in social awareness 'real life' documentary style film at the moment. I feel that there is a lack of awareness and empathy in the world and through film we can change that.

So much so that I incorporated it into my day job. I have written one book, I am in the process of working on the edits of my second, and I have a short story series I am writing for teens. I also wrote a script for a short movie, which is in post production now. On my day job, I work for a not for profit, so I developed a creative expression program for youth, and we wrote and filmed a short movie about violence prevention. Looking forward to writing more movies and books!

What a great opportunity to meet some amazingly creative people! Having always been passionate about movies, performance, acting and telling stories I have decided to make my dream of directing a reality. First step: director's course at film school. This shouldn't be too hard as I run my own graphic design and advertising business with a network of outsourced people so basically I manage my own time. At heart I am a frustrated director actor who is telling stories on demand through advertising and design in the form of 'required' information. Oh to be free to express without expectations! Being based in South Africa, Cape Town specifically, I would probably have to attend a local school in Cape Town part-time. Does anyone know of a good film school here? The only film school that comes to mind for me is Afda in Johannesburg. I have done some amateur acting at school and in 2 local independent films and 2 TV ads and absolutely love performing. I terms of dirceting, I have conceptualised, scripted and directed the shooting of 2 TV ads. But I just love performance, in front of or behind the camera, being in that moment, accessing buried emotions and living in the character's experience. It's almost like existing in 2 places at once. There are stories that must be told. And heard and seen. I would love them into life. I would love to act and direct. Even if it's just telling the stories I need to tell. Low budget or no budget. Looking forward to hearing from other passionate people. :)

Hey Gerald, I'm excited to announce our new Stage 32 Lounge, a major upgrade to the previous Discussions area. Here are some of the highlights:

• Subscriptions - Subscribe to your favorite topics and stay up to date on the subjects that matter to you most.
• My Discussions - Never lose track of discussions you created or commented on.
• Better topics - We've completely reorganized the discussion topics to make it much easier to browse and post discussions.

Hey Gerald, a few days ago we implemented a new privacy setting to give you the option of accepting private messages only from users within your network. Today, I discovered a bug with the way this option is set for new users. I just wanted to let you know that the bug is now fixed, so all members are now able to receive private messages from any other member (the default setting). If you'd like to receive private messages only from users within your network, you can change this setting here. Also, you can access your privacy settings at any time from the drop-down menu that appears when you hover over your profile photo in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Hey Gerald, a few days ago we implemented a new privacy setting to give you the option of accepting private messages only from users within your network. Today, I discovered a bug with the way this option is set for new users. I just wanted to let you know that the bug is now fixed, so all members are now able to receive private messages from any other member (the default setting). If you'd like to receive private messages only from users within your network, you can change this setting here. Also, you can access your privacy settings at any time from the drop-down menu that appears when you hover over your profile photo in the upper right-hand corner of the page.

Hey Gerald, We're very proud to bring to the Stage 32 community an exciting and exclusive event: Rex Pickett - My Life on Spec: The Writing of Sideways. This 6 part series explores the twisted, obstacle filled path Rex travelled while nurturing Sideways from conception to screen. Rex's tale is alternately inspiring and heartbreaking, filled with the highs and lows, the self-doubt, and the paralysis associated with surrendering control of your talent, which should be relatable to any artist. We thank Rex for this exclusive series! It's a gift to the entire Stage 32 community. The intro to the series is live right now. Check it out here. PS - Stage 32 bloggers may link to our blog if they wish to share the series with their readers. Thanks!

Hi Gerald, we've just added a new section to your tool bar - Resources. Here you'll find links to the best acting, filmmaking, and screenwriting resources as well as a comprehensive list of film schools and film festivals. We'll be adding new categories and links regularly. One more thing, you can now find the "Messages" link in your sidebar right under your name. Enjoy!

Hi Gerald, we've just released a pretty big update that I think you'll be excited about. You can now see posts and updates by everyone in your network right on your own wall. Happy networking!

Hey Gerald, I'm the lead developer at Stage32.com. Please let me know if you have any questions or feedback about the site. We'd love to hear your comments!

Hi Gerald. I'm RB, co-founder and CEO of Stage 32. I know first-hand the challenges all creatives face finding work and attracting attention to their projects. That's why we created Stage 32. Our members run the gamut from film students to award winners. The community is now 50,000+ members strong spanning 175+ countries. This is a network for you, built by you. Like most things in life, the more you participate, the greater the rewards. We ask all new members to help us spread the word through other social media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. We also ask that you help strengthen the community by inviting at least 5 fellow creatives. Check out Invite friends to Stage 32 on the upper right side of your profile. Thanks for being a part of this most talented and inspiring community. PS - Be sure to check us out on Facebook and follow us on Twitter at @Stage32online.