Jacob Taylor's Lounge Discussions

Jacob Taylor
Hello All!

Hello to everyone here at Stage 32.

My name is Jacob Taylor, I am a Senior at Valdosta State University currently in my final year of college, with screenwriting, production assistant, and location scouting serving as my main interests. Since I have joined Stage 32, my short time on this platform has...

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Jacob Taylor
First Step in Documentary Filmmaking

As a college student beginning the early stages of my thesis film(a political based documentary involving the upcoming 2020 Presidential election), what would be some of the crucial first steps to take care of before embarking on this?

Solange Plaza

For me, I would say that the most important thing is to ask yourself is why am I making this and what do I want to say? It will help keep you focused on the task ahead.

Debbie Croysdale

Location permission for interiors. Go through budget of cost of crew. Check DOP and rest of key crew are familiar with documentary style because it is not a pre planned shoot most times or written in...

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Charles Baldwin

Study project management

Maya Table

I agree with Solange. Figure out what you want your piece to say and it will help guide your edits. Also interview people with a wide range of perspectives. It will make your film interesting to watch...

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Jacob Taylor

Thank you guys for all your comments, sorry for the very slack delay on my part. My premise is this; I've lived in Georgia my whole life, which has traditionally been a Red State, but the recent chang...

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Jacob Taylor
Tips to get the creative juices flowing...

So i'm trying to get some screenplay ideas going to flex my writing muscles, does anybody have suggestions on techniques that have helped them steer them in the right creative direction? For example, I've been making a list of my favorite actors/actresses/performances that have stood out to me and w...

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Nathan Smith

Music is a big motivator for me. Listen to as much as you can from a wide variety. If a song sparks something within me then I write that idea down and start fiddling with it to see if there's a story there.

Bill Costantini

Hi Jacob,

Those are the words of a studio development exec that guide me. That might sound confusing to some, since some of us feel that "every story has been...

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Geoff Wise

Some of my writer friends swear by mental "warm-up" exercise every day. They'll pick a random location, character, genre, etc. and create a story from the combination.

Gilberto Villahermosa

Jacob - Go out and watch people. Take a notebook & pen or pencil with you and make notes on what you see and what is going on around you. Don't go after an idea - let the idea come to you as you go ab...

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Doug Nelson

Dan M - you're right. If my muse & I showed up before 9:00, we got some of the coffee. It wasn't glamours, sexy or romantic - but it did pay the rent.

Jacob Taylor
Writing Female Characters

So i've been a fan of female driven stories the past few years; I just think the depth to these stories and the performances that have been brought out has been marvelous. As an up and coming screenwriter, how would I go about creating a female character without the character getting bogged down in the traditional male perspective or "focus?"

Tony Ray

You could try starting the story with your heroine seen as different but not because of her gender. For instance, I'm writing a story about Dragon Warriors. And I am also writing a woman as the protag...

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Debbie Croysdale

Concentrate on the wants of the character and how they go about achieving their goal and contrast that with their true needs ( which might be something different to the goal they are chasing.) Add obs...

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Kiril Maksimoski

Make her taboo...let's say a successful banker, spec ops commander, NASA chief, Formula 1 driver...see how she fits these male world's...but more important how will we (audience) respond to that.

Debbie Croysdale

Good suggestion above from @Kirril. A woman in a “taboo” work/social role causes automatic conflict in the initial sense. I think a sting in the tail scenario might work also Eg Give character name li...

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Sofi Odelle

It's pretty easy, actually. I just wrote 4 of 5 scripts of an ongoing series that have strong female leads. Turns out, if you write them like human beings with their own wants and needs, they come out fully rounded. It's no trick. Just don't write them as if they're objects.

Jacob Taylor
Education vs Content

When looking for work in the industry early in one's career, do potential employers look more at the educational credentials or personal credibility of potential employees?

Jacob Taylor
The Future of Atlanta

For anyone that has been working consistently in the Atlanta area, do you see any signs of productions fading away from there anytime soon? I currently live in southern Georgia making my plans for post-college and i'm curious if Los Angeles is worth the jump or if Atlanta is becoming the "Hollywood of the South."

Doug Nelson

Just my humble pov: I see no evidence that the 'film industry' is withering but I do see it morphing/evolving into a new form. Hollywood is basically pricing itself into extinction but small time inde...

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Jacob Taylor
Television vs Film screenwriting

What would you say is more "in demand?" Screenwriters for television or film? In this golden age of television where the traditional television broadcast has become more cinematic, is there a difference?

Craig D Griffiths

CJ is completely correct.

They sell more printed T Shirts than Oil Paintings. Both art in their own way.

CJ Walley

All I can say is, don't write TV off as an avenue to get a film made. In some cases, it may be a more viable and profitable route. Spielberg started in for TV movies and Tarantino's "True Romance" was originally optioned by a network.

Stephen Floyd

I’m not sure there’s much of a divide. Digital distributors want short-form for accessibility and long-form for legitimacy/gold statues.

Craig D Griffiths

There is a point in all things when “it all changed”.

For acting it was “on the water front”

For rally racing it was “Audi Quattro”

For TV “Game of Thrones”.

After G.O.T TV has changed forever. Better bud...

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Shawn Speake

Great thread! Way to put the intel out there

Jacob Taylor
What's the crucial first step to get your screenplay out there to the masses?

So you have a screenplay that you are eager to share to the world, but what would be the first step to take to get it out there? Submitting it to film festivals?

CJ Walley

Sam Borowski, you are totally on the money, my friend, and I'm certain you'll go places with your attitude. Love to see someone chasing the dream with some vigour and passing the knowledge learned bac...

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Craig D Griffiths

I know this is just an Australian thing. But some of our TV networks but content directly. They then resell international right and end up with free content.

I don’t know if they buy from overseas as this defeats the business model.

Craig D Griffiths

SBS in Australia has a distribution like arm. A friend worked in it for a while. She said that they worked their butts off for the first 12 months. Bought and sold heaps of films. Only made a profit o...

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Jason Mirch

Hey Jacob Taylor I am the Director of Script Services at Stage 32. Drop me a note and let me know what you are working on! I have some ideas on how you might start to get work out there and get some f...

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Jacob Taylor

I just want to thank you guys, every single one of you for all of your input, this has been a tremendous help!

Luckily, I am a big believer in "less is more," I tend to write more thriller, drama or personal stories with minimal cast or effects in mind.

Jacob Taylor
Are Southern based productions still "in style?"

As an aspiring screenwriter who has grown up in Georgia, has the Southern Gothic or the Southern crime story gone out of fashion, or is there still a market for these types of productions?

Doug Nelson

There always is a market for truly compelling stories presented in a tightly written script in an industry recognized format no matter what genre. The real question is the size of the market in relationship to the cost of production.

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