Stage 32 Success Stories

So happy to report my first ever screenplay (SECTION6) was selected to be showcased at the Epic ACG Fest in the Best Screenplay for Short Animation category.

As someone entirely brand new to the industry, it’s incredibly encouraging to finally receive validation on the strength and quality of my wri...

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What a year and festival season so far! ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬ ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬ ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬

THANK YOU to Stage 32 because through REEL REVIEW Script Services consultations I got excellent advice from industry executives and that has helped me to build this momentum!

So very well worth the investment!!

How?

# 1 - w...

Expand post

What a year and festival season so far! ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬ ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬ ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬

THANK YOU to Stage 32 because through REEL REVIEW Script Services consultations I got excellent advice from industry executives and that has helped me to build this momentum!

So very well worth the investment!!

How?

# 1 - write a truly outstanding screenplay that you as the writer love with passion and trust 100%

(no matter how long it takes; it took me 7 feature specs and 15 years of writing before I was ready to make this first film)

# 2 - make a distinctive film you love with whatever resources you can apply to the project

(and with 4 years here on Stage 32 this has been my online film school experience along with extensive independent study) I went with miniature action figures, RC toys, hand-built mini-sets, and limited stop-motion animation shooting with phone, keeping the budget under $2,500 for Episode 1

# 3 - make your film SHORT ! (I started this project as a proof-of-concept reel, at 30 minutes, the consultants all agreed, "Make it shorter!"

I know many of us including me want to write and make features, this film comprises Act I of a feature script, but if you are going the accessible festival launch route via Film Freeway, event programmers need the flexibility to find a slot and add your film to an extensive condensed program

and audiences online and in screenings will love you for not overly challenging their attention span - I am succeeding with both cuts but the real sweet spot is the short version at 15 minutes!)

# 4 - position your project (Film Freeway lists a superb database of more than 10,000 global festivals,

I have reached this point by mostly seeking out relatively unknown international events some in their first year or two of startup with low entry fees, it's turned out to be a really successful launch and I am glad I started small)

# 5 - be relentlessly persistent (I have 3 more Episodes in Post-Production #superturbojetboats and with more than a year of shooting these fun projects I am gaining social media support and momentum, it takes time)

# 6 - aim for very specific narrow target audience (the story and tone of this comedy piece are literally tuned in to the sensibilities of students, film-school people, industry people and festival staff and audiences, it's a spoof of art-house cinema in some ways so I got lucky with a confluence of my own interests with my target audience and it required some thoughtful work to figure all that out)

# 7 - reinvent yourself (I studied the industry from the sidelines for 15 years while writing spec scripts and learned a lot by osmosis of just constantly reading and connecting, research is a lifelong pursuit so there are tools out there that will help you build your own direction and intuition in order to decide who you want to be in creative cinema and how your work will contribute to the world)

# 8 - choose a different path (the received wisdom in Hollywood is that American comedy does not often travel well internationally, already I have discovered that my project breaks through that trope and so if I listened to every established best practice I would not have found this way in to global expansion through film festivals, be prepared to question expert advice while also being willing to consider it)

Anyway there's lots more and we're all working on different things,

these are just a few notes about my recent experience I am glad to share and obviously

two months ago I did NOT know how this would go,

I received my first screening World Premiere and Award for Best Comedy Short Film at

Anatolia International Film Festival in ISTANBUL on August 8th and it has been a rollercoaster ever since, even though I have yet to attend a screening the film has been screened also in Moscow, Colombia, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta and many other locations with more to come!!

Keeping micro-budget very low enables me to focus on gradually building views and screenings online through Vimeo and social media and with an extensive Film Freeway rollout that is going great so far!

Keep writing !!! ᕕ(⌐■_■)ᕗ ♪♬

View all All comments

Laide Akano

2
2 people like this
- Mark Palmer
- Maurice Vaughan
15 hours ago

Congrats Mike. More resounding successes

Edna Hamarstag

2
2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Mark Palmer
11 hours ago

Congrats, Mike!! Keep us all posted on your great success.

Swati Chugh

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
2 hours ago

Congratulations Mark ! That's a great dream come true !

Preston Poulter

Woot!

Alyssa Hart

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
59 minutes ago

that amazing

Wendy Kay

2
2 people like this
- X.A. Allister
- Maurice Vaughan
2 weeks ago

Congratulations!

Darrell Pennington

Congrats X.A. - really excited for you!

Raymond Zachariasse

Congrats!

Seth James

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
2 weeks ago

Very well done!

Amanda Bailey

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
7 days ago

Fantastic news! And inspiring for us newbies

Dhaval Kumar

4
4 people like this
2 weeks ago

Thank You

Maurice Vaughan

You're welcome, Dhaval Kumar.

David Kane

3
3 people like this
2 weeks ago

Nice Dhaval!

Lauren Hackney

2
2 people like this
- Kenneth Ellis 2
- Maurice Vaughan
1 week ago

Nice work! Amazing news!

John E. Bias

Congratulations!!!

Congratulations on getting all 5s on your pitch and a script request, Jim Cushinery! Getting all 5s is really impressive! Glad you didn't pack it in!...

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Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Congratulations! It's definitely how it goes. Just when you're as discouraged as can be, you get good news :)

Tania Ocasio

Congratulations Jim Cushinery

3
3 people like this
1 week ago

Jim Cushinery I'm really happy this happened for you. To hear you get a win is awesome! And I know there's many more to come for you!

1
1 person likes this
- Rich Terdoslavich
2 weeks ago

Congratulations, Rich Terdoslavich! I like your work! That shows how important it is to post work on here. Concept art, scripts, trailers, etc. Have a great weekend too!...

Rich Terdoslavich

1
1 person likes this
- Maurice Vaughan
1 week ago

Thanks, Maurice! Definitely. Will be posting more work soon. All the best and have a great day!

Thank you, everyone.

1
1 person likes this
- Rich Terdoslavich
1 week ago

You're welcome, Rich Terdoslavich. Looking forward to seeing them! All the best and have a great day too!

Talk to you soon, Maurice

Zaid Alessa

2
2 people like this
- Bobby Bridges
- Maurice Vaughan
3 weeks ago

congratulations!

David Miller

2
2 people like this
- Bobby Bridges
- Maurice Vaughan
2 weeks ago

Sylvia Melanson

Double congratulations!!

Nice!

Corey Balbuena

Congratulations!!

Daniel Stuelpnagel

2
2 people like this
- Maurice Vaughan
- Daniel Stuelpnagel
3 weeks ago

Jon Shallit hey THANK YOU I really appreciate that,

I think of it more like "sneaking in through a side door" and certainly making it up as I go along!...

Susan Joyce likewise! Thank you and that is so thoughtful, it's an exciting momentum to share!

3
3 people like this
3 weeks ago

Sheri Barbera thanks so much, I appreciate your kind words!

The film in 30- and 15-minute versions along with short trailers is

FREE TO VIEW AND DOWNLOAD ON VIMEO >>>>>

and t...

Rowan Smith cheers! I appreciate that and so glad to share some accumulated practices that have been helpful for me in this journey!

Maurice Vaughan it's a wonderful learning experience as you know,

I'm learning so much via Film Freeway and I can say that one of the successful approaches to the extensive database in researching fes...

Suzanne Bronson

2
2 people like this
- اسماء نصرات
- Maurice Vaughan
1 month ago

Hi Rich Terdoslavich this lounge is actually for Stage 32 Success Stories, not industry success stories in general. Do you have a story you can share about how Stage 32 helped you accomplish your goal...