Latest Blogs

One of the most stressful aspects of voice acting, in my opinion, are live directed sessions. It seems that no matter how many sessions I have under my belt, I always get a little stage fright before a session. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out what it is about live sessions that put me on edge, and even with a lot of theatre experience and improv training, it’s the feeling of performing and the idea that ‘all eyes are on you.’ As an artist, and a Voice Actor, at that, it can seem...

I’ve been writing since I learned to read, and I’ve always dreamed of being a professional writer. I spent my childhood writing novels: Tolkien-esque fantasy knock-offs, historical fiction, and even a quirky murder mystery. In high school, I discovered my dad’s stash of classic sci-fi novels, and I fell in love with the genre. But I still stayed in my comfort zone, studying literature in college and then graduate school--starting a family--pursuing a career in academia. But through it all, I kep...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I've got my coffee in hand and your weekly dose of content coming in hot - grab your coffee of choice and let's dive right in. First up, our friends over at StudioBinder has put together a great video about how to write a TV pilot that sells. In this video, they use South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone's approach to story structure to illustrate compelling story structure. Like our Christopher Mack does in our Netflix TV Pitch Workshop, this video uses t...

The 74th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, will be held on Sunday April 11th at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay were announced on Tuesday March 9th.   BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Another Round Written by Thomas Vinterberg & Tobias Lindholm Transcript Only Mank Written by Jack Fincher Promising Young Woman Written by Emerald Fennell Rocks Written by Theresa Ikoko & Claire WilsonSt...

It is no secret that writing a TV show, or an animated series is not an easy task, especially if your story takes place in a complex fantasy, historical or science fiction world. However, tabletop role-playing games can help you with that. Right before we start, let me tell you a story. A few years ago, I started to develop an animated sci-fi series. I had the story and the characters, but despite all my efforts, the setting was still vague, and this made the writing difficult. The fact that I...

Fragile, resilient. Perceptive, narrow-minded. Reclusive, convivial. As writers we are all these things and more. We are the canaries in the coal mine, the watchers against the dark, the mirrors of society. But if we are empaths and mirrors, what do we do when society has a really bad day? Or a really bad week? Or months? Or a year? If you were fortunate enough to listen to Rebecca Day’s session at the London Screenwriters Festival Online on February 7th, "Where's your head at? Mastering crea...

The Ever-Dreaded Constructive Criticism Fellow screenwriters, I get it. Constructive criticism sucks, any way you slice it. Yes, we know it helps, but it almost always hurts in a way. It's a direct blow to the good old ego, which is ever so frail these days. That nice little labor of love you just spent 100+ man hours on has issues with it? How could it possibly after all that time and energy you just devoted to it? Seemingly impossible, right? Believe me, I understand fully. Been th...

As a composer for Film and Television you are probably used to working on your own in your studio most of the time, basically with the sole exception of meetings and recording sessions. Among composers we always joke about our professional life “in isolation”. Well, one year ago, Covid happened, and, as of today, the composer job is basically 100% remote. This has changed the work flow in many ways, making us switch to new strategies to communicate, meet, share… Here below are some of my thoug...

Television Drama is crushing it right now. Television Drama has expanded the possibilities for character exploration and led to storytelling that is beyond what any feature film could achieve. That is why series like THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT and BRIDGERTON on Netflix, EUPHORIA on HBO, YELLOWSTONE on Paramount, DEXTER on Showtime, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, and upcoming series like GENERATION on HBOMax are blowing away critics. Writers and producers of Television Drama are on the cutting edge of entertai...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! As you likely know, it is Women's History Month and tomorrow is International Women's Day. In the past 10 years here at Stage 32 we have had the supreme privilege of working with thousands of powerhouse female voices in entertainment.  Tomorrow, on International Women's Day 2021, we are partnering with Female Voices Rock film festival to bring you an exciting panel and networking happy hour celebrating women in entertainment. Our panel includes:  Carmen Carbana...