Acting

Before I taught film and television production to teenagers, before I developed a comprehensive internship program within a production company, and before I shepherded freshman theatre technicians through grueling lighting hangs and late-night set strikes, I myself was mentored. I owe a great debt of gratitude to my first mentor; my mother. She is an expert in adult education and a retired computer specialist, so it may be no surprise to learn she was incredibly methodical when training me. Don'...

My very good friend, composer and sound designer / mixer Scott Szabo said there are three kinds of work: Art, Craft and Rent. He's absolutely right. Art is the stuff you are proud to have your name on, and you showcase on a website or reel, promoting shamelessly on social media! Craft might, or might not, be something to hold out as an example, but it will call upon your advanced skills and challenge you. Rent ... well, you show up, do a great job, make the client happy, cash the check and get o...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee and let's dive in. First up, our friends over at StudioBinder put together a great video about all the scene transitions you can use in when cutting together your film. Specifically, this video shows nine types of edition transitions: fade, dissolve, match cut, iris, wipe, passing, whip pan, smash cut, and the J-cut. You wil...

Being a creative professional is more complicated than most people think. Whether you’re a writer, actor, or producer, your productivity levels are directly proportional to your organizational skills. Becoming an organized individual isn’t just about working in clean environments or managing time properly. It is also about organizing your thoughts, emotions, and actions in such a way that nothing and no one can stop you from reaching your objectives. In today’s post, I’m sharing 20 ideas tha...

Happy Wednesday Stage 32! Since 2011, the Stage 32 team has been working tirelessly to help you stay connected, creative, motivated, and informed. As always, we are committed to bringing you networking opportunities, education and mentoring from top-level industry executives and professionals, and access to decision-makers around the globe all from the comfort of your own home. Recently our efforts have been noticed by the media in a big way. We are incredibly proud and honored that Stage 32...

NETFLIX AND STAGE 32 INTRODUCE A NEW INITIATIVE TO HELP ASPIRING SERIES AND FILMMAKERS CREATE ENTERTAINMENT FOR THE GLOBAL MARKETPLACE Earlier this year, our two organizations teamed up for a workshop on Television Pitching that was attended by 100,000 aspiring creators in over 160 countries. We knew it would be a natural fit, but it was amazing to see the global impact of the workshop. That’s why we’ve decided to once again partner on the Creating Content for the Global Mark...

How do you know if you're ready to level up from a Production Assistant (PA) to a Production Coordinator (PC)? PCs are not necessarily the fastest PAs, but they are the ones taking on the most responsibilities. Are you guarding receipts with your life? Do you protect the integrity of lunch orders as if they were a precious commodity? Have you started to program everyone's phone number into your phone, so you don't have to take the extra time to look it up when you have to dial it? Oh, yes. PCs a...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee and let's dive in. First up, Behind the Curtain has a great interview with Rian Johnson (Knives Out, Star Wars: Episode VIII, Looper) about his writing process for Knives Out. Specifically, Rian talks about how he approached writing a modern whodunit, his experience as a writer/director, and more. Spoiler alert: if you haven...

Happy Thanksgiving, Creative Army! On behalf of the entire Stage 32 team, I'd like to wish everyone a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. This year, we have welcomed hundreds of thousands of new members to our growing, creative community, and we are beyond honored to provide each and every one of you a safe haven  to connect, be inspired, and come together to make art. We are all extremely grateful for the members of this community and for the incredible relationships and friendships that have blo...

There’s no doubt about it—self-tape auditions are all the rage and certainly here to stay. And, with pilot season fast upon us, the timing is perfect for talking about what makes a self-audition submission likely to succeed. A quick Internet search will yield an abundance of self-tape how-to articles and videos, which is great, and I encourage you to watch and read them. But they mostly focus on the technical aspects of the process (cameras, lighting, sound, setup) and far less on the actor’s...