Advice

"Animation is so liberating. I can write whatever I imagine!" We've all heard this sentiment phrased one way or another. It's true that practically anything that can be dreamed up can be animated, but someone actually has to animate it. So, the question is, "Just because you can imagine it, should you write it?" As both a writer and an animation director, I've seen some scripts that make animators as crazy as Daffy Duck. I have actually been guilty of writing such scripts. Animated features are...

  “Luck” Photo by Erwin More of More Medavoy Every now and again when I hear people talk about actors, it’s not unusual for them utter the word “luck” to reference the reason for the actor’s success. I pause for a moment and then tell those people what luck really is. “Luck is being prepared when opportunity arrives,” I say. “You may not create it exactly, but you sure as hell execute it.” There will always be things that fall outside of your control. But as an actor, it’s crucial that...

  Chris Moore is one of the most respected producers and sought after speakers in Hollywood today. From Good Will Hunting to American Pie to the Oscar winning Manchester by the Sea, Chris has carved out something rare in this business, a long lasting and lucrative career with huge projects spanning multiple decades. Additionally, as the founder of Project Greenlight and The Chair, Chris has been at the forefront of champion independent filmmakers all across the globe. It’s no wonder why...

Are your bad guys bad enough?Evil enough?Vile and slimy and downright power hungry?Do they make you cringe when you're writing them? They should. And according to our favorite writers at Bang2Write, the protagonist’s goodness is directly related to how powerful the villain is. That's why we see so many "bad guys" who want all the power while the "good guys" want peace on earth and good will to men. And yeah, yeah, we know the antagonist (hero) is supposed to be the foundation of the film....

 During my filmmaking career, I've run the gambit on all different sides of production. Back in Baltimore, I worked with skeleton crews writing, directing, and doing sound on my own productions. Since moving to Los Angeles I've found a lot of work on set sound mixing, and I wanted to give some easy, actionable steps that can help all filmmakers, at every budget level, get the best sound possible. My sound kit from “Sexy Dex.” 1) Knowing The Tools Most sound mixers start with what we call a...

What's up, Creative Army? Another Sunday, another edition of Coffee & Content.  Let's kick it off. First up, as you know, most industry readers give a screenplay about 5-10 pages before deciding whether they want to soldier on and spend the next 90-120 minutes of their lives with your story.  So how can you assure your screenplay sings from Page 1?  TOMKAT content provides some insights and some examples to back 'em up in their Writing the Perfect Movie Opening video. Next, I've featured m...

The world's first album composed and produced entirety by artificial intelligence was released in August, pushing the term "music collaboration" to a whole new level. The AI, known as Amper, works in collaboration with a human artist. At least one human artist that isn't afraid to step into the technology is Taryn Southern, a YouTube singer and storyteller with close to 500,000 subscribers. Just drop onto her YouTube channel and you'll immediately get a taste of her brand of music. She even t...

It happened. You lost it. Your passion and motivation are gone. We've all been there. Whether you have writer's block or are in an acting slump, it seems hard to get through it. I've been there too and I want to share the lessons I've learned because of it. Creators create and when that fire withers away, it can be life changing and painful. For me, it was devastating and debilitating. I couldn't cope. It took me ten years to find my footing, after losing everything. I left a great University an...

The very best way to learn the art of directing is from those who have learned from the very best. David Rountree, an award-winning feature film director (108 Stitches, CUT!) stopped by the Stage 32 offices to share some sound advice. From sound to crew to how to scout locations, he's got the goods.   David Rountree is the President of Psyco Rock Productions and is a director, producer, screenwriter, and actor based in Los Angeles. He is listed in Hollywood Reporter and IMDb as a Top 10 Up-a...

Some of our guest bloggers and their blog posts come from the depths of our lounge threads. They pose a question or statement, and before long, our members are locked in a heated debate about the question. That happened with Cheryl Allen's post, Goin' Guerilla. Here's what she asked: The responses were hot and cold.Up and down.For and against. If you review the thread, as well as my thread looking for some of you who've shot guerilla, you'll see that the term guerilla is defined and u...