Cinematography

“Move to Montana” is not the advice you’ll get when you tell someone you want to break into the entertainment business. Especially, if like me, you were working at one of the biggest magazines in the country owned by a parent company that also ran TV and movie studios. At that job, I interacted with bold face names and their publicists all day and as writer also interviewed Grammy, Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe winners. You’d think this would be the place to work if you were an aspiring screenw...

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 have a great video about how Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher, and Christopher Nolan direct the power dynamics featured in interrogation scenes. This video breaks down three types of interrogation scenes: transferring power, balancing power, and subverting power. You will see this illustrated with...

On behalf of the entire Stage 32 family, I'd like to wish you all a happy, healthy, and loving Christmas and remainder of the holiday season. While the holidays are a time of celebration, I hope everyone will take a moment to reflect on the many blessings life has offered and afforded all of us. We personally feel blessed to have had so many of you enter and enrich our lives. The Stage 32 community has grown to over 800,000 members from around the globe, and we are beyond honored to provide ea...

A few years ago,  I had the devastating privilege of teaching television and film production to teenagers. Yes, oxymoron intended. Two things became clear early on: these students had no respect for the equipment because they were issued cameras like pacifiers, nor did they understand the value of their human resources due to the emphasis put squarely on technology above all. Guess what we did for the first week? We learned about networking. Man, were they mad. Then again, that could have been b...

Happy Wednesday Creative Army! Stage 32's continued mission is to democratize the entertainment business and the industry is taking notice in a big way. We are incredibly proud and honored that Stage 32 has been featured recently in Forbes Magazine, Business Insider, Inc. Magazine, and now, for the second time, Hackernoon.  As many of you have likely heard, we are partnering with Netflix (again!) to bring even more education to entertainment creatives and professionals from around the globe...

Anyone else finding themselves looking at the calendar these days going, “It’s what month already? How?” Don’t get me wrong – I love this time of year. It feels good to be finishing something – and it especially feels good to think about the new beginning right on the other side of it. If you’ve followed me for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed that I love talking about process. I love systems that make it easier for me to achieve the goals I set for myself, and I’m constantly evalua...

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'...

If you’re anything like me, you have an inexplicable need to tell stories. It’s what excites you, what’s always in the back of your mind while you’re seeming to be living your life when actually you’re assembling and reassembling story fragments due to a flood of inspiration that unexpectedly assaults your imagination. Nobody dedicates their lives to becoming a filmmaker because it’s easy. It is a life that sounds torturous to an outsider -- and it is to an extent -- but it’s also wonderful a...

Several years ago I decided that I wanted to get a degree in film and television from the highly competitive film school at New York University. There was one major obstacle though... I was a high school drop out. What are the odds of my being accepted into this school and program? Not very good, but I decided (call it naivety, blind faith, insanity or whatnot) it was not only possible, but it was going to be my reality. I put one foot in front of the other, busted my butt as if it were life or...

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...