Distribution

I believe that no matter whether a piece of work is a full length epic novel, a screenplay or short article, if you're planning to present your work to a publisher, producer or any other form of media, your work should be presented at the highest standard possible. I get asked by a lot of writers, "does presentation really matter, as long as the content is great?" YES, it does matter, because if someone is reading your work and all they can see are glaring spelling, grammatical or formatting...

The Wire. You’ll see the connection. I hope!! Extra. Extra. Read all about it! As well as being an author, I’m also an extra, otherwise known as a supporting artist on movie sets, TV series’, music videos and TV commercials. During my time on various sets over the last three years, I’ve worked with many famous actors from the UK and Hollywood, but this particular shoot of which I write was something else for many reasons and I will never, ever forget it. I hope you enjoy the read! Talent...

It actually makes more sense in the 21st century to be using the old expression, “Watching the phone.” In this day and age of smartphones we actually can see when a call is coming in. It makes you wonder what people were hoping to see when they’d stare at the phone on the wall or the unit that sat on the desk back in the day. But if you find yourself nodding off because your Android or iPhone is neither ringing nor having texts come in, it very likely could be due to the way that you’ve presen...

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” - W.C. Fields When I read that, I think of the word perseverance. As in, do not give up. It’s easy to think that once you reach a goal, it’s all smooth sailing from there. That as long as you “try, try again” you will achieve the thing and that’s the end of it. However, in reality, that theme has been repeated at every step of my 20-year post-production career. It applies each and every day in the smallest of moments and will likely apply ev...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! First of all, congratulations to all of you who have already participated in our monthly Introduce Yourself Weekend! Thousands of connections have been made between entertainment creatives and professionals from every corner of the globe. Whether you are a long-time member, or brand new to Stage 32, take a moment to pop over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge and say hello before the end of the weekend. First up, Film Riot shares an interesting video featuring 5 cre...

Since my appointment as delegate of the Mexican National Chamber of the Film Industry (CANACINE) for the State of Quintana Roo, also known as the Mexican Caribbean, I have become familiar with the phenomenon screen tourism. In fact, screen tourism is becoming one of the key elements in policy making for the audiovisual industry in Quintana Roo, which includes what nowadays can be considered Mexico’s most important beach tourist areas. In this article I will explain what screen tourism is, ho...

THE PROBLEM Starting in 2002, for the past 20 years to the present, during the evenings and weekends, I have been feverishly writing, adapting, and pitching a number of feature picture screenplays with no success in getting the projects greenlit or optioned neither by buyers, agents nor producers. Meanwhile, all this time my day job has been in relatively non-creative realm of high-tech. Does this story sound familiar? Every writer/filmmaker I've run into experiences a closed and ineffic...

In an industry where gatekeepers run the show, finding creative ways to get your work out there is not only a necessity, but a glorious way to take control of your career. No matter what hat(s) you were in the entertainment industry, launching your own YouTube channel is a fantastic way to flex your creative muscles - without needing permission from anyone. Sick of waiting to get cast in your dream role? Launch your own YouTube channel where you perform monologues weekly. Tired of not g...

Isn´t it funny how executives and studios are so quick to shoot you down unless you've got talent attached? Yet, it's the talent that are sometimes the ones that are holding you up? I graduated from a pretty intensive practical filmmaker course in 2008 at the Met Film School, which still ran rings around my University experience in Screenwriting & Cinematography barely 5 years later. Unfortunately, both never opened the door to a job for me despite my best efforts. I only ever wanted to wri...

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, the folks over at StudioBinder recently shared an in depth video about the cinematography of HBO's Euphoria. This video covers how Euphoria cinematographer Marcell Rev uses lighting, camera movement, and long takes to capture the shows stylized "emotional realism".  Next up, Luc Forsyth shares a helpful video sharing six filmma...