Filmmaking

As we think about our work as writers, sometimes we forget that there are “off the page” skills that we need to develop as well. We spend a lot of time on craft, focused on dialogue, character arcs, plot outlining—everything we need to make a strong story. But building a career as a screenwriter—or as any kind of creative—involves more than writing. Entrepreneurship, professionalism, productivity habits, and presentation skills are four “off the page” skills we can develop as we’re mastering...

Screenwriting was not how I envisioned my profession; nor is it to this day, easy for me. I came to writing after years of honing my directing and acting chops in conservatories and out in the professional world of Chicago and New York. However, life throws you curve balls and one day you wake up and realize that world is not going to tell the stories that you are truly passionate about. If it’s really important to you, you have to take it upon yourself to create that vision. This is something t...

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. Now, grab some fresh coffee and let's dive in to this week's fres...

The Pass You did it, my friend. You wrote for weeks upon weeks, and rewrote it again. When it was finished, there it sat in front of you. Your most brilliant screenplay and or pilot. After reading it and congratulating yourself, you knew it was pure gold. A work of unending genius. There will be so many execs and producers lined up with bags of money and praise because they have never read anything like this before. You take a deep breath as you open your Stage 32 account to peruse who is look...

Imagine your shyest friend. The one who talks with you, and not many others. This person is probably really good at what they do – writing, directing, editing - but is terrible at putting themselves out there and meeting new people. Now imagine that friend finally working up the courage to type up a paragraph about themselves and post it for this community to see. Imagine that person discovering other creatives and striking up conversations with them, all because you took the time to lift them u...

Hey everyone! Harrison here, the Director of Education at Stage 32. As a lot of you know, I’ve been working hard this past year to put together new learning opportunities led by some of the top minds in the entertainment industry to help everyone in the Stage 32 community grow in their field, whatever that field may be. And I’m super proud of what the education we’ve been able to provide! We’ve programmed webinars, classes and labs that have helped writers, directors, script supervisors, edito...

The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled to air live on ABC on Sunday, April 25, from multiple locations, including the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay were announced on March 15.Click the titles below and download the scripts you find interesting - these links will expire soon!   ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Judas and the Black Messiah Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka KingStory by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas...

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...