Filmmaking

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, in this video from Fandango, star and director of MONKEY MAN, Dev Patel, sits down with actor, director, and producer Jordan Peeling to discuss their different directing styles. MONKEY MAN is the first feature film that Patel has directed and Peele's production company, Monkey Paw, was behind t...

Filmmakers have a huge undertaking as they schedule and budget their projects, each piece is vital to the success of the project, and getting everything in place as efficiently as possible is huge. Stunts are a piece of the puzzle that bring joy to audiences and chills to the production team. Why Do Stunts Bring Chills To The Production Team? Stunts have special training involved, multiple safety protocols, stunt coordinators, and many other specialty measures to ensure that the performer...

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, this video by From The Frame digs into the perennial debate on aspect ratios. Which framing is best? But there's a nuance to this debate that the pros and cons often miss: the director's intent. Using examples from TITANIC, DUNE, OPPENHEIMER, and more, you'll see just how filmmakers compose the...

Happy Thursday, Stage 32 Community! I hope that the last month has been joyful and productive for you all! Our Stage 32 Education Team has certainly been hard at work to bring incredible education opportunities and resources to this fantastic community. This April, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, award-winning screenwriters, producers, directors, showrunners, animators, and representatives. Impressive creative professionals who have worked on or repres...

I’m a professional comedian, actor, and “wannabe” writer. For over 22 years I’ve been performing as a stand-up comedian. When I was studying law to get my law degree, and then when I was working as a prosecutor I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d be a “stand-up comedian”. But it happened. Pursuing a career in the performing arts was never something that was considered an option when growing up in the 80s. My dad was old school, he was a military man and he hammered it into me that, “You go...

Want Success? Stop Listening to the Hollywood Narrative! Is it just me, or does it feel like Hollywood is set up to make you fail? Obstacle, after obstacle… Rejection, after rejection… It’s *almost* not even worth trying. And I can say ‘almost’ because those of us who still believe in the magic of our dreams, have a passion so strong that we are going to go for it, despite all of the hardships we hear about. If you are one of those people, like me, I want you to really listen to what...

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, in this video from StudioBinder, we're learning why good things come in threes. Whether it's dialogue, humor, plot points, visual cues, or a myriad of other elements - the rule of three can often be used to improve a script and even show the strength of the writer. Is there a way that you can u...

The film industry is a unique business. Writers, producers, directors, and performers can truly focus and dedicate their time and resources to their passion. However, at the same time, filmmakers often experience frustration, stress, anxiety, anger, failure, overwhelm, burnout, and resentment as they deal with the daily challenges and complexities that characterize filmmaking. The film industry, for most people, is a high-demanding, labor-intensive, financially unstable, prestige-driven, and h...

As a filmmaker, I have been led to believe that the be-all and end-all is winning an Oscar. Don’t get me wrong, I have definitely practiced my speech; “I’d like to thank my daughter and my dog, etc”, we all have, but what I’ve learned is that we don’t need accolades from peers and audiences in order to say that we are good filmmakers. I have been a director for seven years, but even before being in the film industry, I knew that winning an Oscar was most filmmakers' goal. An award like that c...

Making a feature film and seeing it distributed is a great feeling for any producer. But to see your film distributed, you have to deliver it to your distributor in a specific way, with all types of documentation and physical assets. So imagine finally having the opportunity to get your film out into the world. And then imagine that the opportunity starts slipping away when your distributor provides a master deliverables list of all the required assets needed to be delivered for the film to q...