Filmmaking

If you’re a first-time filmmaker, you should market your film or other project first. This is what Stage 32 CEO Richard “RB” Botto covers in the next video in his continued series that dives deep into crowdSOURCING for filmmakers. Rb is the best-selling author of Crowdsourcing For Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd, and he covers this crucial point in the video below. Most of the time, as a first-time filmmaker or content creator, no one really knows who you are. Therefore, p...

If you are UK-based, or plan to head to London for the 2019 Raindance Film Festival festival this week, we're looking forward to hanging out with you! We're going to be screening our 4th Annual Stage 32 Short Film Program and having an after-party for those who attend. Don't forget to get your Raindance Film Festival full credentials here. Come meet & greet with Stage 32 Founder & CEO, Richard Botto and Managing Director Amanda Toney as well as other Stage 32ers! We're looking forward to meeti...

Good Morning, Creative Army! Happy Sunday to you all. Today's edition of Coffee & Content focuses on the cost of creating a music video. Our friends at Indy Mogul have some really great video content out there that delves into ways to save and still put out a high quality music video. First up, How Much Do Music Videos REALLY Cost. This content talks about what is needed to produce, prep, and plan the creation of a video, regardless of your budget. After that, take a look at How to Make a...

Growing up I had a love for books and movies. When Stranger Than Fiction came out I fell in love with the writing. But more importantly, I fell in love with the value of two forms of entertainment rolled into the ticket price of one movie. It was value I enjoyed so much, that I wanted to be more than an author; I wanted my books to be optioned for movies. When the first real literary success came across my life path I went headlong into daydreams of the silver screen. These flights of fantasi...

  The most important thing in life is showing up. I am blown away by your ability to show up. (Keanu Reeves, Hard Ball)   Prologue Primarily being a writer, and one who does a lot of historical research, I spend a lot of time alone. So, when I’m hired as an actor, director, storyteller, or teacher, it gives me an opportunity to test my philosophies of keeping motivated and inspired and doing the same for others. For three weeks in June I toured as Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in a...

Last month in my post, When Your Dreams [In the Filmmaking World] Fade, I left you hanging with me barely keeping control of my bowels, frozen in panic as my short life flashed before my eyes upon hearing my homeroom teachers voice on the phone. "Put your mother on the phone now," she barked a second time. I dropped the phone on my bed and ran downstairs to my parents screaming, "Mrs. Rankin is on the phone!!!" No matter how punk rock I try to be, I often have this reaction interiorly to...

As we continue to post the Stage 32 CrowdSOURCING video series each week, questions come up from those soaking in the videos. One question that has come up more than once is, “Can you crowdfund a TV, film, or digital project without crowdsourcing that project first?” Stage 32 CEO Richard “RB” Botto, author of the best-selling book Crowdsourcing For Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd, takes this question head on in his book, and briefly in the video below. Take a listen:  ...

We always talk about writing, filmmaking, and other industry aspects here on the blog, but we don't touch base too often with the business side of it. And if you're a writer, director, producer,  or other kind of contracted film worker, you're essentially in business for yourself.   What we do is hard. No question. And it takes a certain level of strength to do it. Not just physical strength, but emotional strength as well. Give the link below a read for a peek into why we need emotional...

If you're superstitious, stop reading. Go read this post instead. (It's fun and inspiring and doesn't include blood.) If you don't have any superstitions about today, then stay with me. Because why not spend your Friday reading about the history of how Friday the 13th came to be a dreaded day? After all, look at all the cool stuff that's come from it: "Long considered a harbinger of bad luck, Friday the 13th has inspired a late 19th-century secret society, an early 20th-century novel, a horr...

Howdy, my film familia!  In this installation of Diary of a DP, I offer you a survival guide where I will be sharing my experience and things to remember when shooting music festivals or concerts. Once upon a time, as a young strapping lad, I was taking various shooting assignments to further my operating skills. Shooting music events or music videos has its own rewards. It is fun and will challenge you in every way. I learnt a helluva lot for sure. Shooting music events and music videos are...