Filmmaking

These are the ramblings of a sleep-deprived (Sundance-bound) madman***   Seriously. Do you remember that episode of Breaking Bad where Walter writes off his questionable disappearance by claiming that he went into a "fugue state?" Ever since being introduced to that delightful term, I've decided that "fugue state" is my favorite way to describe my day: long stretches of time pass by in which I'm not sure what I'm doing, yet things get done--items are checked off on my lists. Emails are emaile...

Many of us feel panic and dread when we sit down to write our bios, cracking under the self-imposed pressure to paint a perfect portrait of who we are in this point in time.   But what if I told you that a great bio simply started the conversation of what you can bring to a project and then motivated your reader to to keep that conversation going with you – through a meeting, an audition, a Twitter follow, or a viewing of your reel? Most of us make the mistake of writing a bio that looks bac...

  In 1885 the US found itself in the embarrassing position of being given a lovely statue by France but they had nothing to put it on. So the American Committee of the Statue of Liberty established a crowdfunding campaign to raise the $100,000 needed to build the all-important plinth. After it was featured on the cover of Joseph Pulitzer’s The New York World newspaper, they finally really did it, raising $101,091 ($2.4 million in today’s money) from over 160,000 donors.  In 1885, crowdfun...

Our Fearless Leader was a guest on the extremely popular indiefilm podcast, Indie Film Hustle, hosted by filmmaker (and Stage 32 member) Alex Ferrari.  This was one lively show.  RB and Alex covered a ton of ground on a variety of indie film topics.  We ask that you not only listen, but spread the love by sharing the show on social media!  Thanks in advance! Here's a description of the show from the man himself, Alex Ferrari: Blueprint to Make it in the Film Business with Stage 32 Have you...

The November 2015 edition of On Stage With RB was a 3-hour affair and now it's available to watch for FREE on-demand! Joining RB was Jaia Thomas, leading entertainment attorney who assists clients with transactional and intellectual property matters. She regularly counsels filmmakers and producers on all aspects of film financing, production and distribution, with an expertise in copyright protection and how it affects the television, film, and new media industries. She also regularly assists co...

As those in the film industry can relate, the majority of the time you are more likely to hear the word ‘no’ than the word ‘yes.’ This is especially true when you are trying to part the film financier from his money. There may be a number of reasons why a financier will pass on your project and you will no doubt here a variety of reasons from, ‘We already have a similar project in development,’ to ‘It doesn’t fit with our current slate of films,’ or my personal favorite, ‘we have already committ...

In March, I planned a meet up on Stage 32 with fellow filmmakers. I named our group the Midwest Film Group. We met and decided that we would make our own short film. It was that simple. We had no money, no script, and no equipment.   What we did have was our passion for movies.   Our next step was to have everyone come up with three ideas for a short script. We had a lot of great ideas. Eventually, we decided on a comedy Alice Has It Under Control. The script was about prim and proper Al...

This week Stage 32 and the Stage 32 Happy Writers descend upon Austin, Texas for the Austin Film Festival. We are proud to be a sponsor of the 2015 Austin Film Festival and we have a week filled with educational panels, events and more! We invite our Stage 32ers to come join us!   Here's what's in store:     We invite all our Stage 32 members for a fun night to celebrate the most creative community on the planet at the Handlebar Austin Rooftop Patio. This is a 21 and over event. Last...

Don't forget this Tuesday, October 20 is the FREE monthly online webcast hosted by our fearless leader, Richard Botto. This is FREE to our first 2,000 Stage 32 members that register. Every month RB goes over tips to best utilize Stage 32 for your networking and education, has on 2 industry guests and opens it up to answer questions from our Stage 32 community about the industry and your craft.   Join us at 1pm PDT for the October Edition of On Stage With RB by registering here!   Joining...

THE SHOOT DAY 1 It’s kind of surreal when your doorbell rings at 5am and twenty people enter like it’s just another day at their office. By 7am my house was a working movie set, complete with a green room for talent, hair and makeup station, video village, lit diffusion screens framing the exterior windows, giving it that unmistakable look of a movie shoot. By 8:15 we were behind about an hour due to an issue with my lead’s wardrobe and a difficult lighting set up in the garage. But by 8:30...