Filmmaking

There is now an audience for your film. If you’re an indie filmmaker working on nominal resources someone will state you are doing too much on your own. And? You will be. Ignore anyone with this attitude who tries to denigrate you for doing so. Provided you’ve one, made a film, two, aligned it in genre, and three, made it to a technical standard at feature length, it’s very likely an audience will now find your product if you can master the basics of self-distribution. The window of expos...

  The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is around the corner, starting on May 17, 2022 in Cannes, France. Stage 32 is proud to partner with the Cannes Marché du Film for our 6th year as an education partner!About the 2022 Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film Get ready for the the year’s largest international in-person gathering of industry professionals! With in-person events making a grand return this year, excitement is brewing for the 2022 Marché du Film.What Can you Expect? 9...

I started my professional life with a lot of interests, which resulted in an eclectic career working with journalists, politicians and CEOs. But one of the most interesting interludes I’ve had was when I fell into a job managing an Olympic legend and four-time gold medalist. Greg Louganis was coming to the UK (where I live) for the 2012 London Games and after I’d spontaneously sent him a fan letter, his business partner wrote me back to ask if I could help with some arrangements. I couldn’t h...

It has been a strange two years for film festivals, but they are coming back in person and we are (at last) able to see our films in theaters again! It is thrilling after all your work on a film, to have the exhilarating experience of a dynamic and successful Q & A at a film festival with a packed audience. Conversely, most of us have experienced the shock of seeing a Q &A where no questions were asked. Worse, is having your short screened with others and ending up the only one not having a qu...

Many people dream of being a screenwriter while still young; I came to it later in life. Having just turned 40, I was in Boston with an injured back while serving on the security detail for Secretary of State John Kerry, when I was reading a book and suddenly it came out of nowhere, "I have to turn this into a screenplay." [Even though I didn't own the rights. I found out how that works much later...] Eight years later, I have my first shopping agreement. One might ask, "how do you keep going...

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 Film Riot have a fascinating video about how music is one of the main ways to convey tone/genre in your film. By using examples from Mad Max: Fury Road, Reservoir Dogs, and more - you will see the effect that different styles of music can have on the experience your audience will have, no matter what is happenin...

When one is starting out on the journey in acting, the conventional wisdom for decades has been to choose between New York or Los Angeles. East Coast or West Coast. Broadway or Hollywood. In the last 20 years, other cities have competed for films as a production hub: Vancouver, Toronto, New Orleans, Chicago. In the last 5 years alone, Atlanta has become the busiest production center in the country. There are pros and cons of living in each one of these locations; and one might feel forced to m...

As writers, we often hear the phrase, “kill your darlings.” But, that phrase is often in the context of cutting out writing or scenes that don’t work, slow down a piece, or are utterly unnecessary. Recently though, I’ve found myself taking it another way. I’m one of those people who work on multiple projects at once, and two of the things I’m working on had a similar thing happen. I cut an entire character from both. This can be more painful than cutting scenes or entire plot points. In bo...

The power of story: You are either moving forward or you're dying back. Halfway through my senior year of college my husband died in his sleep. There were no warning signs of illness. He went to bed with a few sniffles. Later, I was told by our family doctor who read the coroner's report, "C" went into a coma and never woke up. All my worlds ended that day. You're asked to upend your grief to complete every minute task almost immediately after the death. Unbeknown to you, it's not the time...

Hello Stage 32 Creative Army! We are thrilled to announce yet another Stage 32 resource that you can use to learn and grow as a creative or professional in the entertainment industry - the Stage 32 Glossary! No matter what hat(s) you wear in the entertainment industry, there are a host of entertainment industry-specific terms and phrases you may come across in your career. To best prepare yourself for your entertainment journey, you should take some time to familiarize yourself with these te...