Financing

For the past few weeks we’ve been featuring videos in our crowdSOURCING series hosted by Stage 32 CEO, Richard “RB” Botto. RB authored his best-selling book, Crowdsourcing For Filmmakers, Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd to light the way for indie filmmakers and other creatives looking to make their mark with independent projects. In the new video below, he talks about how to use crowdsourcing to build an audience. “Boots on the ground,” as he says, are needed to carry the message of your...

In our ever so wonderful and creative La La Land, there is a crowded little neighborhood called Development Hell. The real estate that sits there can potentially be worth millions, but the building phase is excruciating long. So long, actually, that the developers and architects behind it often give up altogether or turn it over and sell it back for scraps. This is the sad place where creativity and passion are replaced by stagnancy and frustration. If you've ever optioned a project, that...

Is the trend to query production companies instead of reps with a script? It's a question that many Stage 32 members have asked in the past in our lounges right here on the platform. Now Richard Botto and Jason Mirch handle the question for a writer during the free "Ask Me Anything" webinar hosted by both gentlemen. A hint on how they responded? Query letters are tough. And if you have attachments to your film, maybe a letter can help. But don't dive in with a blind letter. Click below to hear...

Welcome back to our ongoing crowdSOURCING series. In today’s video, join Stage 32’s very own Richard “RB” Botto as he talks about how the team of the feature documentary film, Mile…Mile and a Half, used crowdsourcing to help fund their film AND create an army of support that led to selling out film festival screenings and debuting at #2 on iTunes, right behind Jiro Dreams of Sushi (with all sorts of incredible successes in between). And they’re still crowdsourcing their audience today! Prepa...

If you're a creative of any kind - actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, or any below or above the line talent - crowdsourcing is the tool you need to give yourself a competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace.  Winning champions of you and your work is essential! But did you know that you could crowdsource just about anything including locations and equipment for your project? It's true and it's proven! All it takes is your time and effort. Today's video explains why Crowdsourcing is...

  The Questions....         The Answers...   Them That Follow, a film produced by Bradley Gallo, was released August 2nd. Check local listings for a theatre near you!   Other Stage 32 Posts by Bradley Gallo:Introducing the Dear Bradley Monthly Vlog - 1Dear Bradley Monthly Vlog - 2Dear Bradley Monthly Vlog - 3Dear Bradley Monthly Vlog - 4               Bradley M. Gallo has 20 years of media and entertainment industry experience includin...

There is a massive difference between crowdfunding and crowdsourcing, yet the line between the two often remains blurred. Let me start by saying that Stage 32 was created using crowdSOURCING. By moving and engaging a crowd who, in turn, moved and engaged more of a crowd, Stage 32 quickly grew to boast hundreds of thousands of members.   Today, there are over half a million of you.   Click the video below to learn the difference between crowdFUNDING and crowdSOURCING, why it matters, and then...

Most indie filmmakers I know invest much of their time attending events and seminars about filmmaking. This is both good and bad. Good, because filmmaking is a business of relationships, so putting your best self – your “brand” out there, is always a plus. Bad, in the fact that conversations at these events usually center around, “How can I get my film funded?” What struck me one evening was that I was repeatedly spending my time in a room of broke-ass filmmakers commiserating with other broke...

You probably already know this to be true. Or you've surmised it. But now it's even more glaring, and actor Robert Di Niro is one of many investors stepping up to make it so: New York City is the new Hollywood. And this makes an awful lot of east coasters beyond happy. Outside of the already bustling industry, there's this: "De Niro is part of a group of investors, including his son, that is purchasing a five-acre lot in Astoria, Queens “to build a sprawling production and film studio,” r...

What happens when drop two New Yorker's in the middle of Hollywood?? A little bit of laughter and a heckofa lot of filmmaking insight. You've seen Richard RB Botto's free webinar, "Ask Me Anything." Sometimes he handles questions on his own and we love that. Sometimes he handles questions with Jason Mirch, Stage 32's Director or Script Services, and we love that, too. In this round, he's throwing the questions at fellow New Yorker, Bradley Gallo. (Bradley is a renowned film producer and do...