Inspirational

Happy Tuesday Stage 32!   I am incredibly honored to present to you the first of a series of vlogs from animation industry veteran, Frank Gladstone! Frank has worked for some of the biggest names in animation (Disney, Warner Bros, and DreamWorks, to name a few!) in his 45+ years in the industry. Frank is also currently the Executive Director for The International Animated Film Society (ASIFA - Hollywood) which hosts the world famous Annie Awards honoring animators from all over the world.   ...

Keep pushing and trust the process. Hi, my name is Eric Jeske and my screenplay AVALANCHE won Stage 32’s Feature Contest. These two “mantras” are what shape my screenwriting journey. I came out to Los Angeles after college, like many, pursuing all that Hollywood has to offer - Improv, comedy, movies, glitz and glamor. But this town can be a tough-ass nut to crack. Keep pushing. So, you figure some things out, make some connections, pour your focus into screenwriting. The one thing you fe...

Happy Friday Creative Army! As you know, back in March, we announced and launched Stage 32 Screenings to help filmmakers who were impacted by the cancellation of their live screenings at film festivals all over the world. Stage 32 Screenings is a unique platform that allows filmmakers to get their films seen to a concentrated audience including thousands of distributors, sales agents, producers, financiers, development execs, and more decision-makers here on Stage 32. We are currently screenin...

These days there’s a pretty interesting battle raging between composers scoring films, and filmmakers using prerecorded tracks in their projects. Both can work, and either one can be cheaper, or easier to use. As a composer who makes tracks for music libraries, and scores films, I can give you some ideas about when and why you might use one versus the other.     1. Hiring a Composer Hiring a composer can be cheap or expensive, depending on their experience, business and artistic skil...

Producing a video for Father’s Day that would be both special and memorable was something I had set out to do…in just two weeks! Here’s how I managed to accomplish it and how it all came about.     The Challenges Yes, there were some challenges straight out of the gate. These included: So many things beyond my control because of Shelter in Place Casting Quality of videos submitted Remote directing Tight timeline The Idea I had produced a video for Mother's Day, and another...

Friends, family, project collaborators, social media connections—I’m sure your network is abundant. But in all likelihood, you’re missing out on a mastermind group—a creative support network of individuals who guide each other through professional challenges. Mastermind groups are well known in the business community, yet rarely used by filmmakers, writers, actors, and other artists. Personally, I think it’s time creatives start leveraging this idea for themselves.     What is a Mast...

I’ve been a freelance writer for about eight years now. I got my start with a series of historical novels – Agent of Rome – first published in 2011. I was teaching at the time but determined to make writing my career, even when the cheques from the publishers began to dry up! It was quite difficult to begin with but I’ve stuck at it and it’s gradually got easier over time. I work with a wide variety of clients, mainly from the States, usually writing novels, screenplays and content for computer...

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, Cinecom.net has a great way for you to stay creative between gigs - shooting a library epic B-roll. In this video, they give you 10 simple steps to shoot really extraordinary B-roll footage of literally anything you have lying around your house. Cinematic footage of a coffee cup is sure to come...

From the devastating loss of a loved one, to job loss and medical issues in the time of Coronavirus, I have personally dealt with trauma and loss from many angles. Despite all that, people around me always compliment me on my sunny attitude and ability to get up when I’m knocked down. I want to help you use your struggles as a means of unleashing your creative power not only as a way of healing yourself, but as fuel for your creative career.     Take Time to Process the Grief My partne...

We’ve all heard the myth about the starving artist. This is the myth that artists need to suffer for their art if they want respect as an artist. This crazy myth has been around for over 150 years and unfortunately many artists today still believe it. The myth started in 19th century Paris with a group of artists who lived passionately for their art, but also lived in poverty. The artists were nicknamed “the water drinkers” because they couldn’t afford to drink wine. Writer Henry Murger wrote...