Networking

Are you ready to walk “into the room” and pitch to a decision-maker such as an agent, financier, producer, distributor or studio executive? Here are the top ten pitching tips to help you in a high-stakes situation. There are 5 Do’s and 5 Don’ts:   1) Do prepare for the five stages of the meeting. In Stage 1, you build rapport and warm up the room. In Stage 2, you ask questions and listen to show respect. In Stage 3, you deliver the prepared component of your pitch. In Stage 4, you d...

 In the five years I have been on Stage 32, I have read many threads and conversed with at least a dozen playwrights making the transition to screenwriting, in whole or in part. This is not surprising given the growing opportunities in the filmmaking and television industries and the shrinking budgets and opportunities in the theatre. In the past 20 years, I have written over twenty produced plays and musicals (I’m currently revising my 21st), for a variety of ages and audiences. Although, by...

Building, engaging, and moving an audience. That’s what the Crowdsourcing video series these past few weeks has been teaching you. As far as the advantage you’ll gain by reading the book? There’s more than one. Far more. Stage 32 CEO Richard “RB” Botto is the best-selling author of Crowdsourcing For Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd, the number #1 best-selling book on Amazon that covers how to find and move an audience to a point where they give back in ways that can only help...

This year at the Cannes Film Festival I had the opportunity to meet Heidi Philipsen, a dual-citizen filmmaker from the United States and Germany. With each country being different in the various ways they make films, Heidi realized that there is an opportunity for trans-Atlantic filmmakers to learn from one another and support each other creatively. So, she did something about it. Heidi put together a panel at the Hamburg Film Fest for Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) and NYWIFT...

The American Film Market is a great place to find partners and pitch projects and films – if you have a plan. Use these steps to increase your chances of success.     PROLOGUE If you have a project or script, the most effective use of your time and money is to purchase an AFM Industry Badge or Industry Badge Plus which allow access to all offices, booths and most screenings beginning on Saturday (Day 4). The Industry Badge Plus includes all conferences and the writers workshop. Buy y...

Should you create and control your own content as a screenwriter? With the industry turning the way it is (and has) for the last decade, it certainly doesn't hurt for a writer to create his or her own content Click the link below to hear what RB and Bradley have to say about writers turning into content creators.   See What RB & Bradley Have to Say!   Remember, if you haven't subscribed to our YouTube page, make sure you do so you don't miss any of our announcements.        ...

We’ve learned in the Crowdsourcing video series that in order to get ahead with any creative project, you need to have a competitive advantage. Stage 32 CEO Richard “RB” Botto is the best-selling author of Crowdsourcing For Filmmakers: Indie Film and the Power of the Crowd, an undeniably powerful book that delves into one of the film industry's best kept secrets: CrowdSOURCING. And the more you discover about crowdsourcing, the more you understand that it truly gives you a competitive advantage...

As a writer, your mind runs a million miles an hour fueled by high octane dreams, inspirations, and real-life memories. Your grey-matter cylinders are pumping away as your fingers bludgeon a keyboard, so much so to the point you probably should apologize to it afterwards. It’s because there’s always something missing. Some gaping hole within you that you need to fill, and you believe that creating some sort of literary art will help fill that, if only for the moment. That hunger just grows and g...

Good Morning, Stage 32 Family! I've got some interesting videos for you this morning. While so many of us work in the film industry, there are reasons we stay and reasons we're no longer a part of it. Take a listen to the Top 5 Reasons Why People Leave the Film Industry. For some, breaking up the amount of time in between gigs is a temporary leave and they come back. For others, not so much. Take a listen to the Top 5 Reasons Why People Leave the Film Industry. Next up, we'll showcase just t...

As human beings we all go through different and uniquely challenging phases in our lives. We learn how to express our happiness, how to deal with our pain, and how to move on from things that make us miserable. As artists, on top of the unending list of phases that we encounter, we face two more challenges: Getting work or not getting work. If you're working so much that you worry you might not even have time to spare at all, that's great. That's what we hope for as hungry, starving artists. How...