Cinematography

Hey Stage 32ers! We have a fantastic industry creative here, Ryan Little, to share with you just a few of the tips he wishes he'd known when he was first starting out as a director.  As always, we want to make sure that our ever-growing Stage 32 community has access to as many valuable resources as possible through the blog, and that's just what Ryan has brought us today! Ryan Little is a director, producer, and cinematographer with over 20 years of experience in the industry. His first fe...

Welcome back, my spooky Stage32 Community!Halloween is almost here, and in this survival guide, I'll focus on a checklist of things to keep in mind when shooting a horror film. It's no surprise that horror films cost less to produce and shoot. A good example is Jordan Peele’s Get Out. James Wan made his career with the SAW franchise. Horror films bring in lots of money at the box office, and audiences flock to the screen to get their fright on! With that in mind, let's dive right into the belly...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! First of all, congratulations to all of you who have already participated in our monthly Introduce Yourself Weekend! Thousands of connections have been made between entertainment creatives and professionals from every corner of the globe. Whether you are a long-time member or brand new to Stage 32, take a moment to pop over to the Introduce Yourself Lounge and say hello before the end of the weekend. This week's Sunday dose of inspiration is all about Lighting. Wh...

It’s a familiar story: you have the ingredients, a completed screenplay, comparable films, a target audience, a finance plan, a marketing strategy, a ‘wish list’ of talent, location ideas, bundles of enthusiasm... But there’s one vital missing component: funding. As a ‘balanced producer,’ you try to be patient. You wait for emails and calls, make pitches, submit to competitions, consider mentoring schemes and courses, and throw everything at it. But the months and years roll on, and still noth...

In the wild jungle that is the film industry, this is the motto that I try to live by: Make your film no matter what.  Two years ago, in 2020, I finished and released my first film, a 20-minute-long romantic comedy titled Titus & Mirabella. Great timing, I know. And I mean this both in a sarcastic and a not sarcastic way. It was great timing because my film was dealing with the topic of germophobia, so I think it resonated with a lot of people, given the fact that we were going through a pande...

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, the folks over at StudioBinder share a fascinating look inside the cinematography of Better Call Saul. The critically acclaimed spin-off of Breaking Bad recently wrapped its final episode after six fantastic seasons. Specifically, this video looks at how the series' visuals matched the story's d...

With no filmmaking experience and lot of extra time on my hands, thanks to COVID, I decided to make my first feature film. For the second time. Quick back story. My first attempt at making a movie was in 2017. A friend of mine, who also plays a role in this movie, asked me to take a look at his short film. After watching he said he wanted me to help make it “better”. I gave it some thought and decided I would do it under one condition. It needed to be a feature. We made it as far as me finis...

The notion of a “New Cinema” is a notion based on re-defining the traditional cinema screen. Before we can talk about it, we will need to review and look at the traditional cinema screen to see how it’s being re-defined. In writing this piece for the Stage 32 community, my intention was that the result would be a debate where the creative community and business side ask if this re-defined screen makes possible A New Cinema or if this re-defined screen merely makes possible a new and special a...

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, the folks over at StudioBinder share a fascinating look inside the cinematography of Stranger Things. Specifically, this video looks at how the series primary director of photography, Tim Ives, used color, lighting, lenses, and aspect ratios to create the iconic 80's-style cinematic look of the s...

Through 14 years of working in the entertainment industry, I’ve learned that there will be many ups and downs in a dream pursuit. There will be obstacles, and good days, and opportunities, and rejections. The High Achiever (a.k.a. you!), needs a game plan through it all. The High Achiever needs to handle all of these moments intentionally and carefully, in a way that effectively keeps them on the path to success. That’s why I developed the 10 Pillars of the High Achiever. Here are the 10 pillars...