Cinematography

Happy Three Day Weekend Stage 32! As many of you may know, I host an Instagram LIVE every week on @stage32online highlighting some amazing Stage 32 members from all over the world. This week, I had the supreme pleasure of chatting with Australia-based actor, producer, and screenwriter Annisa Belonogoff. Annisa recently wrote an article for the Stage 32 community called "Producer/Director/Writer/Actor - You Can Do it All... But Should You? At one point or another, you are going to be the bear...

You’ve heard the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none”? I’m going to start with something controversial, I hate that quote. This quote has been preached to me on many occasions throughout my career and I can imagine it will continue for the rest of my years. Why this quote? Because my creativity is hard to grasp, I do many things, and can do many things well, does this sound like you?. Your creativity doesn’t fit in the societal norms of occupation, the idea that we decide to be or do o...

Back in 2006, a buddy of mine had an idea. He loved horror movies, he knew someone with a camera, and he had been writing horror-themed stories since he was a teenager. He’d also been acting in theater productions around the region, and figured he could get a few people together for a weekend here and there. And that’s exactly what he did. He turned one of his stories into a script. He pulled a few folks together. He started filming. Many people do this sort of home-grown filming now, but 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, Apurture shares how to nail cinematic film lighting in your next project. They talking using key lights, shadows, camera placement, color contrast, and fill lights to make your subject beautifully cinematic. You will see examples from commercials and films like Atomic Blonde, The Social Network,...

Black Creek originated as a writing exercise during quarantine. Now, it’s an independent TV pilot with network actors, Sundance Fellows, and a cutting-edge health and safety solutions company attached. Michael Goitanich and Connor Pannell, the Canadian/American co-production duo behind Black Creek, discuss what they learned throughout production, virtual post-production, and their plans for distribution. This article focuses on what we learned during production, to learn how we handled pre-pro...

Hey, Stage 32-ers! It's been said that this business is a marathon, not a sprint. Nothing quite highlights the need to reserve your energy like a pandemic, but sometimes keeping occupied during downtime is the best way is to step back and absorb. You may not know this, but I first signed up for Stage 32's Writer's Room about a year ago because they hosted weekly webinars every Wednesday at 4pm PST. Jason Mirch has fostered a fantastic group of dedicated writers with these webinars, and we just...

The world is changing quickly and the phrase “new normal” is being bandied about with abandon. Even though filming is limited (at best), development continues to move forward and that means producers are busier than ever. In the entertainment industry, scripts continue to be optioned, projects continue to get developed, talent continues to find representation, and production is slowly starting to resume in LA and more so all over the world. So what does producing look like in this "new normal"?...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! Here's hoping you had a happy, healthy, and creative week. I've got my coffee in hand and some epic content to share with you today. Let's get inspired, shall we? First up, the folks over at Aputure have curated an excellent video with 7 Tips for Telling Story with Lighting. Filmmaking is an incredibly collaborative medium. No matter what discipline you work in, every job on a production is, in one way or another, there to serve the story. This video highlights th...

Happy Saturday Stage 32 fam! Here at Stage 32, we always have our ear to the ground when it comes to industry news. Our mission is to keep our community educated, inspired, and motivated. Naturally, the topic of productions starting back up has been a hot-ticket item in the industry. We were proud to share two Stage 32 member's stories about their experiences shooting during the pandemic. Emily Skye, a director, screenwriter, and cinematographer, shot her award-winning short film River in No...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! Welcome to August. How was your July? What did you create? I have some great content for you this Summer Sunday that is guaranteed to stir up some creativity. Grab your coffee and let's dive in.  First up, YouTuber ponysmasher (aka David F. Sandberg, Director of Shazam!, Annabelle: Creation, & Lights Out) has put together an awesome video detailing the tools he uses to make his movies - plus even cheaper alternatives that still give you a cinematic look and feel....