Cinematography

Dear Stage 32ers and Fellow Peers, I’m a DP/Filmmaker/Aspiring Director based in LA. I am here today to shed light on something that is not discussed often. Lenses and sensor size. Am I a lens whore? Yes! Do I obsess about color and image quality? Yes! To be a cinematographer means having a healthy dose of obsession. Your job, first and foremost, is to serve the director’s vision and storyline. Also, to provide ‘eyegasm’ and entertainment to the audience. (I just made the eyegasm word up but...

*An important new development with What Lies Ahead: We will now be premiering March 1st in theaters in L.A. and New York. March 5th will still be VOD, DVD, and (we just learned recently) REDBOX! For the past few weeks, we've taken you on the road with the creators of the feature film, 'What Lies Ahead' starring Rumer Wilson and Emma Dumont. Today we continue with Part 3, where the creators take us behind the scenes of a shoot that came to life beautifully with very little rehearsal time. 'What...

Good morning, Creative Army. Welcome to Sunday and another edition of Coffee & Content. First up this week, writer/showrunner Dan Harmon has never been shy about expressing his opinion or documenting his struggles as a creative. Here, he provides some writing advice and how to avoid procrastination. There are some great nuggets in here - "It doesn't have to be good - it just has to exist." - is one that stuck with me. Be sure to grab something to write on as you listen! Next, an absolutely f...

We see lots of writers here on Stage 32 with pilot ideas, completed scripts, even polished indie TV products, just waiting to be born again. It's no secret that things in the industry are changing for indie creators, and this year at Sundance, it was proven once again. "Filmmakers converge on the 10-day festival, hoping it will make their dreams come true. However, Jaffe, [a filmmaker] marks a new kind of talent: He made a pilot, not a movie, and he’s part of a 2019 TV class that saw big ga...

Since I was 12-years-old, I have always wanted to be in the entertainment business. I wanted to launch the next great entertainment company and have been pursing this ambition at great personal cost. To date, I haven't yet achieved my vision. But that's okay. Today I want to share my journey, as I suspect many of you can relate and substitute your own name for mine. A Let Down Disguised as an Encouraging Gift 2018 was a particularly hard and painful year. Once again, I found myself without a...

Last week we started you on the journey with Part 1 of this series. This week in Part 2, we take you into the production, where the three creators of ‘What Lies Ahead’ talk money, strategy, and family as they drove the backroads of Kentucky in preparation of shooting their film. As a reminder, What Lies Ahead was put together with no less than a dozen Stage 32'ers including writer, William Viglione, director Rob Gardner and on the producing team, Joe Burke, Stage 32 Managing Director, Amanda Ton...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army.  Fired up this week to bring you another edition of Coffee & Content. Let's get right after it. Every week, without exception, I receive a few dozen direct messages here on Stage 32 as well as on my Twitter & Instagram accounts from creatives looking for social media advice. Many of the curious identify themselves as introverts.  Also, without exception, I receive dozens of DM's from creatives who have no relationship with me (and many times, not even following m...

Every Tuesday for the next five weeks we're going to take you on the journey of the feature film, What Lies Ahead, starring Rumer Willis and Emma Dumont. This film is the result of blood, sweat and tears from an incredible group of Stage 32 members. It was written by William Viglione and directed by Rob Gardner. The feature is produced by William, Rob, and producing partner, Joe Burke and co-produced by our very own CEO, Richard "RB" Botto, and Managing Director, Amanda Toney. Stage 32 Script...

Greetings from Sundance. It's cold up here! Time to keep warm and informed with a Sundance special version of Coffee & Content. Today, I have two videos from our friends at ScreenPrism. First up, a slew of screenwriters who have had their work screen at Sundance offer their advice on writing, festivals and navigating the business. Next, we turn our attention to directors who have had their films play at Sundance and their advice on techniques, tips and tricks when directing an indiefilm....

In an effort to outwit, out-win, and outshine up and coming streaming competitors, Netflix announced last week that the entity is prepared to pay upwards of $12 billion dollars in licensing and producing content in 2019.   Even with this announcement, some studio partners holding licensing agreements with Netflix (like WarnerMedia sharing Friends) haven't pulled away from the media giant. This may go against WarnerMedia's strategy to bring owned content ‘in-house’ in an effort to make it...