Filmmaking

I began my adventure in the world of cinema and television in 2000. As the readers of this Blog will understand, it has been a carousel of emotions, with ups and downs that little by little, through hard work and gaining experience, have turned the balance to more successes than failures. This would not have been possible if I had not understood the importance of my own constant evolution and that of my teams. So, little by little, we became more seasoned and professional until our first comp...

So you want to create your own content for social media, what do you need? Your phone. The end. Now that’s probably the shortest blog ever, so I’ll elaborate. Your smartphone is an incredibly powerful tool, and if you have nothing else in your arsenal, your phone can do just about anything. There are three important aspects needed to create good content. You need to be clearly seen, clearly heard, and clearly understood. 1- Be Clearly Seen (Video, Lighting) If you’re an actor, you’ve...

Before we do anything else, let’s get the trite, buzz-wordy - and largely inaccurate - piece of non-advice out of the way first: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” It’s pithy and sounds so wise. And you’ve heard it so often that it basically just folds into any conversation you ever have about how to build your network. It’s also one of those nothing phrases that people say without really digging into it deeper. The first major problem with it is that it’s not who you know, but i...

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, in this inspirational video from Crimson Engine, he presents an interesting question- What if one person could be an entire film crew? When you create outside of the larger Hollywood system and take a chance on yourself, it’s possible to just pick up a camera and create. These days it’s easier...

When my friend and creative collaborator Caroline Slaughter first pitched me her concept for the short film LAMB in late 2017 at the start of the #metoo movement, my first response was “Hell Yeah!” (actual response censored) and my second was “Here is a chance to create change”. LAMB is about an eager and trusting filmmaker who follows a female assistant from a hotel lobby to a secluded room for “a meeting” with the assistant’s boss... Were these female assistants who led Hollywood’s lambs to...

Happy Thursday, Creative Army! While you may have missed out on getting to attend the Cannes Film Festival in person, you certainly won’t miss out on the incredible insights that were shared there! Stage 32 was proud to present 3 expert panels at the Cannes Marche du Film which we will be sharing with you right here on the Stage 32 blog in the coming weeks. At this year’s Cannes Film Festival, I had the distinct honor of leading a conversation between acclaimed Producers- Daniel Bekerman (AP...

Once on set, I think of the 1st AD as the present, planning and keeping the day moving forward. At the same time, the 2nd AD is the future, planning and spreading information for the following days. Before Filming Begins The 1st AD gets the script and breaks it down into a schedule with all the puzzle pieces – Working closely with the director, everything having to do with the script is decided - locations, cast availability, equipment, day vs. night, sets, props, stunts, special effects, and...

Over the last 20 years, I have employed a lot of people for crew positions on features that I have produced and directed. As much as I would love to say I use the same crew every time, unfortunately, that is not always the case. When starting out, the logical choice of course is to hire people with the most credits on their resume, however, that is not necessarily the smartest approach. As I reflect back on the films I have crewed, I have learned a few things that I would like to pass along to y...

Welcome to July Filmmakers Club, Stage 32! Week 1 of July Filmmakers Club was an absolute blast! For any of you who missed it, you can go back and ready last Monday’s incredible blog HERE, jump into the Filmmaking Lounge to catch up with everyone HERE, or watch my live Q&A with Daniel Sol from HollyShorts on our @Stage32 Instagram HERE. This week, we’re talking all things CREW. Most people, inside and outside of the industry, have familiarity with the primary “above the line” crew positions...

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, in this video from Studio Binder they’re breaking down the full Pre-Production Process in Film, diving into the preparation necessary before the camera rolls, including the individual film crew roles, responsibilities, and processes. It’s an in-depth look at arguably the most important stage of...