Inspirational

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 Nerstalgic, we're taking a look at visual effects from a different angle. It's pretty commonplace today for big studio films to be filmed largely on a soundstage with almost nothing but actors and green screens (or blue screens). The film SIN CITY is almost 20 years old, but...

Fragile, resilient. Perceptive, narrow-minded. Reclusive, convivial. As writers, we are all these things and more. We are the canaries in the coal mine, the watchers against the dark, the mirrors of society. But if we are empaths and mirrors, what do we do when society has a really bad day? Or a really bad week? Or months? Or a year? If you were fortunate enough to listen to Rebecca Day’s session at the London Screenwriters Festival Online in 2021, "Where's your head at? Mastering creative un...

My fellow filmmakers, my name is Tim Ogletree and I’ve been chasing this thing since January 2009, just on the heels of the last WGA strike. After graduating from The University of Texas at Austin with a Radio-TV-Film degree, I made the official move out to LA with a pretty killer short film and a truck full of clothes, books, and DVDs. The short caught some eyes, landed my writing partner and me a manager, and catapulted us into meetings and pitches that led to our first feature script. Two wee...

My name is James Kicklighter, and I am a Stage 32 Thought Leader and a multi-award-winning Film Director and Producer. I have been fortunate to direct documentaries (The Sound of Identity), narrative films (Angel of Anywhere), and advertising across the country and around the world.   I hope that you enjoyed Part I of my discussion with my collaborator and friend, Emmy-nominated Director of Photography, Jonathan Pope (The Social Dilemma). Because we had so much to talk about, we thought it bes...

When I wrote my first book, it was an adventure. Not only was it my first major project, it was the moment I realized just how little I knew about the craft of writing. I was two years into my professional writing career when I shifted from short stories to my first book. Sure, I’d written “books” before. But trust me, those will NEVER see the light of day. That already made this one different. I was not writing it for fun or because writing is my passion (though both of those statements are...

Happy Monday Stage 32-ers! Over the past 12 years, we here at Stage 32 have been thrilled to be recognized throughout the industry as the leaders in online film craft and business education. We are honored to be partnered with some of the most prestigious film festivals and markets in the world including the American Film Market and the Cannes Film Festival Marché du film to name a few. Now, for the 8th year in a row, we are thrilled to be joining forces with one of the few Oscar-qualifying...

Hey, Stage 32 Community! Over the years, Stage 32 has been a lot of different things to different people. It’s been a community, a network, a family, a mission, a call to action, an opportunity, a refuge, a school, a mentorship, a marketplace, and so much more. This week, in celebration of Stage 32’s recent 1 Million Member Milestone, we’d love for you all to share your answer to the question, “What does Stage 32 mean to you?” All you need to do is upload a short video to your external socia...

If you’re a writer—whether you’re a writer of books, short stories, poetry, screenplays, or stage plays—you’ve likely gotten in your head a time or two about your writing. I can’t tell you how many times a story sat in my head for days, weeks, months—or even years sometimes—simply because I couldn’t get it to come out on the page as genius as it was in my head. There’s this ridiculous idea we have as writers that our genius is supposed to naturally share itself on the page as if it were li...

Happy Sunday, Creative Army! First, 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 around 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. First up, showing the power of a united force in this industry, SAG-AFTRA Presi...

It’s true that the writing sample is the most important part of any query letter. However, you need to spend some time making sure that the query letter is solid as well. First impressions matter, and you can rub agents the wrong way if your query letter isn’t up to snuff. Here are the 10 biggest mistakes screenwriters make when querying. 1. Using A Generic Greeting If you are submitting a query letter, address the agent properly by name in your greeting. It’s unprofessional to use a...