Producing

As we think about our work as writers, sometimes we forget that there are “off the page” skills that we need to develop as well. We spend a lot of time on craft, focused on dialogue, character arcs, and plot outlining—everything we need to make a strong story. But building a career as a screenwriter—or as any kind of creative—involves more than writing. Entrepreneurship, professionalism, productivity habits, and presentation skills are four “off the page” skills we can develop as we master ou...

Hey, Creative Army! Digital Journal recognized our fearless leader founder & CEO Richard "RB" Botto's contributions to the creative industry and interviewed him this week. In this article, RB discusses what it’s like as a CEO in the digital age and what Stage 32 is doing to support the workers affected by the strikes. RB also addresses his thoughts on artificial intelligence (AI) and on the future of the entertainment industry. This is a can’t miss read, especially if you’ve ever wanted a look...

Happy Tuesday, Creative Army! As you know, mental health is a very important subject to me. My mission, and that of everyone here at Stage 32, is to provide our members with a safe, motivating, and collaborative environment. Somewhere free from the toxicity of broad-based social media platforms. In celebration of World Mental Health Day today, I want to share the below video with you all. In this video, I’m joined by author and actress Stephanie Szostak (A Million Little Things, Devil Wears...

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, if you've been keeping up with some of the most popular shows of the past few years, then you've likely seen THE BEAR. It's incredibly compelling television at every level and one of the elements that makes it so great is how the series edits across storylines in the montages used throughout th...

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 Letterboxd, THE CREATOR director Gareth Edwards (also the director of ROGUE ONE) explains the cinematic and visual references that he utilized and was inspired by while working on the new film about a future war with A.I. One of the most interesting moments happens about half...

You’re a filmmaker, a writer, a director, maybe even an actor. You want to keep working, but the phone’s not ringing so… you decide to shoot a short film. Before you start down the rabbit hole you may want to ask a few questions. Why do I want to shoot a short film? What resources do I have at my disposal? What resources will I need to obtain? And the most impactful question: What’s it going to cost? Anyone who has ever taken on the challenge of shooting a short knows that there ar...

Hi, Stage 32 Community! Our Stage 32 Team has been working diligently to bring in as many new resources and opportunities as possible to enrich your experience here in our community! At Stage 32 you have direct access to industry professionals who’ve written, authored, developed, produced, directed and represented acclaimed projects like BROOKLYN STORY, THE NIGHT OF, HIS DARK MATERIALS, A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES, THE BEAR, THE AMERICANS, EVERYBODY HATES CHRIS, MY FRIEND DAHMER, MY TRUE CRIME...

Hey, Stage 32 Community! Happy Fall! Over the past month, our Stage 32 Education Team has been hard at work to bring in some incredible education opportunities and resources for this fantastic community. This October, you'll have the chance to learn from knowledgeable industry executives, video game writers, award-winning filmmakers, NYT best-selling authors, acclaimed producers, financiers, screenwriters, distributors, and representatives. Impressive creative professionals who have worked o...

Back in 2010, I shot my first feature film in HDV on miniDV tape. Once finished I formatted the hard drive to make the next project. Unthinkable really, but I did this as I knew HDV wasn’t a great technical standard and I couldn’t afford a new drive. More recently, I watched sixty or so hours of those tapes imported back into Final Cut Pro 7 for a potential remaster. It flashed me back to how naive I was when it came to the data created by film production. Whatever your role in production is,...

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, audio can often make or break the quality on a film (even if more and more people are watching things with captions). In this video from the Standard Story Company, you'll see tangible ways you can get the audio you need on your productions, no matter how limited your budget. Next up, we're l...