Networking

Happy Thursday, Creative Community!  This one comes up in the Lounges constantly, and I've answered it in more comment threads than I can count. Usually in a few paragraphs, usually while a conversation is already halfway to an argument, and never with the space it actually needs. It's time we really dig into it. A member posts about a project they worked on. Or they post about a professional they've met and are excited to be working with. Someone else in the thread points out that the proje...

A guy once reached out because he wanted to volunteer on a proof-of-concept I was shooting in a few weeks. Great, I thought. He had never worked in film, but he was willing to show up, and willingness counts for a lot. So I sent him a list of jobs we still needed filled. Yes, production assistants. We needed PAs. His reply was: “Oh, I was thinking like... writer. Like, I could write some of your material.” I told him, as gently as I could, that writing was not what we needed. More importantl...

Happy Monday, Creative Army! Almost nothing in this industry happens because someone read a cold submission and loved it. It happens because someone knew someone. Because a producer remembered a writer they met three years ago. Because an executive asked their assistant if they knew anyone who could handle a rewrite, and the assistant did. That is not cynicism. It is not a complaint about gatekeeping. It is simply how a relationship-driven business works, and once you see it clearly, it chan...

Hello, Stage32 Creative Community! I hope you’re all doing well in these challenging but exciting creative times. Today, I’d like to talk about networking and how it can change the game for filmmakers. I’m a communicator, but sometimes I’m not! I don’t typically define myself as either an extrovert or an introvert. It depends on the situation, the people around me and, honestly, sometimes simply the day. So, how did I learn to find a balance between those two sides of myself? Before I shar...

Happy Friday, Creative Community! Welcome to the first edition of On Location. Every month, I want to give you something the trades mostly do not: a clear look at where production is physically happening around the world, what is driving the movement, and what it means for the people who actually make things. Crew, ADs, production staff, location managers, actors, and the producers hiring all of them. Because the industry conversation tends to fixate on what is selling. This series is abou...

Hey everyone, Sam Rivera here, your Dev Services Coordinator. If you've been following The Industry Pulse, you know we're all about cutting through the noise to find the real signal. And right now, the signal is loud and clear: the traditional path to making movies isn't the only path anymore. I've been watching this wave build from my seat at Stage 32, where I work with writers and filmmakers every day who are trying to find their footing in a changing industry. What's happening right now isn...

When we start writing screenplays, it’s easy to become obsessed with the destination. The meeting. The manager. The producer who loves our script. The competition placement. The option. The words: “We want to make your film.” Those things are the dream. They’re the reason many of us keep putting ourselves through the strange combination of rejection, rewrites, self-doubt and ridiculous hours that comes with trying to build a career in film. But recently, I found myself asking a different q...

Happy Monday, Creative Community! Look at what this community just did together. Through the July Filmmakers Club, we shared our work, took on weekly challenges, learned directly from executives in AMAs, and celebrated each other's wins. Then all through August, we dug into crowdsourcing: how the biggest success stories of the year came from creatives who built their crowds first, and how a crowd that believes in you becomes the engine that carries your career. Two months of the same lesso...

Hi, Everyone! I'm Laura, the Marketing Coordinator here at Stage 32 supporting Development Services, which means my job is all about connecting this incredible global community of 1.5+ million creatives with the executives, services, contests, and opportunities that can move your careers forward.Before joining the Stage 32 team, I was Content Manager at FX Networks with The Walt Disney Company, where I supported the launches of new and returning shows including SHŌGUN and THE BEAR through webs...

What's up, Creative Army! Last Wednesday, I sat down for a couple of hours with our Writers' Room members and answered everything they threw at me. I told you before the event that I had spent this year in the meetings, on the road, and on the phone with executives, producers, financiers, and buyers, and that I wanted to hand as much of that over to you as I possibly could. That is what we did. Amanda Toney moderated, our members brought their questions, and we went straight at the stuff tha...