Stage 32 5-Part Private Pitching Lab: How to Master Your 5 Minute Pitch (February 2024)
Other education that may be of interest to you:
Breaking Down the Pilot Script: Emmy-Winner Succession
This script breakdown has a 100% satisfaction rating! The hit HBO show SUCCESSION has shattered Emmy history with a record-breaking 27 nominations for the 2023 Emmy Awards alone! Add that to the 13 Primetime Emmy Awards they've already won, as well as the dozens more nominations over its 4 seasons, it is safe to say that SUCCESSION is one of the greatest shows of all time. As a creative, it's important for you to understand WHY it's so successful. In an exclusive Stage 32 Script Breakdown Webcast the Vice President of Production for Ian Bryce, Will McCance, will break down the first episode of the Emmy award-winning series SUCCESSION using excerpts from the pilot episode. Will McCance is currently Vice President of Production for Ian Bryce, producer of blockbusters like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, ALMOST FAMOUS, the TRANSFORMERS franchise, and most recently Michael Bay's SIX UNDERGROUND and FINDING 'OHANA for Netflix. Will has worked on hit television shows including THE BOYS and I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER for Amazon, PREACHER for AMC SWAT for CBS and MAX TILT for HBO Max. During this FREE Stage 32 Next Level Webcast Will will take you through the SUCCESSION pilot as he examines the main story engine introduction and themes, how character arc intros and drama is teed-up for the season, managing the script's pacing in an ensemble cast and exploring it's tonal elements, and much more! Plus, everyone who registers for the webinar will receive a copy of the pilot script of SUCCESSION to study after the webinar is over!
Learn How to Better Pitch Your Ideas: Go from Storyteller to Storyseller
Learn how to pitch your work so you can build a profitable career in film and television with the Vice President of the company behind Finding Ohana (Netflix), Saving Private Ryan, Transformers: The Last Knight, Almost Famous, The Boys (Amazon), Preacher (AMC), and more! Do you ever feel like your great ideas go unnoticed by producers, directors, agents, and managers alike, and that you don’t get the shot you're looking for as a result? This isn’t because these decision makers don’t care; it’s because you may not have pitched or sold your ideas the right way. The reality is, successful screenwriters are as much storysellers as they are storytellers. Whether you like it or not, your primary goal as a writer must be to stand out in a sea of competing projects. The bottom line: Whether you're a screenwriter, filmmaker, producer, or any creative or industry professional looking to gain representation, sell their material, attract talent, raise financing, or simply looking to find work, you will have to pitch. Further, you will be in competition with others pitching as well. You've put so much time and effort into your work and building your reputation, you don't want to have it all undermined with a terrible pitch. And the truth of the matter is that most people that pitch make the same fatal mistakes over and over. They don't know how to tell a concise, riveting story. They don't know what to put in, what to leave out, and what elements really and truly sell someone on their story. This webinar will give you insight and tools to pitch better and get ahead of the pack. Will McCance is the Vice President of Production for Ian Bryce, producer of blockbusters like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, ALMOST FAMOUS, the TRANSFORMERS franchise, and most recently Michael Bay's SIX UNDERGROUND for Netflix. At Ian Bryce Productions, Will oversees the company's entire development slate. Before working with Ian Bryce, Will worked in development at Original Film's TV department, working on hit shows such as THE BOYS (Amazon) and PREACHER (AMC), as well as on SWAT (CBS) and HAPPY! (Syfy). Independently, Will has produced films such as the upcoming LOLA JAMES, starring Nicola Peltz and Oscar-Nominee Virginia Madsen, BERNARD AND HUEY, starring Jim Rash, David Koechner, and Mae Whitman, as well as Belarus's 2018 Oscar selection for Best Foreign Film, CRYSTAL SWAN, along with Vice. Through his years working as an executive, Will has deep experience with working with writers and choosing to work with them or not based on their pitch, and is prepared to share what he’s learned with the Stage 32 community. In this exclusive on-demand Stage 32 webinar, Will will equip you with all the tools you'll need to elevate your next script to the top of the reading stack. He will discuss the various techniques of pitching, from finding the right words and unique style, to understanding which type of pitch to use and when. He will also analyze sample TV and feature film pitches and break down the hidden power of the perfectly-worded logline. He will teach you tactics, strategies, and even books that will make you a stronger storyseller, and in turn, a stronger storyteller. Will will even deliver a pitch of his own to use as an example and will share other film and TV pitches to analyze what works and what doesn’t. Through Will’s presentation, you will not only learn how to better understand and explain your story, but to also instill a newfound sense of confidence that you can take with you to your next meeting or pitch session. PRAISE FROM WILL'S PREVIOUS STAGE 32 TEACHING: "I would not have been able to advance in my writing career without Will McCance and the pitching lab. I highly recommend Will as an instructor and the pitching lab itself for Stage 32 writers. Thank you." -- Sean M. "Will's credentials speak for themself. He is an incredibly knowledgable executive with the passion to help writers get their projects moving forward. Thank you for all your help on my pitching for my feature!" -- Morgan M. "Will has been hands down the best teacher for pitching I've ever had!" -- Chase R.
Justine Wentzell, TV Development Executive
Justine Wentzell, former lead of MarVista's Acquisitions & Co-Productions team, will discuss the current feature market, including alternative avenues like TV movies, plus a live Q&A!
The Development Process: What Happens if They Want Your Script?
Learn directly from Joe Russo, an Independent Producer who has worked on projects with FOX, SyFy, A/E, Lionsgate Films and Universal Studios! You’ve spent days, weeks, months, maybe even years, toiling away on your screenplay. You’ve read all the books. You’ve taken the seminars. You’ve work shopped your script to death. You’ve crafted a sharp pitch and logline for your script – and now someone in the industry wants to READ your work! You celebrate this long awaited victory, but what happens next? What if they don’t just like the script you’ve poured your heart and soul into, what if they WANT it. In this Stage 32 Next Level Webinar, Joe Russo will shine a light and give an executive’s opinion and advice on a Hollywood process you’ve all heard of, but probably don’t know nearly enough about – Development. Joe has been recognized for his “firm grasp of the craft, solid storytelling, and compelling characters”, as well as developing many acclaimed projects. The path to taking your written words and turning them into a major motion picture is a tricky, windy road. You all know the coined phrase “Development Hell”, and too many projects fall into this pit simply because the process isn’t clearly understood at the outset. So join Stage 32 as we explore the complicated and fascinating world of Development, and all of the small victories and bumps along the road that you can experience on your way to the green lighting of your screenplay into a movie.
How to Write a TV Pilot That Can Get You Staffed!
How to Write a TV Pilot That Can Get You Staffed! It's every writer's dream to become a working writer, and in today's TV-driven marketplace it's all about having the right sample to show a manager, agent and/or show runner. That one sample can lead you to a full time writing job on new and popular TV shows. So many agents and managers that we know are thirsty for well written TV pilots because they know a good sample can get that writer work. A lot of our biggest success stories are from writers with a well written, unique TV pilot. Stage 32 is excited to bring you the previously-recorded 4 part class taught by Amanda Toye, a former development executive who has worked on over 100 projects turned professional writer with a script deal at Discovery Networks and a feature script filming through Good Deed Entertainment November 2017! Learn the insider tips and tricks to help you write a truly great TV pilot that gets you staffed! PRAISE FOR AMANDA'S TEACHINGS: "This class was amazing! Was invaluable insight and instruction!" - Becca Boyd
How to Get Past the Gatekeepers: Give Your Script the Best Chance for Success
It's hard to get past the gatekeepers and know your script is in a decision maker's hands. If a writer's sample script is excellent enough, the pieces start to fall into place: an entire script read, the writer recommended, the manager's decision to represent, the long and fruitful thousand-mile career. If a producer's script is perfect for the marketplace, a reader will get excited, move it up the ladder and then the wheels start in motion for finding financing, attaching talent and going into pre-production. None of it happens, though, if the script never makes it to the decision maker's desk. While the agents and managers of Hollywood excel at their jobs, they only have so much time in the day and most of it is not spent seeking out new talent. That job falls to the "Gatekeepers", the assistants and pro readers who tackle stacks of scripts every week hoping to find the diamond in the rough: a script they can confidently recommend. So, who are these gatekeepers, how do you even get to them and, more importantly, how do you win their endorsement to help move your script up the ladder? It's time to find out. Gabriel Chu works with artists, writers, and directors to identify and develop new ideas and stories, shepherding them from page to screen. As a story analyst at Sony Pictures, he works on current projects alongside the executive team and helps to field incoming submissions and identify new talent for the studio. Prior to joining Sony Pictures, he was an executive at Vertigo Entertainment, working closely with award winning directors and writers on both animated and live action film projects for Warner Bros., Lionsgate, and Fox Animation. Gabriel started his career at Bad Hat Harry Productions, and has also worked at Summit Entertainment and Mandalay Pictures. Through his career, Gabriel has served as a gatekeeper in multiple roles and knows intimately what it takes for a script to break through and make it to the right person’s desk, and he’s ready to share what he knows with the Stage 32 community. Gabriel will give you a rundown of how gatekeepers manage script submissions and what you can do to give your own script the best chance to be noticed and make it past those first rounds of coverage to make it to the eyeballs you’re aiming for. Gabriel will begin by explaining how scripts are able to get submitted to studios and other gatekeepers in the first place, including through agents and manager, through script competitions, other types of referrals, and through networking. He will also explain how taking the assistant route at an agency could help your chances of getting that script noticed. Next he’ll outline how coverage actually works at production companies and studios. He’ll explain the differences between the procedures at production companies, studios, and other organizations and what their differing expectations might be. He’ll delve into what roles read your script at what point in the process, focusing on the verticals at production companies and studios. He’ll explain the roles of interns and assistants, coordinators, story analysts, and finally executives, and what each role looks for when reading scripts. Gabriel will teach you the common formatting errors that knock scripts out of the running before people even start reading for content, including title page expectations, font and spacing, dialogue formatting, and other issues. He will share real examples of scripts that exhibit these errors to share what they look like on the page. Next he will go over narrative issues that can also sideline a submitted script. Finally, he’ll share other strategies that can make your script stand out to readers in these positions. Through demystifying the process of script reading and coverage as well as the people behind it, Gabriel will leave you with a concrete sense of how to get your script in front of the people you want to read it, and practical ways to help your chances. Praise for Gabriel's Stage 32 Webinar: I was very pleased with the webinar. The speaker got right to the point and explained exactly how the screenplay selling process works. Steven W. I loved how Gabriel didn't pull any punches and gave a realistic assessment of the realities of breaking into the industry as a writer. -Peter M. I loved this webinar because Gabriel talked about a variety of things from how to approach agents/managers/producers, to what not to do in a script. I learned a lot! -Melissa P. Amazing. I liked the "no sugar coating" approach. -Candice E.
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