Trending Lounge Discussions

I think dialogue-driven is still important this day, and I'm not denying it's true. However, I think it's better not to provide too much exposition for audience to sit back, and hear the whole yapping session. Depending on the genre and the story you're telling,

That's why I like to use the methods called "Show don't tell". It's the way provide the information through visual, body language, facial expressions, location, cinematography, camera movements, lighting, and colour psychological through costumes, and sometimes colour lighting.

The answer is best provided by research v. asking us. Take some time, dive into a little research and see what's out there. A better answer will be had.

Kelvin Bernards Great point, Kelvin. I completely agree that “show, don’t tell” is one of the most powerful tools in filmmaking. Even in dialogue-driven stories, the subtext, body language, and visual storytelling can carry a lot of emotional weight. For me, the most interesting moments are when dialogue and visual cues work together to reveal what the characters are truly feeling. Thanks for sharing your perspective.

Lindbergh Hollingsworth That’s a fair pointresearch is definitely important. At the same time, I think conversations like this can also be useful because filmmakers and producers bring real industry perspectives that research alone sometimes can’t capture. I appreciate the suggestion though.

Blue Moon on Netflix is a great example of how it still works. That movie is nothing but dialogue. Of course it came from Richard Linklater who is famous for these sorts of films, but they still get made for sure! Rye Lane is another great example from a couple years ago.

Thunder, thanks so much for taking the time; your tremendous amount of encouragement and support are priceless.

Sanna Peth Before the pandemic, I would have said it was important to live in Los Angeles. But everyone's so used to doing meetings over Zoom these days that even when you ARE in L.A., your meetings tend to be zoom. So I don't really see it as such a big problem to be overseas. Obviously time zones are an issue. Wherever you are, you'll have to be prepared to be available during business hours in L.A. Of course, there are also cases where a writer or director from a particular country is preferable because of some incentive that country offers for native production. A lot of U.S. TV is actually shot in Canada, and if I were a Canadian citizen, I could get some of that directing work, but because I'm not, I can't. Maybe that was the issue in your case? The one advantage that remains to being in L.A. as a writer, is networking. It's a lot easier to have that chance encounter with someone who might be helpful to your career here. I've made some good connections at parties I just happened to attend that never would have happened if I'd lived somewhere else.

Michelle L. De La Garza Honestly I love it all. (Well, except for having to wake up before dawn to be on set. That part sucks! But I suppose we must all sacrifice for our art...)

THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT, THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS EVERYONE! IT WAS A BLAST!

If you'd like to see me teaching another lab, let Stage 32 know! And I'm available for script reads, consultations, first tens, etc. Good luck with your writing!

Thunder Levin One of the producers was Australian, and for him it was a tax issue that I don’t live there. In the other case, I’m not sure what happened, because after I replied to him, he never responded again.

Otherwise, yes, I’ve talked to quite a lot of writers through social media, but from a small town in Hungary networking definitely starts from a bit of a disadvantage. From your experience about meeting people at parties, it seems like it might be time for me to take out my party dress too.

I like when some aspects of story are open to interpretation. What’s in The Pulp Fiction briefcase? Is Deckard a replicant in Blade Runner? These questions are not meant to have firm answers.

I just rewatched Primer, and although I love the movie, there are at least three ambiguous elements, and at least one of them is a plot point I needed more clarity on.

The balance of mystery vs confusion is always one to consider. Too much confusion and the audience will check out.

Hi Mike, thanks for sharing your perspective.

For me, ambiguity isn’t just a resource to avoid explaining things. I see it as a fundamental element that can shape characters and the way they evolve. Ambiguity changes the characters themselves, because when something cannot be fully understood, each character reacts to it differently. In that sense, ambiguity affects both the audience and the characters within the story.

I also agree that ambiguity used poorly can lead to confusion and make the audience disconnect. Finding the balance between mystery and clarity is probably one of the most delicate parts of storytelling.

It’s this kind of ambiguity (handled with intention) that stays with me long after the credits roll.

Thanks again for adding your thoughts to the discussion.

-Alejandro

When I talk with writers about their work, I often need to ask “what is actually happening?” followed by “what do you want the audience to know and when?”

The writer needs to know everything, then decide how big a window to use to show it.

Hi Mike, thanks again for the insight.

What you said about the writer needing to know exactly what is happening and then deciding how much of it to reveal really resonates with me. While revisiting parts of my script these days, I realized how important that control is when working with ambiguity.

For me, the challenge is not whether to use ambiguity or not, but how consciously it’s shaped so that the mystery serves the story instead of weakening it.

I really appreciate you adding that perspective to the discussion.

– Alejandro

Fun festival! The panels are absolutely worth attending. Love the banquet.

Jerry Robbins Congratulations! That’s an amazing achievement. Wishing The Kid – Blood and Legend great success at the festival. It must be a surreal feeling to see your work screening at the TCL Chinese Theatre during the Beverly Hills Film Festival. All the best to you and the entire cast and crew!

Bravo!!

Well done, Jerry. Congrats! You'll have to let us know how the premiere goes and if you have any tips, do's or don'ts to share with the community!

congrats!!!

Decks are only useful if you're a director. As a writer, no one is 'expecting' you to come up with visual material. More often than not, the lower quality images scream amateur. A strong, well-crafted treatment/written pitch with an intriguing concept and well-executed storyline will do wonders. The visual pitch deck is only helpful if you are creating a world etc. but it needs to look good.

Also, if you’re interested, there are ways to generate AI images so they’re much harder to detect as AI and even my methods that make them difficult for others to regenerate or impossible to recreate by other AI softwares. Happy to share more about that if you’d like the service :)

Geoffroy Faugerolas I am wanting to make sure I understand your response. So if we are writers only, is there no expectation that we have a pitch deck to go along with the pilot? That would be something that is created in conjunction with someone after the pilot has generated interest? If so, who takes the lead in getting that pitch deck created?

I use A.I 3% for grammar, spelling, word searching, and Google searches, which is way easier for me as a writer since not everybody has the time to help me improve my writing through storytelling and word choices. 97% I put my own thought into work.

Darrell Pennington To pitch a TV series, you really need a pilot script and a pitch bible/deck. What the pitch bible/deck looks like is up to you (it's salesmanship), but a 3-5 page treatment or a 10-page mini bible written in prose with no visuals can be enough to help you sell the project. If your project would benefit from a visual deck with pictures and a sizzle reel cut from other projects, why not. You just have to ask yourselves what do you need to sell it and what's adding value vs. cluttering. I've seen creators sell projects with a 2-page treatments, other with a 30 page bible. Some do visual presentations, others no. See what works best for your project, your world. But if you do decide to make a deck with visuals, it needs to look pro and make sense tonally. If you don't make it, the producer will guide you on what's needed, what they expect to pitch it.

hope it all works out! have a great day

me neither man!

Amazing Justin Groats things are going great for you! Good for you!

Good stuff Justin Groats, congrats!

Hey Aleia. it's nice to meet you

This is good to know. Nice to meet you.

SAG AFTRA has a list of franchised agencies on their site. You will need to do your homework and look up the agencies to see if they accept NU. Since you already have a NY agent, I would ask them. They most likely have contacts in LA. If you can get a referral from another actor, that also helps. Network, network, network. You need to build relationships with actors in LA. People aren't going to recommend someone they don't know.

From what I’ve seen, actors often stay close to their marks during long dialogue scenes so the camera and focus stay accurate. But even then, subtle movements, reactions, and timing still play a huge role in making the scene feel real

This is truly incredible! 10/10

In my opinion, it is very cliche and vague. "web of betrayal" "forbidden love" "buried secrets" are all terms used a thousand times before. "coincidence is no accident" "survival demands blood" is very vague and means nothing-be more specific. 2/10

Hello Tugume, it's nice to meet you. I hate loglines. They are like first impressions in dating. I'm terrible at both but I'm a kickass partner and writer. I deliver the goods. But don't ask me to sell them.

So now having disqualified myself from giving you the answer you want, my first impression after thinking, "Oh not another sordid tale of crime and chaos in a part of the world Americans are already afraid of," it's a perfect logline that has all the elements--clrar statement of what it's about, what happens and lots of sizzle. My feeling of "Oh no, not another" that tells me it's a predictable scenario with hopefully a less predictable story to come--a good advertising technique, i.e. talk to them in their language and then bring them into the darl underworld where nothing is clear or predictable--is the best viable commercial technique. Now for the less appealing news: The very thing you need to pull them i --meet their expectation--is shat will make them react, "Oh not, not another one." That's why I've gone the complete opposite route and steered clear of commercial feasibility by writing a unique story. Which approach will work better? More than a few have told me it doesn't matter; unless you have connections, it probably won't even be read, let alone noticed. But if either of us has that lucky charm

Interessante, Parabéns!

Jason, it's called the scene weave (that's what I was told it was) because you're cross cutting. If you want the best example: Star Wars Return Of The Jedi. The final act is cross cutting between three characters/locations: The space battle with Lando, the ground battle with Han and Leia, and the battle between Luke, Vader, and the Emperor. No matter what the cut was the audience always knew where they were and what was happening. Put the parking brake on and give it a watch, see if it helps you out.

Good question, Rowan! Do you have any post-prod facilities near you? Color correct with an DCP output is good, but you'll need a facility to check it for you. Even if it's 60 seconds as a test sample. Reach out to Vashi Nedomansky at Vashi Visuals. Ping him with this and he should be able to help you out.

First thing I would recommend is exporting an XML of your film and color correcting in Davinci Resolve! it’s worth learning because, while I prefer to edit in premiere, resolve has better tools for color. (That said, there are some restrictions in the free version if doing 4K or using a second monitor.)

When doing color, make sure you can watch the film big —a second monitor is a must, preferably 4K.

Edit programs I’ve used don’t export DCP directly. You’ll need to run your files through an app like DCP-o-matic (free!) to create your JPEG-2000 sequence and associated files. You can check things (sort of) with a DCP viewer app, but it’s best to check in an actual movie theater.

I have multiple avenues to that — I teach at a film school — but you might try paying a local theater a small sum to test your film off hours. Best to try an independent theater, not a chain.