Trending Lounge Discussions

The hottest discussions in the Stage 32 Lounge.

Liked by Sam Sokolow and one other

Cyrus Sales
Bringing Stories to Life Through Sound & Animation

Hey everyone, Cyrus here.

I’m the Founder and Co-Owner of Creative Station, where we focus on animation, sound design, and post-production. I’m also a Lounge Moderator for Animation and Post-Production here on Stage 32. My background is in audio engineering, and I’ve spent years working on sound desi...

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S K

i can assist in writing?

Cyrus Sales

S K pleasure to get connected. I saw your connection come through. I'll shoot you a message.

Sam Sokolow

Great to see you, Cyrus Sales - thank you for all you do for the community. For someone creating an animated film or TV series, what are some of the best resources that you can recommend?...

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Liked by Sam Sokolow and 11 others

Christopher Wells
Filmmaker

Hey everyone. I hope everyone is having a productive weekend. As the weather get's nicer, I hope people are encouraged to go out and shoot a film.

I think, even with a low to no-budget films, a good hack is to pay attention to your sound design. Thats something I think often isn't taken advantage of...

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Vital Butinar

Hey Christopher Wells nice to meet you.

I agree good sound is important. Just recently I shot my first feature, we shot it with the Blackmagic Pocket 4K and used some 32 bit mics to record really nice...

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Ashley Renée Smith

Happy Introduce Yourself Weekend, Christopher Wells! Love to see you jumping in and reintroducing yourself!

Libby Wright

Agree 100%

Cyrus Sales

Christopher Wells As someone who works in post-production sound, thank you for highlighting that, it really can’t be overstated. Too often, we get contacted as an afterthought, with the hope that audi...

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Sam Sokolow

Yes, Christopher Wells - sound is so important and often overlooked or not prepared for properly. I was just speaking with an animator - so not apples to apples - but we touched on how shows like Sout...

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Liked by Darrell Pennington and 12 others

Till Olshausen
Middle - End - Beginning ?

Here‘s a first little thought about the intricacies and effectiveness of storytelling structure.

One of the most basic storytelling advices I suppose everybody heard a lot of times is that a good story needs beginning middle and end. But even this simple truth is a lot less basic than it seems at fir...

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Till Olshausen

D Stenard ir seems to have worked out for, though. :-)

Till Olshausen

Kimberly Cummings Hey Kimberly,

thank you for asking.

I think that reverse storytelling for example works well with who-done-it stories like detective and crime. It's not super fresh in that case and al...

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Kimberly Cummings

Hey Till,

I really appreciate your perspective especially what you said about reverse storytelling working well when the audience is uncovering something they don’t fully understand at the beginning.

I...

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Devon Callahan

I like the good middle and end. It helps me better than the traditional three act format. Frankly if I don' t have a good opening and don't know how my story ends, I don't have a story.

Timothy Liebe

"Starting in the middle" is "opening in media res", and while it can work because you open your story at a moment of crisis or action? A lot of editors/script readers/producers HATE it, and call it a...

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Liked by Michael Dzurak and 13 others

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh
Happy Norooz (and IYW!)

Greetings everyone, happy Norooz~ It's nice to meet you all, either again or for the first time :) My name is Banafsheh, though I also go by Bana. I've been on Stage32 for a couple years and I'm still less than 5 years into screenwriting. I'm mostly a novelist and occasional comic artist, and the bi...

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Libby Wright

Hello again- always great connecting with you!

Michael Dzurak

Really cool to have you here Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. I always enjoy catching your posts on the home tab. Cheers.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Thank you Libby Wright, you as well~

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh

Thanks so much Michael Dzurak~

Liked by Jim Boston and 3 others

Judith Pajer
Are your script projects your teachers in disguise?

Hello fellow writers,

I’ve been working on a new project recently and I’m currently deep in the research phase. What fascinates me most is how much you actually learn along the way.

It stops being just a story for entertainment purposes— it becomes a journey into something deeper: into human nature, i...

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David Taylor

Yes. All the time. You are always learning the different ways people tick.

Jason Green

Judith Pajer I develop stories as an outlet — a way to put what’s inside me out: experiences, thoughts, ideas, knowledge. It’s more about expressing than consuming; maybe that’s age or just where my f...

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Judith Pajer

Thank you for sharing this, Jason Green — that’s beautifully put. I really resonate with the idea of turning experience into meaning. There’s something powerful in that process....

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Judith Pajer

So true, David Taylor

Liked by JD Bock and 14 others

Advanced to the Quarterfinalist Round

I’m happy to share a recent milestone in my writing journey. 

My first screenplay, Errors We Carry, is currently in the Quarterfinalist round of the Stage 32 TV Drama Screenwriting Contest and is selected as one of six top scripts for OWA 0601. Grateful for the support and excited to see where it goes next.

Judith Pajer

Congrats Shamila Habibi! That’s truly a milestone! Wishing you the best of luck

Darrell Pennington

Shamila Habibi this is AWESOME!!!! COngrats.

Richard "RB" Botto

Massive congratulations, Shamila Habibi. Love that title!

Shamila Habibi

Thank you so much, Richard "RB" Botto . Stage 32 has played a big role in helping me navigate this path. I’m not sure I could have moved this quickly without Stage32. Grateful for the support of this...

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Shamila Habibi

Judith Pajer Darrell Pennington Thank you!! I appreciate your support....

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Liked by Elara Wright and 12 others

Reintroduction and completion.

Hello everyone!

I'm a UK-based writer of dark fiction, with my second novel, 'The House That Screamed' due for publication in June (screen rights unencumbered).

It's a meta horror with found footage elements set in NY State. 'The Amityville Horror' for the digital era.

Amanda Toney

Sounds like a cool project Alex! Have you thought about writing a screenplay adaptation?

Alex Hunter

Amanda Toney it's very screen-friendly, not least as the haunting leads to a movie franchise!

But I'm not keen on adapting my own work, I rather like the idea of leaving it to someone else....

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Ana Cristina Rodrigues

"Hi Alex, your project sounds amazing! I admire how you’re blending meta elements with suspense—this kind of storytelling really pushes boundaries and engages the audience on multiple levels. I also f...

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Elara Wright

Hi Alex,

Congrats on the upcoming publication of "The House That Screamed" a meta horror with found-footage elements already suggests a strong atmospheric engine, and framing it as Amityville for the d...

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Liked by Adriana Cannata and 7 others

Libby Wright
ISO A Team: How Many Connections Can We Make This Weekend?

When I was 19, a version of this happened to me. "After uncovering her fiancé's double life, a young nurse crafts The Husband List—a set of impossible expectations as a dare to God—to find the perfect partner, ultimately discovering the true meaning of love within her close-knit Southern community."...

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Marie Hatten

Hey Libby Wright congrats and best of luck putting a team together.

Catherine Saykaly

Sounds like an amazing project Libby Wright Much success assembling your team.

Ashley Renée Smith

Happy Introduce Yourself Weekend, Libby Wright! Love to see you reintroducing yourself! Definitely keep reaching out to the Stage 32 Success Team at Success@Stage32.com, so they can help you find a pa...

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Liked by Kakha Beridze and 14 others

Jason Green
Full send.

Wrapped a major one this week.

After a long, disciplined push, I finished my feature screenplay THE LINE OF DEPARTURE — a prestige horror piece that demanded everything from me in terms of structure, emotional architecture, and control of tone. It’s the most challenging and complete work I’ve done to...

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Jason Green

Abhijeet Aade Appreciate that — the emotional architecture was the hardest part to get right. The horror only works if the grief underneath it is real first.

The specific challenge with this one was ma...

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Robert Hamilton

Jason Green That makes a lot of sense — especially the idea that fear comes from the space before something happens.

That’s the kind of tension I’m trying to lean into. Letting the audience feel some...

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Elara Wright

Congrats on getting THE LINE OF DEPARTURE across the finish line, Jason. That kind of sustained push especially on a prestige horror piece where tone and emotional architecture have to stay precise is...

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Robert Hamilton

Elara Wright I really appreciate that — especially what you said about escalation and maintaining tension over a longer form.

That balance between deepening the concept and letting it plateau is somet...

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Jason Green

Elara Wright Thank you — and you’re right that festival selection is its own discipline. Getting the script in front of readers who understand both craft and genre positioning matters as much as the w...

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Liked by Lauren Hackney and one other

Deborah Bete
Writing a pilot vs a feature

Writing a pilot is harder than writing a feature… at least for me.

You have to build a world, introduce characters, set the tone — and still make people want episode 2.

A film feels… simpler somehow.

Am I the only one?

Debbie Croysdale

I don’t find a pilot harder than a feature to write, cos I always think, does this story have legs? Although feature films are time limited, I often leave enough rope for prequels & sequels. Regards p...

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Lauren Hackney

I am right there with you. I started my journey writing novels and chapter books then moved to feature film screenplays. I can't write for TV - hard no. So I am with you on this one!

Liked by Meriem Bouziani and 12 others

Gareth Taylor
20 years of looking at life through cinematography

Hi everyone! I'm a cinematographer with 20 years of experience behind the camera. I work on films, docs, commercials, branded content, music videos, TV and everything in between. I'm also an educator and thought leader on this platform. I love creating and collaborating. Whether small or big project...

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Raven Riley

I love how you're sharing your genius with us here on Stage 32. That's amazing!

Vital Butinar

Nice to meet you Gareth Taylor. So what kind of stuff are you working on now?

Me I'm in post with my first feature film.

Marie Hatten
Ashley Renée Smith

Gareth Taylor!! Happy Introduce Yourself Weekend, my friend! Have you been working on anything new that you’re excited about?

Gareth Taylor

Ashley Renée Smith Vital Butinar My latest feature premiered 2 weeks ago. Here's the trailer: https://vimeo.com/1172795610?fl=tl&fe=ec. Besides this, I shot a commercial last week and have a documenta...

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Liked by Ashley Renée Smith and 17 others

Ela Ilham Schoening
Stories where music, emotion, and power collide

Hi everyone,

I’m Ela, a screenwriter from Germany.

I’m currently working on a project called The Singer, a story set in a world where music is forbidden, and one voice can change everything.

My background is actually in music, so rhythm and emotion are always a big part of how I write. I love stories t...

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Darrell Pennington

Ela Ilham Schoening I love this idea! There is an album by one of my favorite bands, Rush, called 2112 that addresses very similar themes.

Elara Wright

Hi Ela,

Great to meet you, and The Singer sounds like a very evocative concept. A world where music is forbidden immediately creates both thematic tension and strong visual storytelling possibilities....

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Catherine Saykaly

Hello Ela Ilham Schoening , good to meet you virtually. Much success with the Signer and looking forward to your project thrive. Are you looking to shoot it in Germany?...

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Jack Binder

Hello Ela Ilham Schoening Congratulations on your project and being a Stage 32 Member! Bravo!

Ashley Renée Smith

Ela Ilham Schoening, thank you for reintroducing yourself, it’s so great to learn more about your work. I’d love to hear how your music background influences specific scenes or moments in your writing...

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