Trending Lounge Discussions

Sean Flanagan - consider forming a relationship with a smaller animation studio that works with the larger ones as well as streamers. You might get a bit more insight about the market talking to someone like that. If there's one close by to where you live, even better.

Sean Flanagan This is a great post and you’re asking a lot of the same questions I’ve been thinking about for a short I’m currently working on. The packaging side of animation development is something I’ve been trying to better understand as well, especially how different buyers respond to different levels of attachment.

I don’t have anything concrete to add yet, but I’ll definitely be following this thread to see the insights people share. Really interested to hear how others have navigated it.

Bob Harper great feedback! Things I personally need to think on especially "What are you offering them besides a concept and your stellar personality?"

Leonardo Ramirez As a smaller animation studio, it’s also something for me to consider and continue developing, building strong relationships with larger studios and streaming platforms. Thank you for the insight!

Sean Flanagan This is a really great question! First, let me say it’s amazing that you’ve already put together an amazing project based on all you’ve accomplished thus far. Obvi it’s amazing project to have attracted talent at this stage. Animation is an incredibly difficult market to get into. In my last position through a deal at 20th Studios, I brought in an animated project that was considered. There were two producers attached along with a very high profile actress and the amazing creators. We went in with an amazing pitch and character drawings. I think the reason we intimately weren’t able to sell the show is because we did not have a showrunner who had experience running an animated show attached. I’d like to take another swing at the series and when / if I do, I will try to partner with a showrunner and animated studio that has sold and produced shows that understand the stories and world our project.

Whitney Davis how are you finding possible showrunners? Ive got connections to a few but all in the live action space, so I absolutely get the obvious appeal of saying heres the person qualified to run the multi-million dollar budget of any season of TV -- but as with most of Hollywood - its easier said than done. Ive heard so many horror stories since the strike of writers rooms being made up of entirely show runners because they bring in their friends to help them get work, and then everyone has the added "sex appeal" of being over qualified...

I'd be happy to and I'd love feedback for a swap too!

thanks Libby - I've submitted a network request and we can then share email addresses so we can send one another attachments

Hi! I'd love to join the mutual exchange, too

I am also available to exchange feedback on your drafts. I have only five years screenwriting, three scripts in constant rewrites and three in first draft; nothing sold. My focus has been features and pilots, mostly adventure and dramedy. Happy to offer my insights.

Thanks so much Cole Potter - I'll send you a message with a link to the episode now - it's really just the opening scenes - first 12 pages - I'm keen to get feedback on but if you fancy reading on, please do - and do send me something of your own

Dwayne Williams 2 helpful only if they are actually attached or you have signed LOIs. Else they are just a wish list that implies certain required budget.

Thanks for the insight Shadow! Quick question — how would you recommend actually attaching talent to a project at this stage? Is it best to consult directly with agents/managers to secure LOIs, or is there a specific process you recommend for getting legitimate attachments before presenting the project?

Hi Syed Turab, welcome to the Stage 32 community!

Psychological thrillers that challenge perception can be incredibly influential, and it’s great to see filmmakers from Lahore bringing that voice to the global stage. Your focus on stories that leave audiences processing after the credits is exactly the kind of storytelling that resonates deeply.

If you haven’t seen it yet, Stage 32 has a helpful blog that shows how to navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry professionals worldwide:

https://www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-p...

You can also reach out to the Education Team at edu@stage32.com if you’d like recommendations on classes, labs, or webinars related to filmmaking and psychological thrillers.

And the Success Team at success@stage32.com can help guide you toward producers, executives, and collaborators within the community.

Looking forward to seeing the stories you bring to life here!

thank you for navigating, that would be a great start!

Sometimes this process can even start with the query/pitch by including specific talent names for characters or roles such as: "The protagonist is a Jennifer Lawrence type," or "A David Fincher vibe," etc.

Kevin Birnbaum Everyone will be able to make their own stuff...but will it be good? Will it break through the noise with no promotional efforts? Can word of mouth suffice? For some, it will. But not for all. AI won't change distribution channels drastically. There will be new algorithm-driven platforms deciding who watches what. The game will change but the concept will remain the same: you can't create or write in a vacuum.

"You can't create or write in a vacuum." Really? You're not understanding what I'm saying, and I get that. I'm a creator. As a writer, I write what I want. Like any novelist, poet, or playwright. I've made a few indie features, and I've been asked how to become a film writer. And I respond, do you want to write for Hollywood or just make a movie? Does a trumpet player want to play for a symphony orchestra, in a jazz band, or just solo? The fact is, the trumpet player, like the painter, singer, or writer, has it in them to create. It's not really a choice. It's who we are. From your viewpoint, I understand that if you want to make it in the world of huge budgets and stars, you can't create in a vacuum. You have to work within a system. And it's that system that has seen to it that you have a better chance of becoming a successful blackjack player than of becoming part of Hollywood's chosen. The goal, for most creatives, is to share their work. Now your goal, in the business side of show business, is to make a lot of money. AI will allow writers to create their vision. That's all I'm saying.

Geoffroy Faugerolas I still favor the mulit-cam projects, so Chuck Lorre is my ideal showrunner. Still trying to figure out how to get on his mailing list.

At the very likely risk that I will at least be thought of if not labeled a 'brown noser' haha (I've been called much worse TODAY) I am often surprised at the level of pushback articulated by Stage 32 members when presented with the realities of 'how the industry works', as if offense is taken by the reader at what is being told.

While not everyone on here has a dream that involves breaking into the industry and they just want to be creative, most of us all dream and that dream almost always involves figuring out a way to become PART OF the industry, not figuring out ways to exist outside of it. I get really frustrated daily that my projects haven't been 'greenlit' but my frustration is independent of thought leaders and industry professionals explaining how it usually works. I actually appreciate that message even as it deflates me just a little bit more.

So, thanks to all the contributors here explaining the difficulty we will face in realizing those dreams. it sure is a lot more helpful to have Stage 32 as a resource than not to have it.

would love to connect with you! feel free to send me a dm do you have a Budget?

Viper Cameron-Lovell I currently don't have a budget but we can talk about it in DMs. Do you have Facebook? I am more active in Facebook messenger.

Viper Cameron-Lovell or you can give your email. we can talk through that. I have some questions to ask.

I typically avoid music cues. Music rights can be very expensive and it's certainly an emotional risk to pigeonhole yourself into one note for a scene because the chances that scene is going to have that music in a finished product are incredibly low and if you haven't been through it before, it may be upsetting to you.

Also, it's a risk because if you name drop a song you like and the reader evaluating your script doesn't know what song that is, they have two options:

1) put your script down, go look up the song. This is bad because you have now sent your reader away from your script. They are no longer reading but engaging with something else. Which is typically not a desired outcome.

2) don't care about what the song is and move on. This is bad because it means they are disconnecting from your script anyways already if it doesn't matter to them.

neither of these are great outcomes for the writer. thus, I typically avoid music cues.

Pat Alexander another very painful but much needed insight....the pain..........

Meriem Bouziani, that’s such an honest challenge to share, and I think a lot of writers feel that same tension when they’re polishing a script.

It can be scary to feel like the language or structure might hold back an idea you care about, but the fact that you’re aware of it and actively working to strengthen it is a really good sign. Keep going, and don’t be afraid to test different approaches as you refine it. Sometimes the best solutions appear after a few rounds of experimentation.

Yeah, I’m trying—I hope I’m doing it right. Thank you very much for your encouragement. Ashley Renée Smith

Thanks yeah Ashley Renée Smith, especially since I remember saying I’d never adapt any of my works into new media lol but in fairness I’d been meaning to give the story a proper edit/rewrite and I figured it would work pretty well as a screenplay (plus I rather missed the sarcastic energy of my social satires; Lunar Window has a bit of it but Metal Garden’s is much more pronounced). It’s definitely a good challenge seeing how much I can transplant over from the novel and what I should probably leave behind in the novel. Genuinely makes me appreciate now how book to film adaptations pretty much always make cuts.

Thank you, I will :3 I’m gonna need to rest today anyway. You know it’s bad when I actually need coffee rofl

hi Ashley Renée Smith

I really like this perspective. For me right now, growth means pushing myself to learn more about storytelling and the craft of writing. Being part of communities like this helps a lot because you get to see how others think and approach creative work.

Love those questions, Ashley Renée Smith. For me it’s always been about learning across different forms of art and creation.

Long before I started writing, I was deep into video and VFX. I never fully finished mastering everything there, so I’m actually circling back into that space again. I’m also stepping back into 3D design after a couple of years away, which has been exciting.

Over the years I’ve explored a lot creatively — I filmed music videos for a band I was part of, spent years designing merchandise and graphics, and I’ve been drawing for over 10 years. I’m planning to get back into drawing again as well, partly just to show myself that the creativity is still there without needing AI or graphic design.

On the technical side, I also spent years studying business intelligence, coding, and data analysis and earned a few certifications so I could eventually build and run my own studio the right way. I’ve also taken time to learn the legal and business side of creativity — patents, copyrights, licensing, and music licensing.

Recently I even created a theme song for my project Blood Magic, so I’ve been stepping into making quick songs once in a while too.

For me it’s less about one lane and more about constantly expanding the creative toolkit and pushing into areas that help me build the worlds I want to create

Sanna Peth Red flag

Brett Wickman Yep, that “one script” prob won’t sell when you first take it out, so you have to have more.

Spencer Robinson Thank you very much for your help! You saved me from wasting about $3200. It turned out that the profile was indeed fake. I’m really grateful that you let me know.

Great insights here, Spencer Robinson. Could you expand a bit for the community on what you mean by “somebody I want to speak to” and your “no a-hole policy” when deciding whether to sign a writer?

Dwayne Williams 2 Somebody who is not an asshole

can you send me more details on the producer and director opportunities!

Thanks for reaching out. The project is a prestige TV drama currently seeking literary management and production company interest. Best of luck with your work!