Filmmaking / Directing : What was the best thing you learned on today's AMA with our founder and CEO Richard Botto? by Amanda Toney

Ideas for networking/branding :)

Break past the comfort zone. Put myself out there. Know that there are MANY like minds.

Stay positive in your demeanour and avoid negativity, be the person people want to work with :)

"Embrace the marathon mentality."

SO MANY golden nuggets today. Many thanks Richard "RB" Botto and Amanda Toney for your time. LOVED the differentiation between pitching for film versus TV. I'm currently writing for both so that was a huge help. Also loved asking the question of Does what I invest in provide me access to the decision makers? Jotted down a bunch of notes and grateful for the shoutout RB. Look forward to connecting with others from today and being of support any way I can. 2020 has been AMAZING and I'm happy to share my experience. Please feel free to reach out if I may support you in any way. www.CaliGilbert.com

Happy Holidays!

If anything, I've learned that I'm not alone in being a beginner. Much thanks.

To think that myself and my writer name is a BRAND, like Wheaties, or (more sugar) Frosted Flakes. That is definitely a new mindset approach. Thanks RB!

Thanks to the AMA, I discovered the lounges today. Still learning how to use Stage 32, and now I see a useful way to connect with the screenwriter and actor tribes.

RB and the Stage 32 team. Thank you for the AMA and all the great work you're doing connecting us. Hope we get a chance to repay you guys at some point or another.

One thing that I took from the AMA and that I wanted to share is the importance of a pitch deck.

So this is something that I came across a couple of weeks ago when creating a pitch deck for a TV series I'd like to pitch.

Found it interesting and maybe it helps someone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzLfGgDmS7Q

Yes on your brand! What a great reminder also on the thanking members/colleagues for useful posts. All of it extremely helpful, thank you RB and Stage 32!

Break past my comfort zone.

Know I am surrounded by LIKE minded creatives.

Stay activated DAILY. Reach out and make the connections.

Great info on the importance of pitch decks. Many thanks!

Every time I watch an AMA with RB, I learn something new, every single time. It could be just me but that's how it is.

Where do I start? History of "why Studio 32," the lounges, what to do (build your "brand," hone your "in & out" pitching, etc.) and not do (query letters, be negative, etc.), how to get/give support for writing, and THAT WE SHOULD ALL BE WRITING NOOOOOW. A million thanks, RB and Team S32!

Such a fantastic and inspiring AMA to round out the year, thanks to both RB and Amanda Toney Here's to 2021, onward and upward!

Hi everyone! Thank you Amanda and RB! That was a great AMA (and my first!). Lots of great takeaways - the main takeaway for me is to put yourself out there, also the difference between pitching for film vs pitching for tv, and being aware of your brand.

As promised, here's a great video for everyone who asked How you can pitch your project to Netflix or Amazon: Pitch to Netflix or Amazon: https://www.instagram.com/p/CEZzJ2QBUrj/

Thank you Amanda!

Importance of networking and how Stage 32 does that. Been here since September and already have over 100 in my network! Been on twitter since 2017 and just got over 400 last week!

The importance of networking on a continual basis. Know your brand and put it out there. Take the actions and let the results take care of themselves. In other words don't take rejection personally, it's part of the journey.

The value of time, whether it's an exec's time listening to a pitch, this unprecedented time in Stage 32's/the industry's history, the necessity to plant seeds now to reap later, and the resilience needed to simply get through this pandemic period. RB's authenticity shown through to exemplify time's value by devoting over 2 hours to this session. Amazing.

There were so many other pearls of wisdom (I even jumped off my computer and onto my phone to continue listening while traveling). Some of the underscored points that jumped out at me - the power of networking, the benefit of branding yourself/power of image, and the necessity to move our projects forward now. Thank you RB and Amanda! I really gained a lot of insight.

Today's AMA was a great incentive to keep the fires burning this month and set up stronger for 2021. Thanks so much to both RB and Amanda for being so generous with their time and webinar content. Inspirational and motivational as always!

It's awesome to see all of us that have taken Richard "RB" Botto and Amanda Toney little nudge towards engaging and to those that haven't yet...JUMP IN! Even if you don't know what to say, why not tell us what you're working on or would like to achieve for 2021? Key things for me from the AMA are: Be Accountable. Be Active. Work Hard. Have Humility and Buy RB's Book! Haha, sorry, couldn't resist the last point but I'm actually only half joking about that. It's an incredibly insightful, informative and fun book and I've read through it twice now and one of the specific chapters: A case study on a short film "Shiella Scorned" has given me thoughts and actionable steps that I'm going to be taking for a specific project I will be developing in 2021. So thank you again to the Stage 32 Team for all your time and effort in supporting us all and again thank you RB, I'm setting up for an adventurous year!

I'm humbled by all the comments here and thrilled to see so many pick up the torch by taking my advice to get involved, be present and create opportunities. You ALL have something in common: You're serious about your creative pursuits. You took time out of your day to attend the webcast AND to post here. Be sure to start networking with one another. Make those connections. Cultivate those relationships. KEEP GOING!

All of your kind words have hit the mark. Like a blast of sunshine on my face. I'm entirely grateful.

And Jaye, thank you so very much for the kind words regarding the book. As I said on the webcast, crowdsourcing is more important than ever, especially with all of us at home. You can start at any time, work on it from anywhere and before you know it, you'll have an army of boots on the ground in support of you, your brand, your projects and your mission. Nothing stronger than that.

Here's is the link to the paperback, Kindle version and audiobook if anyone is interested:

https://www.amazon.com/Crowdsourcing-Filmmakers-American-Market-Presents...

It was definitely hard to hear that being a silent observer doesn't help your brand, but I needed to hear it. Also, very encouraging to hear that 2021 will be a gold rush for content. So glad I was one of thousands who joined the community this year. Thank you to RB, Amanda, and the Stage 32 staff for providing an amazing platform for us writers and filmmakers!

The gold rush for content in 2021 was quite encouraging and really lit a fire under me to be ready with multiple completed projects for next year. I always appreciate RB's honesty. Don't sugarcoat it. Tell me the truth so I can make better decisions. Another takeaway is you get out of your career what you put into it. If you aren't willing to put in the time honing your craft and learning why would you expect anyone else to .invest their time into you and your project?

Thanks for Inspiration , Aspiration and Motivation!

Chelsea Regenold as I like to say, when it comes to forging a creative career, nothing good happens in the shadows. You have to stand in the light to be seen. Hope you (and others here feeling the same way) will pick up my content challenge and post 3 pieces of content that you found helpful (or that you've created yourself to help others) over the next week.

Excited to be taking this journey with you on your script Martin Reese. I know you get the importance of not being precious when receiving notes and the need to hear things bluntly if any progress is to be made. Here's to the next level.

Holly Stanford - love the "embrace the marathon mentality" - because it is a marathon.

Oh man, this thread has made my entire day/week/month :)

To everyone here who's new to Stage 32: welcome! We could not be more thrilled to have you.

To the veteran S32ers: I hope you know how much we value you you as a part of our community and how insanely proud you make us every single day.

To everyone: I am so excited to get out there and fearlessly tell stories with you.

There were so many great takeaways from the AMA! And I am excited to be connected to all of the talented creatives on this thread. I am excited to be in direct contact with each of you either through the site or through my personal email (which is j.mirch@stage32.com for those that do not have it).

I completely agree with everyone who was struck by the idea of building your "brand". I also appreciated hearing from Louis A Blackshear. We're all beginners in some way, shape, or form. Even if that means being a beginner at using the site Tonya Todd! We're here to help! Same applies to breaking out of the comfort zone Jon Eric Preston and Chelsea Regenold! You will be surprised at how many people are willing to help you on your journey (reach out to the Stage 32 Script Services Team - we're here for you). And I so appreciate the passion and dedication of everyone, but especially Angela Fealy, David C. Velasco, Jaye Adams, Benjamin Gibson, and of course Martin Reese who I have personally witnessed working so hard in the Stage 32 Writers' Room (https://www.stage32.com/writersroom) and beyond.

I'm grateful to be a part of your network on the site and connected with you directly over email. You are always welcome to reach out to me with anything.

For me, it's never just the one best thing. Every time you guys do an AMA, I am left with recharged batteries and immense gratitude for being able to be a part of such a fantastic community. Big thanks to Richard "RB" Botto & Amanda Toney for taking the time to do this. Here's to a cocktail happy hour or two in 2021!

Your brand shines more than you realize, Nick. It's certainly evident in your Twitter account, but it's also very up front here in your selflessness and collaborative spirit in helping members of this community find success. Even the guidance you give in commenting on member's loglines is a shining example of your brand. You're a giver, my friend. A helper. A collaborator. I think that's obvious to anyone who comes in contact with you.

We're all about recharging those batteries and keeping our community motivated, informed and in the game Tony Germann - Truly appreciate the kind words. And the amazing comments from everyone in this thread! That keeps OUR batteries charged!

Already available, Aray! Here you go: https://www.stage32.com/webinars/Ask-Me-Anything-with-Stage-32-CEO-Richard-RB-Botto-F-2020-Edition

All past editions (for all interested) are FREE to watch and can be found under the Education tab on the menu bar as well.

Thrills me to no end that this was your takeaway, E. Thank you for sharing. To all others reading this thread, the entire AMA is available for free On Demand under the Education tab. Enjoy and feel free to come back here and comment on your favorite takeaways.