Trending Lounge Discussions

Hi, Fida Tareen. Welcome to the community. Hope you're doing great! Stage 32 has a blog that'll help you navigate the platform and connect with creatives and industry professionals all over the world. Directors, producers, executives, screenwriters, and more. www.stage32.com/blog/how-to-successfully-navigate-the-stage-32-platform-...

Stage 32's next Community Open House is Dec 29th (www.stage32.com/education/products/stage-32-s-december-community-open-ho...). It's free to attend. It'll also help you navigate Stage 32 and connect with creatives and industry pros.

Reach out to the Success Team at success@stage32.com. Geoff and his team can help you connect with producers, executives, and more.

I couldn't agree more with Maurice Vaughan! I'd also like to point that we have a great community job board that you can share your project needs! You can check it out here: https://www.stage32.com/find-jobs/add

Hey, Behnam Hojati. Stage 32 has VFX Education (www.stage32.com/education/search?term=Vfx).

Hey Behnam Hojati Awesome to see you back and diving into Nuke and compositing—building that workflow and consistency is huge. Would love to connect and share tips or even collaborate on small shots sometime. It’s always great to help each other grow!

Hi Behnam Hojati, I am mainly into Nuke and Houdini myself, and would love share ideas. I also have a free VFX course on Youtube that might help: https://www.youtube.com/@gyltefors/courses

Hi Behnam Hojati

You're welcome, Ulduz Karayeva. Hope you have a great week!

that's great Ulduz Karayeva - I see you're in the Writer's Room. If you haven't worked your pitch on Thursdays with out wonderful pitch prep guides, definitely do - then, as Maurice mentioned, start pitching it to targeted companies for this project. And Geoff's team can certainly help you curate.

I was born and raised in Dracula's country :) so I'm a fan already lol

Thank you so much for this Sebastian Tudores , I really appreciate it. Yes, I’m in the Writer’s Room and will definitely take advantage of the Thursday pitch prep sessions. And that’s amazing — being from Dracula’s country makes this even more special

Hi and welcome to Stage 32! It's great to meet you and I look forward to seeing you around the lounges.

Thank you Elle Bolan for the warm welcome! Happy to be here.

"Obvious" is in the eye of the beholder.

You could have been inspired by the arch know-it-all villain in The Princess Bride, and the overly suspicious relative may have noticed certain personality tropes are frequently repeated in real life.

If the offended relative cries fowl, just reassure the person, "You're much too wise to be THAT character." If he's truly egotistical, he'll believe you.

General note: Mark Twain frequently offended, and always entertained.

Fiction is a fun house mirror of real life. Be bold.

Never. Every character you write is going to reflect someone you know or maybe even never met. You can't come up with an original personality. If you have a negative character that someone is offended by, 9 out of 10 times that person is a scumbag but can't see himself through anyone's eyes than his own. Don't apologize to people that justify their own bad behavior by ignoring how it reflects on others.

I recently went toe to toe with a "manager" that doesn't seem to get any of clients any work and takes credit for things he seems to have had no part in. One of his clients won a participation Oscar for 22 minutes of screentime in Anora and he acted like he wrote and shot the movie. Meanwhile this was the first work his client had in 8 years. When I pointed this out, he was offended. If the truth offends you, maybe you should try a different approach to your life.

Moral of story; never apologize because someone acts exactly like one of your evil characters. It's their fault. Not yours. Of course you should use a different name. Let's not be too on point.

I love the wise, true, & tried advice! Thank you for your insight. It does seem to offend someone somewhere every time I write anything. Never my intention. Maybe they are people who want to be noticed most. LOL Fran Tabor "If the offended relative cries fowl, just reassure the person, "You're much too wise to be THAT character." If he's truly egotistical, he'll believe you."

I take pieces from various people I know, have met, or inspired by-- it's a fine line between replicating them and using certain things as inspiration. You're right- it's not worth hurting someone, but I'm also the person who in my writing-- loves honouring them too. --so It's a real balancing act. Morgan Hawke, an author who I have loved- did a course and wrote a book on how to adapt those people into characters so you can use their "Baseline" over and over. It's been my go to standard ever since I took the course. It's made a huge difference in how I portray those people. Even if I don't know them.

☝️ Hi Richard, @RichardRBBotto , hey can you please think about this?

@RichardBotto ☝️

Tommy Luca Thanks for sharing and encouraging members of Stage32 to look further into adding a lounge. I've been hearing more about art department over the last 12-15 months however I don't think I have a full grasp at what it is. You mentioned it starts in pre-production and goes down the pipeline and can often have several subcategories. What exactly is the "art department" and what roles does it play in pre-production? Thanks again for sharing!

All that you see in the pic is worth a fortune Tommy Luca

Art is a very integral part of film production as depicted in your photo Tommy Luca! With the proper public relations it most certainly can be beneficial

I myself is into art!

In a world that has completely collapsed, an ancient legend tells of a hexagonal star that appears once every hundred years on a clear night. It is said that whoever follows this star will find their salvation. Adam decides to leave his safe shelter to chase the star, searching for another world—one less cruel and toxic than his suffocating own—risking his only safe haven to embark on a harsh and unknown journey.

I like your logline, Sandra Isabel Correia! What really hooked me is a global agency trying to weaponize a cosmic signal shaped like a heart.

Here's my logline: After a powerful alien drains Earth of love, a loner superhero arrives in her hexagon heartship to defeat the invader and restore love, facing the alien's advanced technology and billions of cold-hearted humans.

Dolf Van Stijgeren I think producers and agents do stop by sometimes. They take a quick look, they scroll, they spot two or three interesting things. But let’s be honest: it’s not their main hunting ground. They don’t wake up in the morning thinking, “Alright, let me dig through Stage32 to find my next creator to sign.”

Most of the time, they show up only when someone is already on their radar, or after a recommendation.

Fares: Are you also going to tell me that I’m not the first one they think of in the morning? :-)))

lol Dolf Van Stijgeren : Here, it’s like any creative community:

if you want to get noticed, you need to show up, post, interact, leave a mark.

People are naturally curious, but they only become curious once they actually see you.

When you put something out there — an idea, a thought, a logline, a sincere question — you create a little movement.

And that movement attracts other movements.

You saw it yourself: you posted, and suddenly several people commented, discussed, engaged.

That’s not random.

It’s proof that visibility creates visibility.

On Stage32, the ones who end up getting noticed aren’t always the most brilliant at first…

they’re the ones who show up regularly in other people’s line of sight.

Posting, reacting, supporting others, sparking reflection, launching original topics —

all of that builds presence.

And presence eventually triggers curiosity.

Producers, script consultants, indie directors, other writers…

they don’t find you while you’re hiding in the dark.

They find you because, by being active, you become impossible to ignore.

Basically, Stage32 is like a crowded creative bar:

if you stay quietly in a corner, no one will ever know who you are.

But the moment you speak up, share, bring something real…

heads start to turn.

I don't know if agents check profiles for projects, but producers do, Dolf Van Stijgeren. That and networking are how I sold four short scripts to a producer. And producers, companies, etc. look for projects through Stage 32's Open Writing Assignments in the Writers' Room. Here's a post that explains what a Stage 32 OWA is: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/What-is-an-OWA

Yeah, low budget producers will have a look and loglines and having good synopses are a must. Reps are inundated with material and tend to want to work with writers who are already established. Still might get some new startups looking.

As ever, a lot of it comes down to people's willingness to work the trenches. I started with giving away free short scripts to students. Not a lot of people are willing to entertain that.

Hey

James LO Hello James,

Thank you for your message. If you’d like, I can send you the synopsis directly in a private message.

And if you need any additional information about the project, please don’t hesitate to ask — I’d be happy to provide anything you need.

— Eve

Nice, Eve Decoeur! This looks like a really cool story. I love assassin thrillers. I look forward to seeing this one made someday!

Hi Eve and welcome to Stage 32! I see you've had the welcome banner so I won't bombard, but I wanted to say hello. If you need anything, don't hesitate to reach out. And if you need help finding resources or have any questions, don't hesitate to reach out.

Elle Bolan

Hi Ellen, Thank you so much for the warm welcome — I really appreciate it.

If I ever need guidance or help finding resources, I’ll make sure to reach out.

And likewise, if you ever want to connect or talk about writing, storytelling, or projects, I’d be happy to.

Thanks again for taking the time to say hello.

— Eve

You're right, Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg. The main purpose of the Pitch Sessions is to get feedback to improve a pitch, but sometimes the executives, managers, etc. will request scripts, sign writers, etc. (www.stage32.com/scriptservices/success-stories).

Maurice Vaughan Which is fine to say for S32 as a social media platform, but the producers, if they receive compensation, can be tagged with pay-to-play and that ruins careers in this industry. So best to make it clear (which the advertising does),

How do I reach out to the producers directly?

Hi Savannah and welcome to Stage 32. I can see you're wanting to talk to filmmakers directly. I get that. And I understand the passion too. Trust me.

But the reality is that you're where you need to be. You can't really just talk to producers or directors about business directly and unsolicited. That's not how it works. But see, here you have the education side. But the lounges are for networking.

Networking is how people start seeing your name. And you don't really want to spam post about needing to talk to someone.

Post about how your cat inspired a funny scene.

Post about finding 17 out of place question marks in your pages.

Post about writing struggles, wins, craft talk. Post about how that one time some friend or family member inspired you. Or broke you.

My point is, the film industry is a business but it isn't so cut and dry as civi business. It's a bit more personal because it's art. So, we too have to be more personal.

So, get into the lounge spaces. Post. Talk. Chit chat. Trust me, you have no idea who you might be chit chatting with. Most of the time I don't until it dawns on me way after the fact. And I know folks hate hearing me yap about networking when they first get here, but it's the truth of the matter.

One conversation can change things. Just one.

Savannah Cross make a nice Linkedin account and follow the right filmmakers/producers/directors - join the discussion, research, contribute - get into business. harder; find a manager or agent. besides all that keep writing if that's your passion. than your doing it and be sure to have a little luck.

Hi, Rakim Stevens! How's your December going?

it’s going well. How about yourself?

It's going well too, Rakim Stevens. Do you have any plans for the holidays?

Hi Rakim Stevens Having that foundation as a published author, especially across such a range of genres, is an incredible asset for screenwriting. That experience with narrative depth, voice, and character translates so powerfully to the screen.