Breaking Down the Elements of a Pitch that Secured Funding & How to Apply Them to Your Project (Case Study: BYPASS, Nominated for Best Film at Venice Film Festival)
Reviews Average Rating: 5 out of 5
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Jonez Jones Tech issue quickly resolved - this is an excellent class! -
Chaun Lee By far, one of the most informational and useful webinars to date on stage32. Mr. Haillay was personable and very helpful. The methods he suggests for pitching not only work well, but they assist in getting to the heart of the story quickly. I plan on using his method for all of my future pitches.
Other education that may be of interest to you:
How You Can Simplify a Complex Script
In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar, we will be focusing on how to take your script and simplify it, while keeping the elements of the script complex, so it's easy for the reader (an executive, producer, manager) - and ultimately the viewer - to be able to follow your story. Your instructor, Samm Haillay, has produced films which have red carpet premiered at Cannes, Sundance, Venice, Toronto and more! Samm will share a simple/complex theory which he had developed called “The Story Rainbow”, which will examine the relationship and interconnectivity between Story, Narrative and Plot. We will be focusing on how to keep your script simple - yet complex - rather than confusing and complex. Of course, structure is vital, but we’ll be weaving a “Story Rainbow” through the elements of your script. You will be given the tools to approach the development of your film from a different angle. Clearly, it's worked for Samm, having had such success with his films screening at some of the world's top festivals!
From Script to Set: Getting Ready For Your 1st Day on Set
The script is finally ready…now, how do you prepare for your first day on set? There are a lot of factors that go into preparing for your film shoot. We’ve brought in producer, Samm Haillay, to talk about the process from script to set. Samm is an eight-time feature film producer, whose films have premiered at Cannes, Venice, Sundance, SXSW and who’s film Island of the Hungry Ghosts won best Feature documentary at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival. He’ll be going over everything from schedule, budget, casting, locations and more to get you prepared for day one. He’ll be sharing his decades of experience and helping you avoid common mistakes made, as you get ready to shoot your film.
The Pitch Tank: Literary Manager Jon Hersh
During the December Pitch Tank, Director of Script Services Jason Mirch welcomes Literary Manager Jon Hersh of Housefire Management, a company that represents writers and directors in film, television, and digital content. They specialize in deep development, strong client relationships, and incendiary material that stands out like a house on fire. Jon's client list includes writers and filmmakers for film and TV including emerging writers with projects at Universal, Paramount, Lionsgate, Atlas Entertainment, and Gidden Media! Prior to forming Housefire, Jon was at CAA and Broad Green Pictures. He is a graduate of USC's School of Cinematic Arts. Jon and Jason listen to pitches from 4 members and offer their thoughts and feedback!
Developing Your Narrative Voice As An Editor
Learn the impact of film editing from international director/editor Max Leonida whose films have been screened and awarded at a range of festivals including the Sundance Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, the International Salerno Film Festival, the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival and the L.A. Short Films Festival, to name a few. “I love editing. I think I like it more than any other phase of filmmaking. If I wanted to be frivolous, I might say that everything that precedes editing is merely a way of producing film to edit.” (Stanley Kubrick) Some of the greatest, most iconic filmmakers of all times (like Scorsese, Hitchcock, Kubrick, Tarantino, Coppola, Lynch, Fellini, Gilliam and many others) used to spend hours, days and sometimes months into the dark secrecy of the editing room, sitting next to their faithful editor, enjoying the guilty pleasure of reshaping – over and over again – a world of their own. The post-production phase is the most critical one throughout the entire film production process… and editing, in particular, is a pivotal moment where as a filmmaker you should be able to understand that you are writing the final version and destiny of your movie. In this Stage 32 Next Level Webinar, international director/editor, Max Leonida will use his years of experience to give you a more profound knowledge of the artistic nature of the editing process, together with a clear, up-to-date and technical expertise about the most important digital editing systems on the market. Max's most recent films include Run (winner at 2013 MIFF and double winner at the 3D International Festival) and the feature film “What Separates Us”, Best Feature at the Machetanz Film Festival. Editing is not just a simple matter of pace, rhythm, and mere image composition: editing pertains to the core of storytelling itself. Every professional filmmaker knows that a closeup placed in the right place, at the right moment, can definitely chance the course of a narrative process. Editing includes re-defining the story, reconstructing the characters, reshaping the very structure to the point of even changing and re-dubbing the dialogue in a totally different way from the original script… all for the sake of beauty. And this webinar aims to give you these tools.
Art/Work Manager Spencer Robinson
Art/Work Manager Spencer Robinson will discuss the differences between managers and agents, how to grab a manager's attention, working with a manager and what he currently is seeing in the industry.
Masters of Craft: Creating Compelling Characters with Oscar Nominated Roger S. H. Shulman - With Downloadable Worksheets
There’s only one way to get your audience to sit still for the story you want to tell: create compelling characters. As human beings, we are endlessly fascinated with ourselves and our interactions. When we find a character to whom we can relate, we lock in. Constructing relatable, entertaining and realistic characters is essential to a successful screenplay, not to mention critical to our own enjoyment of the writing process. But what separates the memorable personalities on the screen from the “which-one-was-that-again” types? Understanding the answer to that question and following some tried and true strategies while outlining and then writing your screenplay will give you a better chance of producing characters who not only engage your audience, but do the heavy lifting for your story and themes. Miss out and you’ve got page after page of shoulder shrugs. We all know the goal for any screenwriter is to get reads. But the challenge doesn't end there. You have to make sure your reader keeps those pages turning! To assure that your reader is engaged from the jump and stays engaged through the final page, your characters must be compelling and relatable. Whether you are trying to score big in a screenwriting competition, land a manager or agent, sell producers on your material, or secure financing, you must remember that your script is one of dozens your target audience likely reads each week. The competition is fierce and most readers won't go beyond page 5 or 10 if your story and characters don't grab them. Most writers simply do not know how to creative quickly established, well drawn characters. Those that do have an instant leg up on the competition. Roger S. H. Schulman knows a thing or two about writing compelling, complex and memorable characters. For starters, he co-wrote the animated feature Shrek for which won him a British Academy Award (BAFTA) and earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Prior to Shrek, Roger co-wrote the animated feature Balto for Executive Producer Steven Spielberg, and wrote Mulan II and The Jungle Book II for Disney. Over his 30 years in the industry, Roger has also worked extensively as a producer and writer for television. He co-created the Disney Channel series Jonas; was Executive Producer of 2 Gether for MTV and was Executive Producer for Living Single with Queen Latifah. He’s currently co-writing a pilot for HBO with Tom Hanks. And now, he's teaching exclusively for Stage 32. Roger will teach you the function of character, specifically how character, story and theme work together. To help you understand why certain characters work, he'll give you a brief, insightful, and helpful history of character including how humor plays a part in almost all character building. He will breakdown American characteristics, Likeable characteristics, and relatable characteristics. He will dive into developing characters and show you how to discover and write your characters seen and unseen character traits. He will discuss the tools of character including dialog, action and behavior. He will break down the anatomy of your cast and where mirroring, complementing and conflicting strategies can come into play. Roger will use examples from Shrek, Breaking Bad, Phillips, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jaws, Guys and Dolls, Up, and Carl Jung (yeah, the guy). In addition to all this material presented in Roger's exclusive Master's of Craft presentation, he will give you 2 downloadable handouts related to developing and analyzing characters that you can return to time and time again. This is invaluable information and material you won't find anywhere else. A Word From Roger When you’re done with my webinar, you’ll know a lot more about what makes good characters tick, what makes bad characters just sit there, and just maybe a little bit more about yourself. And you’ll come away with a tool chest from which you can pick and choose the techniques you prefer to build unique characters so remarkable that sometimes they’ll write their dialog for you. Praise for Roger "A masterclass, plain and simple." - Phil C. "No joke, the best lesson on writing characters I've ever seen (or read). Nothing has come close. - Margot G. "Now that I understand how the sausage was made, I have to watch Shrek again. This more than lived up to its "Masters of Craft" label. What a winner, Stage 32!" - Elyse A. "Too many times in my writing, I'm so wrapped up in my main character, that I do short shrift to my secondary characters. Not after watching Roger. No how, no way." - Robin W. "I am going in for a second viewing immediately. I already have 5 pages of notes written out. Incredible information." - Stephen D.
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