How To Develop, Package, Pitch and Sell Your Limited Series To A Streamer or Network
Reviews Average Rating: 5 out of 5
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Joshua Young Once, every five or ten years, someone comes along and blows you away with the golden key for how to succeed in the industry, no matter what stage you are at in your own career. This is what happened in this class. Sam Sokolow was positive, informative and gave us insights I've never had from anyone with his level of experience. I left the class with more confidence and drive to continue my work, not to mention a clearer idea of the right options or paths I can take thanks to the millions of things I learned from this workshop. -
Ranyyaah Serraj I was able to watch the class on demand. Really great infomation -
Felix Gorbach The first class war really great - had a good start. Hope to get the materials - script he talked about soon. Well earned 5 stars for the start!
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How to Develop, Pitch and Sell Your Limited Series to a Network or Streamer - Includes a Pitch Document Case Study
The producer of NatGeo's limited series GENIUS will teach you how you can get your own limited series off the ground. Includes a case study of a pitch document that helped sell a limited series. Over the last several years, the limited series has become one of the most exciting, competitive, and acclaimed formats in the entertainment industry. Series like THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT, CHERNOBYL, and MARE OF EASTOWN have become global phenomena and greatly boosted the careers of the creatives behind them. It’s no surprise that buyers and big names on all sides of the camera are hungry for binge-worthy event programming like these limited series and are looking for the next hit to make. If you have your own idea for a limited series, there’s no better time than now to get it in front of executives and decisionmakers looking for this content. But how does one develop the material and package it together to increase the probability of a sale or production order? Sam Sokolow is a two-time Emmy-nominated producer, perhaps best known for his work in developing and producing the Emmy nominated limited series GENIUS for National Geographic Channel, one of the first prestige limited series to find a wide audience. Over his career, Sam has executive produced 18 original TV series and set up dozens of television and film projects at major studio and distributors in Hollywood and is well-versed at finding success developing, pitching, and selling his projects. Exclusively for Stage 32, Sam will teach you how to develop, pitch, and sell limited series to a streamer or network by first learning how to identify source material, packaging talent into your project, and identifying the buyers. He’ll also show you how to build the pitch, approach the buyers, and even share what the deals look like. Sam will even share examples of the emails and finders fees he used to package his projects. Plus! Sam will walk you through a real pitch deck he used for a limited series he worked on, so you can see how he put all the pieces together to ultimately pitch and sell the project. You won’t want to miss out on this detailed webinar!
How to Navigate the Marché du Film and Cannes
The Cannes Film Festival can be overwhelming when you plan to attend for the first time. Over 12,000 film industry professionals head to Cannes each year to present and discover almost 4,000 films and projects in development at 33 screening venues. Fuelled by this success, the Marché has expanded with the opening of the Riviera and Lérins exhibition halls, forming a hub around the world-famous Palais des Festivals and the Village International, the number one venue for promoting films from all over the world. As a leading global film industry organization, the Marché du Film takes a rigorous approach in adapting to the expectations of industry professionals worldwide and to emerging economic, technological and creative film trends. Even if you’re a veteran attendee, things are always changing at Cannes so it’s important you stay in the know. Stage 32 is proud to be the industry education workshop partner of the Cannes Film Festival Marché du Film for the third year and we are excited to offer all badge holders the opportunity to experience Stage 32 education. Together with the Marché we are excited to offer an exclusive webinar to our Stage 32 community on how you can navigate the festival. In this webinar we’re bringing in the Executive Director, Jérôme Paillard, and his team to talk about the festival and how to navigate it. Now, you’ll get to hear straight from the source on how to make your Cannes experience work for you. You’ll walk away from this webinar able to arrive on the Croisette ready to make things happen!
How to Edit Your Film or TV Footage to Make a Trailer that Pops
Learn directly from an editor from HBO Max! Putting together a great trailer for your own film or series can make all the difference when it comes to building an audience, getting eyes on your film, or even convincing distributors, executives and more to be interested. And editing trailers seems easy enough. It’s just the coolest bits of the movie with some awesome music behind it, right? Then why is it that when you try this yourself, the trailer just feels flat, no matter how good the track is? Why is it so difficult to make your project look engaging in a trailer when you’ve done the elevator pitch for this story more times than you care to count? Why is it that you were able to edit a whole long-form movie together, but this 2-minute trailer is giving you so much trouble? The truth is: a successful trailer is so much more than your best shots with your best music behind them. There’s a reason that there are entire agencies dedicated to just trailers and promos along with a whole roster of “trailer editors” who specialize in this medium. Trailer editing is really its own unique art form with its own rules and its own skillsets required to make it work. This doesn’t mean you can’t make an effective trailer of your own film, but you’re first going to need to learn how to navigate this medium and approach your film with new eyes to make the trailer sing and get your project the attention you’re looking for. Stephen Boyer is a film and video editor with nearly 10 years of experience in post-production and currently serves as a trailer editor for HBO Max, where he recuts modern trailers for existing films in the platform’s catalogue. Through his career, Stephen has edited feature films, documentaries, commercials, music videos and nearly everything in between and has cut for a litany of influential brands such as Netflix, Microsoft, SiriusXM, Nintendo, Blizzard Entertainment, and Warner Bros. A Los Angeles native with a lifelong passion for filmmaking and music composition, Stephen is well-versed and passionate in the art of trailer cutting and is bringing his years of experience exclusively to the Stage 32 community. Stephen is going to break down what makes an effective trailer today and the steps you should take to create a great trailer for your own film or television project. He’ll first discuss what good trailers look like in general and will then delve into how to re-approach your film with new eyes to begin building your trailer and find the right clips to include. He’ll also go over how you can identify the right pieces of music for your trailer and will teach you how to build out the trailer’s story. Stephen will go over polishing the trailer with sound design and will explain the fine tuning and rewrite process necessary for any trailer. Stephen will identify some of the most common pitfalls trailer editors should avoid and will even share a case study of a real trailer he edited for HBO Max of a notable film and explain how it came together. Through Stephen’s lessons and case study, you’ll gain a series of new strategies and techniques to tackle your own project’s trailer with confidence and create something that will stand out from the crowd.
How You Can Use U.S. Tax Incentives To Fund Your Film
Join the CEO of BrandCinema and producer of multiple feature films to discover how to identify and access tax incentives that can help finance your film. Plus! Receive 10 exclusive handouts, including a tax incentive resource sheet, to help you find those incentives. Let's face it... making a movie can be expensive. The prep, development, production, and post-production costs add up quickly, and the need for more money is real at all budget levels. But production is also big business and state governments around the country have programs that give productions money to incentive them to shoot in their state and employ their residents. You can take some of the pressure off of your budget and investors by using state tax incentives and rebates in specific locations to help finance your film. In this exclusive on-demand Stage 32 webinar, you'll learn what kinds of tax incentives are available to you in the United States and all of the ways you can utilize them to finance and produce your film. Why do states give out what level of tax credit? How do we access them? This webinar will explain it all and help you take that aggressive first step in using these resources to make your indie feature. Having worked in various states that offer film incentives, your instructor, Nicholas Levis, shows you how this opportunity is essential for you, your investors and your distributor. That money can make the difference in your project happening or your investors getting a return on their investment. That means the difference in getting your movie made. These tax incentives do, however, come with challenges. You'll see the stringent guidelines by using examples from certain territories. We will explore the legal and accounting obligations required to stay in compliance. The tax incentive is one of the assumed standards in the entertainment business, so don't miss out on this opportunity to learn how to reach those key government officials who want your movie in their state. Nicholas Levis is a highly sought-after producer and the founder and CEO of BrandCinema. He's well-known for his think-outside-the-box producing style, having produced content across the country in 30 states utilizing the incentives discussed in this webinar. His recent film credits include WHO IS CHRISTMAS EVE? for the Bounce Network and DREAMKATCHER for Lionsgate, starring Lin Shaye, Radha Mitchell, and Henry Thomas. He also recently produced the globally distributed films HIGH STRUNG and HIGH STRUNG REE DANCE, directed by Michael Damian and starring Jane Seymour and Thomas Doherty. Not only will you walk away from this webinar knowing how to use these great sources of financing for your film, but you'll also receive exclusive access to the resources below to find tax incentives available to you: Entertainment Partners - New Jersey Incentive Overview Entertainment Partners - North Carolina Incentive Overview Entertainment Partners - Georgia Incentive Overview Media Services Production Incentives Comparison Tool Georgia Incentive Map New Jersey Incentive Map North Carolina Incentive Map NYC Budget Stage 32 Filmmaker Magazine Beyond The Basics Of Tax Incentives Tax Incentive Resource Sheet Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn from Nicholas and discover how the pros utilize what's available to everyone to get every dime available to produce their films. "As a mentor at heart, the opportunity to be engaged by this amazing global community at Stage32 makes my teaching webinar sessions feel like I'm learning..." -- Nicholas Levis
Breaking Down Actor Talent Offers - Includes Downloadable Templates
Let’s face it, attaching the right actor (or actors) can make or break the success of you getting your project off the ground. Putting the right talent in the pole position will greatly increase your chances of gaining finishing funds, selling a project, securing meaningful distribution and more. But to stand out in a sea of offers that quality talent receives on an almost daily basis takes knowledge and understanding. So how do you get your project in front of the right actor and give yourself the best chance to get a “yes”? In the independent filmmaking world understanding how to formulate and put together talent offers is vital. With actors getting more offers than ever from streaming platforms, cable networks and alternative programming it’s imperative that your offer stands out from the crowd. You can push your project to the top of the decision making pile if you know how to put together the right offer. In what has been a wildly successful career, Jim Young has produced nearly 20 independent films. How did he get so many made? By attaching talent such as Bradley Cooper, Paul Rudd, Dev Patel, Cuba Gooding Jr., Amanda Seyfried and more. Nobody understands how to attach talent better than Jim. And now he's ready to share his tried and true approaches with you so you too can attach meaningful talent to your projects. Jim will delve into the process of attracting and signing talent to your film. This will include a primer as to the roles of casting directors, talent agents, lawyers, and foreign sales agents and how each operates. He will show you what additional materials and information you need to send along with the script and the actual offer. He will also discuss elements to consider when negotiating talent deals to make sure you have a competitive advantage. Plus! As an added bonus Jim is including downloadable templates for you to work from as you put together your own deals! These invaluable documents are yours to keep.
Step By Step Film Budget Guide: Script, Schedule, Budget & Cost Report
A 4-Part Class Exclusively On Stage 32! Join international line producer Jess Weiss, who's worked with Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Paramount+, and discover how you can excel in this vital production role. PLUS! Receive exclusive handouts, including budget, schedule, and expense report templates. You have the script. You have the director. You have an idea for the cast. Now, how do you bring it all together and make your project a reality? What materials do you need to approach an investor? How do you make your film in a way that matches your creative vision while not going over time or budget? The answer: you need to have or be a great line producer. In this four-part on-demand class exclusively on Stage 32, you will learn the tried-and-true industry standards and best practices for every production to properly budget, schedule, and manage your film to completion. The line producer oversees your film's money before you even have a penny as they build out the budget used to help sell your project to financiers. They also ensure the money you have is spent in the most responsible way so that you achieve the film you desire. That includes hiring the crew, creating the production schedule, and managing funds throughout the production. You’ll cover all of this over and more while receiving exclusive templates to use on your own productions, including a script breakdown, budget, schedule, and expense report templates. Plus, you’ll be taught by one of the best line producers in the business, Jess Weiss. Jess is an international line producer, film producer, and member of the PGA with over 10 years of experience. She’s a master of budgeting and finding creative ways to make a project happen. Jess has produced projects for Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount+, Showtime, and more, throughout the U.S., Latin America, and Europe. Her films have been selected for international festivals worldwide, with recent screenings at Tribeca, SXSW, and Camerimage. Her recent producing credits include THE HONEYMOON PHASE, starring François Chau and Tara Westwood; THE SUBJECT starring Jason Biggs, Aunjanue Ellis, and Anabelle Acosta; and AMERICAN INSURRECTION, starring Nadine Malouf, Michael Raymond James, and Toby Leonard Moore, recently voted top five action movies to watch by the New York Times. She's worked with top-tier Hollywood talent, including Jane Campion, Kirsten Dunst, Javier Bardem, Common, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and countless others. Jess will show you the tips and tricks she’s learned from over 10 years of production experience. PLUS! as an added bonus - you'll get: a script breakdown a sample budget a sample schedule expense report templates for your own projects By the end of this class, you’ll have the tools you need to make and manage your film's finances until your project is complete on time and on budget. Give your projects to the best chance at success with Jess as your guide in this class, exclusively on Stage 32. Even though this class is on-demand we highly recommend doing the assignments between each session to get the most out of the educational experience. "It's a huge responsibility and rewarding, getting people back to work and getting their paychecks again, and being able to actually lessen their anxiety and have people tell me that they feel safe because I’m there." -- Jess Weiss
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