Stage 32 Writing Lab: Write Your TV Spec Script
Other education that may be of interest to you:
How To Get Into Television Fellowships
A New Exclusive Webinar! Find out what it takes to get into the elusive Television Writing Fellowships from ABC-Disney, NBC, Warner Bros., and more from the Vice President and Head of Warner Bros. Television Workshop! It might not be spring yet, but Fellowship season is coming for television writers! Now is the time to prepare your samples, essays, resume, and application so that you’re ready when the submission windows open very soon! These writing fellowships (hosted by NBC, Paramount, ABC-Disney, WB, and others) are one of the best ways for you to break into a television writers’ room and launch your episodic career. But what are these programs looking for? How can you stand out? What mistakes should you avoid? In this exclusive Stage 32 webinar, you’ll go behind the scenes and find out how to get into one of these elite TV writing fellowships directly from the Vice President and Head of Warner Bros. Television Workshop, Rebecca Windsor. In addition to her work with the WBTV Workshop, Rebecca launched the Warner Bros. digital brand Stage 13, where she oversaw SPECIAL, which premiered on Netflix and garnered four Emmy Nominations. Previously, she was the Creative Producing Initiative Manager of the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program. She was pivotal in coordinating the Screenwriters and Directors Labs, Episodic Story Lab, and the Creative Producing Lab and Summit. There is a lot of misinformation and confusion surrounding what it takes to get into these fellowships, but Rebecca will provide accurate insight based on her many years of experience working in this arena. She’ll take you through what you need in your portfolio to apply, how to choose what to write, what makes a great personal statement stand out, the selection process, how to nail your interview, and more. Plus, if you attend the live webcast, you’ll have the opportunity to ask Rebecca any questions you have surrounding your fellowship application. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to learn directly from someone who has significantly shaped the fellowship process and knows what you need to stand out from the crowd in your application! Praise for Rebecca's Stage 32 Next Level Webinar: Rebecca was fantastic and her advice was so helpful. She obviously knows this topic well and was able to provide meaningful instruction. - MacKenna V. Great insight on details involved in compiling and completing applications and how to be prepared. - Angelique W. It was awesome and informative. Rebecca is so incredibly knowledgeable about this industry and really chisels away at script structure. Great learning from her! - Greg P.
Developing and Pitching Kids Programming
Have you ever wanted to see what it takes to sell a kids show successfully in today’s market? In this webinar, you’ll learn from an executive producer in kids programming what today’s audiences are looking for, how to deliver a great script, and how to pitch and sell your project successfully. Do you have a fantastic idea for the next great kids show? Do you want to inspire and shape the next generation? Or make their day a little brighter with relatable stories with heart? Some of the best comedy writing and storytelling on television comes from kids programming, but the space is rapidly changing as more platforms and networks arrive, each with their own unique needs. These networks need you and your stories to meet their programming demands. In this Stage 32 exclusive webinar, you’ll find out exactly how the pros create and sell their stories to the biggest networks and streaming platforms in town by creating projects with humor, heart, and knowing what kids are watching today. You’ll learn: Tips and current trends in kids television Obstacles and constraints How not to talk down to your audience The difference between Nickelodeon and Disney How to use point-of-view to your advantage Essential elements to seeing your pitch The differences in pitching for kids shows vs. adult shows The power of co-viewing And so much more You’ll be learning directly from executive producer and sitcom writer Kirill Baru. He has worked on and sold both live-action and animated comedy shows in both the adult and kids space, including Disney’s SYDNEY TO THE MAX and Cartoon Network’s MAD: THE ANIMATED SERIES. Kirill also sold the series EAGLETON ESTATES to Netflix Kids and, using this project as a case study, Kirill will walk you through creating his pitch that sold the show, providing you with the steps to sell your own. By the end of this webinar with Kirill, you’ll be confident about writing and packaging your kids television series as a market-ready project.
How to Write and Produce a Film Festival Darling
It seems like every day another film festival launches or expands. Specialty festivals are becoming all the rage and major, established festivals have been expanding to accept shorts, digital shorts, documentaries, television pilots, specialty genre content and content focused on diversity. With the market growing, so are the number of submissions to any given festival, especially those which are producing results for the connections of the accepted films. You want to make sure your screenplay is on point, that the story is a fit for the style of the festival you are entering and that the film grabs a judge's attention from the get go. Part of assuring you have a festival darling film is understanding the festival landscape, knowing the right players and making connections that assure your film is being viewed by the decision makers. But this all starts, as it always does, with the script. A majority of screenwriters do not write big budget tentpole blockbusters. They tell more intimate, character driven stories. And these are the kind of stories that most festivals adore. But why do some of these scripts attract financing, producers, and, ultimately, the attention of festival directors while others fall through the cracks? As a writer and/or producer, how can you identify the aspects of your screenplay that might be killing your chances of festival success and fix them before filming begins? And how can filmmakers and producers assure, even if they have a winning film based on a fantastic script in place, that they are entering the right festivals and navigating the circuit correctly? There is a chemistry to all of it. A mixture of the creative and the business side of things. It's imperative that you have an understanding of both. Maren Olson has represented domestic and/or worldwide distribution rights to over 70 finished films, including Academy Award winner The Secret in Their Eyes, festival favorites such as An Oversimplification of Her Beauty, Natural Selection and Red Flag, and Sundance Audience Award winners This is Martin Bonner, Valley of Saints and Kinyarwanda. As a producer, she was responsible for critically lauded Short Term 12, which premiered at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival, where it won both the Grand Jury and Audience Awards. The film went on to win 19 other awards including the Gotham Award for Best Actress and Independent Spirit Award for Best Editing. Maren currently works in the film finance division of CAA, and was formerly the President of Traction Media, where she was responsible for the creative development, packaging, production, financing and sale of independent films. To say she understands all the ins and outs of the festival circuit, what festivals look for and how they operate would be a massive understatement. Maren will teach you what kind of independent film project goes on to become a “Festival Darling” and what you can do to better position your independent film for festival success, from script to screen. She will deconstruct both the writing stage- from the major components of a festival-friendly story idea, to what to consider regarding location and characters, all the way to how to incorporate thinking about the budget when writing your script- as well as the production stage – from how to make sure your film gets properly considered by the right people, to which festivals you should submit to and when, all the way to the common ways festival friendly scripts turn into a film that no festival wants to play. She will teach you the 3 components of a festival-friendly story idea and why you must answer yes to each. She will talk budget, shooting locations and when the proper time is to bring on a producer. She will explain the mistakes people make and demystify the myths people believe when navigating the festival circuit. She will go over common pitfalls screenwriters, filmmakers and producers make that can be fatal when submitting to festivals. Maren will give you the tools to get traction on your project. She will lay out, in clear, precise terms, how to assure your project is given the best opportunity to become a "Festival Darling." "Excellent - informative. Maren brought facts and experience to a very nuanced subject about "Film Festival Darlings - offering an extremely in-depth analysis to the elements of what a writer or producer should consider when moving forward in the Indie film world. My fav Stage 32 webinar so far. Thanks." - Robert G. "Fantastic seminar. Like a good filmmaker, you kept us engaged from opening to close. Thanks again!" - Bob B. "Maren had a lot of practical information and road trap warning for indies. I appreciated the components of a festival face, comps, and specific advice that is useful." - Betty S.
How to Write a Fresh, Stand Out Comedy
Learn directly from Melissa Daykin Cassill, Vice President of State Street Pictures (Faster, Beauty Shop, Barbershop, Notorious, Nothing Like The Holidays) The Hangover, Bridesmaids, Little Miss Sunshine. What is it, exactly, that makes these comedies stand out from the crowd? With so many different types of comedies in the marketplace, it is becoming the toughest genre to break into. More executives are turning to A list comedians to write than actual screenwriters, so how do you get an executive's attention? How do you get past executives that have different senses of humor, jokes that don't translate internationally, and storylines that can easily get deemed outdated a year later? Stage 32 Happy Writers is excited to bring you our 4 week online intensive class How To Write A Fresh, Stand Out Comedy taught by the Vice President of State Street Pictures, Melissa Dayin Cassill. In this hands on 4 week course, you will learn the importance of the emotional crescendo of a comedy script, how to balance the comedy with the humanity of the characters, and how to pitch your comedy script once you're ready, all while molding your pages under Melissa's supervision. With interactive lectures and weekly homework assignments directly geared towards strengthening your pages, this class will help you craft your writing into a fresh stand out comedy script that will grab executives' attention! Purchasing gives you access to the previously-recorded live class. Although Melissa is no longer reviewing the assignments, we still encourage all listeners to participate.
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 Better Rewrite and Polish Your Feature Screenplay or Pilot
Congratulations – you’ve finished your first draft! But now comes the real work. The old adage goes that ‘writing is rewriting’ and that is absolutely true in film and television. A big part of screenwriting is learning how to receive feedback and how to implement it. Most professional writers go through numerous drafts and rounds of feedback before taking their scripts to the market. Just think about the first time you tried anything new – a new instrument, a new workout program, or a new screenplay. Unless you’re a natural, your first attempt isn’t usually your best. It’s the practice – or in this case, the rewriting – that helps you get better and will allow you to create something truly special. Too many aspiring writers think the hard work is over after the first draft. A first draft is a milestone accomplishment, but ultimately just one rung up the bigger ladder. But rewriting and polishing is not always an intuitive process – it’s hard to determine what to change or how much to change it. A big part of rewriting or polishing is learning how to listen to others, and realizing that even a solo screenplay can become a collaborative process. Steve Desmond is a WGA screenwriter whose screenplays have been voted onto the prestigious industry Black List four times in the past five years, including in 2020 with his latest script, The Saturday Night Ghost Club. He sold his sci-fi adventure screenplay, Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers, to Warner Bros in a bidding war, with an Oscar nominated producer attached. FilmNation (Arrival, The King’s Speech) hired him to adapt the Stoker-award-winning horror novel The Cabin at the End of the World. He’s also been hired to work on projects for Legendary Pictures, Sony, Blumhouse, Mandalay, and IM Global, amongst others. His short film, Monsters, that he wrote and directed, has amassed over two million views online and screened in over 100 film festivals worldwide, winning 45 awards. Steve has found his voice as a sought-after screenwriter by mastering the art of the rewrite and his excited to share what he knows with the Stage 32 community. Exclusively for Stage 32, Steve will give an in-depth and practical deep dive of the art of rewriting and polishing that you can take back to your own screenplay or pilot. Steve will share how best to utilize feedback and explain the difference between a rewrite and a polish. He will go through the psychological components of rewriting and show you how to make an effective plan to go through the rewrite process, and then how best to execute it. Next Steve will talk about how to actually trim your script by focusing on scenes and characters and how to work with producers and executives, including how to receive notes and maintain communication. He will then give you tools you can use to determine when you’re actually done. Expect to walk away with a slew of tools and ideas you can use to rewrite your own project and make it the best it can be. Praise for Steve's Previous Stage 32 Webinars: "This was fantastic. Steve offered so much insight, dozens of little nuggets that rang true or gave me pause to think of something I'd never considered before."-Ed K. "Perfectly laid out, clear and concise material taught by a genial host!"-George P. "Steve was fantastic. His examples and insights were on point. Thanks!"-Adam H. "I made 3 pages of notes; good pertinent topics with simple fundamental answers presented. Very helpful, worth the time and fee."-Thomas W.
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