Matthew S.: Director, casting director and camera operator in Woodland Park, Colorado.

Are you doing digital submissions first or will you be holding in person auditions right off the bat?

And you're a Casting Director?

in person auditions, and yes, when you're a starting out/no budget filmmaker, and can't afford a casting director, you gotta take on many mounts lol.

Hi Matthew aka Graham! Welcome to the group and happy we are connected. I'm a script consultant and screenwriter, been in the industry a long time and love the work! Hope you are well and thriving! Wish you all the best

Hi Matthew, still needing an animator?

There’s a chat feature on Stage 32? Or do you imply messages? Just curious !

cool :)

If you are directing... you should want more than a table read, short film or not.

Table reads are a definite plus - but just be sure your readers are trained/experienced Actors (otherwise, it's a waste of time). Go through it several times and film each read.

I'd be directing, may have a drone involved. Not sure about a 2nd Unit team.

Tell a story.

I'm with KC...music videos that convey a story have greater impact and a longer shelf life.

Hey Matthew, a few of my friends have the DR-05 and are pretty happy with it. It should take any headphones that are 1/8 inch/3.55mm

I had no intention of working in films, but when I was asked to interview Andy Cheng for a magazine, we became friends and about four years later he asked if I'd ever written a screenplay. I have always loved watching movies and so I had played around with turning some fiction I had written into scripts but I had not done it seriously. He gave me a script to re-write and liked what I did with it enough to tell me that he would love to have me as his writing partner. So far we have one film together, written for Johnny Martin (DELIRIUM) and Johnny has since hired me to write others that have yet to go into production. Andy and I are working on another that he will direct himself and already has a BAFTA winning actor signed on and partial funding before we've even finished the screenplay!

None. I enjoy the technical aspects of filmmaking. The only saving grace for some films is the extra material like "The making of...".

It is hard for me to pick just one film that got me interested. If I had to limit it down I could possible do one movie, one series, and one person. Charlie Chaplin would be my person. The movie series would be Halloween. Then the one movie might be Pulp Fiction. Three complete different time frames and genres. Now I would have to say who I am most inspired by is Jordan Peele. I love horror movies and he is creating a whole different perspective in that genre and I would love to help pave that road.

Personally speaking, I don’t really care for the huge, character-intro-dump paragraph as if giving some stats report or police profile. Rather I prefer intros that keep that first description mention to a minimum and expose tidbits of a character’s personality or situation through the action. Intros are better when they artfully showcase a character. When they create a drip, drip, drip of information. A character’s intro can create quite the image over several pages or through a scene. Then, the character is further built upon throughout the story. It’s better to lure a reader in and make them want to know more. A character should feel or have the sense that she/he has been living way before the story even takes place. Many intros just plop in some character “poof” as if they magically now exist, expecting a reader to remember those thrown-at-them stats. Connection with a character is usually best created through action and over many scenes. And I love little bits that are not technically “visual” but yet create a great sense of a character. Creates an instant image. I see non-visual sentences or little tiny novelistic elements used extremely well. Used judiciously and effectively. They’re fantastic. Examples:

One intro that did something fun with the age. From Butter: “This is LAURA PICKLER and her age is none of your business.” That cracked me up when I read it. I knew exactly what type of person is implied. What she looks like, how she would behave, her attitude, etc.

An example from John August: “Jeremy’s MOTHER is two valiums and three stiff drinks into the afternoon. She’s trying to figure out how to work the disposable camera.”

From Justified: “Ava sits alone, picks at a wedge of cherry pie. When a man sits down across from her, she looks up with the beginnings of a loving smile — only to discover her former father-in-law, BO CROWDER. Yeah, the lion is out of his cage. He’s grinning, but everything about him radiates menace.”

Love it.

Anyway, of course, there are countless options and different opinions when it comes to character intros. My two cents, don’t just adhere to expectations but rather create meaningful moments that are effective and meaningful to the story. Because no matter what, the writing should also be entertaining. ;)

Thank you guys Stephen Floyd and Kay Luke appreciate you taking the time to give some much helpful feedback and insight.

Oh Beth Fox Heisinger I appreciate this! Very detailed breakdown. Always great getting a look from your perspective. As informative as ever, and summed up a lot on what I wanted clarity on. Thank you

Hi Graham The title is COOL! I would not split the logline into two sentences and would omit some unnecessary words. Also the last line is more of a statement of fact, than a hook to lure reader. I would put the SHOCK at the beginning, and build on the higher threat/stakes that follow. Eg. This just quick example before my battery goes.

“Sarah is shocked to wake up alone, in a seemingly post apocalyptic world, but its just the beginning of a sinister battery of forces that threaten her whole family.” (OR “whole of mankind”.) Etc etc. Thanks for the share.