John Kevin Bell: Director, editor and illustrator in Prescott, Arizona.

Hi Everyone,

Joined stage 32 in February, haven't been very active but I am planning on changing that. Took me a while to gain confidence and start to pursue my dreams of becoming an actress.

Hoping to find opportunities, connect with other great people in this industry, to learn more about this industry, to build a lasting career and enjoy life to the fullest.

Hope you all have a great day!

It's been awhile since I joined the "meet me" fray. The good news is, I've finished several scripts since then, gotten a few things in flight. I also still have specs hanging out there looking for a home. I'm always looking for collaborators, too, because I'm a glutton for punishment and like to make my own films between writing assignments. If you're in South Texas, especially around Houston, let's make a movie!

It's been a while since posting in the forums. My name is John Kevin Bell some on here call me JKB. I am primarily a screen writer and now novelist. I have produced, directed and edited several projects and I'm always looking for the next project around the corner. After Effects, Premier Pro, and Blender is what I jumped into extensively to cut my teeth. I try not to look at early crappy movies we make as failures as you grow more with each film you make. My first few are now laughable!

Sure, I have several IMDB rat race credits but on what? A No budget feature film, shorts, commercials and infomercials. Ever looking for the homerun hit to land a good budget project that looks good on IMDB.

For me at least and a bunch of screen writers I follow on here, it is hard at times not to feel like you are failing when you are entering endless contests and endless rewrites to make those spec scripts as tight as possible and get nowhere with it. Or, conflicting notes from the contests. As of now I have 20 scripts, a completed 80,000 word novel and halfway through the next one. I burry myself in writing thinking if I throw enough spaghetti at the wall that something will eventually stick.

To pitch or not to pitch, now that is the question! Pitching takes money, endless screen writing comps takes a lot of money. Lets not get going on Film Festivals! Don't feel like you are failing if you're not doing these. Anyway,

I guess my biggest fails thus far has been in dealing with investors. I ran into a few fake ones that took the wind out of my sails for a bit. After compiling a killer business plan and different film business plans to have everything all lined up for the bank transfers just to have some shady crap go down in the last few minutes. It all fell apart and I did feel like a failure. But we live and we learn.

IT says down below that it has been 8908 new discussion in this introduce yourself section since I was last here. Oops! Well, If you are new to Stage32 Welcome! Stay true!

Hi, everyone! My name is Shannon Pauline.  I'm a filmmaker/marketer from way up north here in Minneapolis, MN.  I graduated the U of M this past May with a degree in Cinema and I'm more than eager to start making progress on my career path.  A few key things about me... I love to network, I've been able to forge connections with a number of exciting individuals, including social-media influencers and marketing executives at studios including Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros.! I'm ambitious, energetic, positive, and tenacious; I'm not good at standing still and/or lying in wait.  Let's make something happen! I think now is the perfect time for vocal women such as myself to make our presence known in this industry and I'm really excited to see where and how it goes.  

Hello all! Very nice to find a site and community such as this. I'm a producer and actor in Oklahoma averaging 2 feature films a year. We're starting slow down with our budgets growing. I won a coloring contest in 1st grade.

Those are just a few of the services our production company The Phoenix Independent Film Makers Group brings to the table. My husband and I can fill any of those jobs and we have access to around 3000 film makers in the PIFMG in every aspect of film making and media production that we can call on to fill out a full production. Check out the trailer from our latest co-production - Girl,Wired! which is now in distribution.

How many scripts are you working on at one time? Do you work on one until it’s finished or do you jump between multiple scripts? If you work on multiple scripts, are they of the same genre or do you work in multiple genres? Do you find yourself being inspired by one script and using some of the ideas from that one on another script?

If you have a screenplay you have had trouble selling, consider turning it into a novel. Novels can be self-published and you don't have to compromise your story. If the book takes off, then producers will want to read a script from you. I turned a screenplay into a novel and found a publisher. In some ways, it is more satisfying not be limited to 100 pages and seeing my work in print. Your imagination isn't limited by a budget.

Now, I am getting some interest in the movie rights, so it is a round-about way to get to the screen.

amzn.to/34wB0X7

amzn.to/2rHWRwb

Dear Stage 32 Members,

Over the last two weeks, I've had a couple of Skype meetings with a fellow by the name of Shahar Namer, who I met here on the site and who is looking to sell me the service of launching my company and my film projects as a cryptocurrency. What appeals to me about this idea is the notion of rolling financing that builds on the development of my film rather than waiting for an ROI - which in the context of my own business model and production slate can lead me very handily right into the production of a handful of other projects without disrupting the expectations of the investment.

What worries me about all this is my own ignorance about the crypto market, my lack of preparation when it comes to selling a cryptocurrency, and Shahar's seeming nonchalance about that ignorance and lack of preparation as a barrier to entry. Because I was cold contacted by him here on the site, I'm assuming I'm not the only one he reached out to. Has anyone else done their due diligence on this fellow?

I've been in correspondence with my attorney about all this, of course. While Shahar's website does have some testimonials on it, and while he does have a broad social media presence, there doesn't seem to be anything on him or his company that's written by 3rd parties. Moreover, the people he has talking about their success with his company seem to be people who are committed to careers in cryptocurrency. Even if The ICO Rocket is a real company, I'm not seeing anything to substantiate it's value as a financing tool in film - or in any market where we're not going to be shifting our professional focus to the sale of cryptosecurities.

If he's looking for a test case, and if the support is there to make it work, I'm not necessarily opposed to doing that. At the same time, risk factors range from undercapitalization to having the crypto market restructured and regulated right under our financing process, to potentially money laundering. Has anyone coughed up more information on this guy than I have? Does anyone have insight into what's up with The ICO Rocket?

Any observations are appreciated! On the subject of business, I do have a pretty comprehensive Stage 32 blog coming out tomorrow - so stay tuned!

Best regards,

Tennyson

When some writers introduce characters, they describe their personalities -- besides their appearances if it matters for the story -- using qualifying adjectives or other linguistic tools. And all this before the character even spoke or acted in a certain way.

Other writers only mention the characters age and let the reader discover what type of person they are through their acts.

First i think, characters actions are more effective than describing who those characters are as person. Second, detailing who they are in their intros spoil the readers and don't let them discover those characters as they read along.

What kind of writer are you?

Hi Stage 32 Friends!

I am interested in pitching an original idea for a reality TV show and have written a treatment and registered it with the Writers Guild of America West and have a filed document number. Can anyone assist me with learning how to pitch for this specific genre and what is required besides the treatment? The concept of the show is based on combat sports entertainment lifestyle and all of the people involved in making a show happen. Please email me at info@ashantialtovese.com if you are interested in mentoring me in this project. Thank you!

Hey guys,

I've recently encountered a person who showed interest in financing my short and equity stake in my company. I was spooked, because I did not present him any dockets related to film or my company. Finally, he told me, that he has $25 Million in his bank, need $50,000 for bond and insurance to release the fund. I've met such fraud in the past. 

If any investor wish to back you financially, he/she will do it only after seeing the potential in your content. I request you all to stay away from such people. Cheers.  

I am wrapping up production on a recent full length feature. I have had sound problems throughout filming. Some of it I can fix in post but I am wondering if there is specific software that can help reduce background noise. I am planning on picking up Adobe Pro next month and maybe that would fix it. I don't know. Any help or direction would be appreciated.