Stage 32: Networking the Film Community

Richard Botto: Stage 32

That confident adult male there to the right is actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist Richard Botto. Add Internet entrepreneur to his resume, for in 2011 he launched the website Stage 32, which (from their Wikipedia page)"links professionals in the entertainment industry including directors, writers, actors and entertainment staff. It caters to film industry professionals with featured bloggers, news from Hollywood and a projects page that allows members to connect with others on film ventures, along with standard social media functions."

Botto and company have built Stage 32 into a 200,000 member quilt-work of actors, screenwriters, cinematographers, directors, producers, voice actors, makeup artists, music composers, and people who would like to legitimately become any one of those things. Your reporter is a member and is highly impressed with the way the Stage 32 site works. For one thing, it really works as a piece of website production, with the architecture of the site making it an easy one to understand and to navigate within. I would contrast this to the almost indecipherable logic of the Facebook site, which has become a confused dinosaur, cluttered up in a mindless space.

Site architecture aside, the big attraction in Stage 32 is the platform it provides for film enthusiasts to exchange film reels and screenplays, and through the site's developing meetups, possibly even addresses.

Of course, providing creative types with an outlet for their reels and trailers doesn't make them better at what they do, so the majority of what one sees in Stage 32 postings is pretty lame. You don't have to live in California long, for instance, before you start running into people who are involved in film projects. They are not people at the top of the industry food chain, of course, or you wouldn't be running into them at all, but rather they are wannabes or, possibly worse, actual-bes who cater to the video market, and especially the Asian markets. For some unknown reason, low-budget films work on some level in those exotic markets, enough to encourage bottom feeders, and so there are armies of independents producing garbage for those audiences. The films typically have awful writing and acting, and usually look cheap and terrible, and they have next to nothing to do with the frontline producers who, by contrast in 2014, churn out products of enormously high quality. Even the worst of the network situation comedies are presented by professionals existing on planes well above the reach of most independent filmmakers and their teams. For a long time it was acceptable to speak condescendingly about television productions, but those days are largely past. Only the neo-professionals of reality TV are fit targets for criticism in the present environment, and yet there still remains a gulf between wanting to be there - to have a product with high level exposure - and actually being there. It is this gulf that Stage 32 is setup to bridge.

To this reporter, there is not yet a lot of evidence to support the promise that becoming a Stage 32 member likely holds for its new arrivals. You get a lot of coaching on the finer points of becoming successful in your field. You don't see a lot of members with great resumes or special talent, nor does it seem likely that top tier casting agents and producers are trolling the profiles available through Stage 32.

On the other hand, occasionally something shows promise, such as the sample scores of musician Anastasia Roupakia. How does one interested in composing music for film scores go about promoting work that, by its nature, is background? Perhaps these sorts of niches will turn out to be the most promising part of what Botto and company can offer.

Stage 32 Forum and Article Topics

Provided below is a list of stories and forum discussions offered on the Stage 32 site. Use this link to visit their page for the actual links.

STAGE 32 SUCCESS STORIES

From A Happy Writer
Stage 32 for Success
Stage 32 is a Crucial Website for the Serious Screenwriter
Project I Landed On Stage 32 Now Coming to Life – Thanks Stage 32!
Gotta Love Stage 32!
Pitchfest Success and Stage 32 Opportunities
Stage 32 Assists in Finding 2nd Film Work Within a 6 Month Period
I Can’t Believe it Happened Just Like That – Thanks Stage 32 Site Owners and Crew 

POPULAR AND INTERESTING LOUNGE DISCUSSIONS

ACTING:  Unions Are Biggest Obstacle in Indie Film Production, Film Execs Say
ACTING:  Union Eligibility
ACTING:  Where to Begin?
ANIMATION:  How to Choose the Best Animation or Visual Effects School
ANYTHING GOES:  6 Rules for Creative Sanity
ANYTHING GOES:  Which Do You Consider to Be a Better Photographer?
CINEMATOGRAPHY:  180 Degree Rule
CINEMATOGRAPHY:  Acting Class and Green Screen
CINEMATOGRAHY:  DSLR
COMPOSING:  Libraries
COMPOSING:  Show Off Your Good Work
DANCE & CHOREOGRAPHY: Just a Question
DEVELOPMENT:  Funding Films With Non-Profit
DEVELOPMENT:  I Need Some Advice
DEVELOPMENT:  My First Steps
DEVELOPMENT:  Would Love Advice on Concept Art and/or Sample Storyboards
DISTRIBUTION: From dvxuser Forum: The Top Ten Video-On-Demand VOD Websites Indie Films
DISTRIBUTION: Netflix Coming to TiVo Cable Boxes Starting Next Week
DISTRIBUTION: Netflix, Verizon Reach Streaming Deal
DISTRIBUTION:  Which Film Distribution Route Brings in More Profit?
FILM & TV DISCUSSION: Anyone Watch The Blacklist?
FILM & TV DISCUSSION: Cosmos
FILM & TV DISCUSSION: Mad Men Season 7 Discussion
FILM # TV DISCUSSION: Reality Shows – Are They Ready to Bite the Dust?
FILM & TV DISCUSSION: Rosebud
FILM FESTIVALS: 7 Things You Need to Know About the Growth of Short Content
FILM FESTIVALS:  Entering a Work in Progress
FILM FESTIVALS:  Motivation to Just Do It
FILMMAKING:  Crowdfunding
FILMMAKING:  High School Student – Need Feedback
FILMMAKING: How Emerging Filmmakers Can Change Hollywood
FILMMAKING:  How Much Should I Expect to Pay a Production Accountant On My Film Production?
FILMMAKING:  The Unbelievable Mistakes Filmmakers Make When Promoting Films
PLAYWRITING:  Adaptation or Original Idea
PLAYWRITING:  Adapting a Classic That’s Public Domain
PLAYWRITING:  My Book Into a Play – Didn’t Work Out
PLAYWRITING:  Page Length
PLAYWRITING:  Software
PLAYWRITING:  Unwriting
POST-PRODUCTION:  Color Grading Options
POST-PRODUCTION:  Post Production Basics for Newbies
POST-PRODUCTION:  Plugins
POST-PRODUCTION:  Student Work Can Be Great!
PRE-PRODUCTION:  Budget Forecasting
PRE-PRODUCTION:  Scheduling the Film Days
PRODUCING:  How Does a Producer Get Started?
PRODUCING:  Is it Time to Disrupt the Hollywood Business Model?
PRODUCING:  The Art of Ice Breaking
PRODUCTION:  How Do You Make Your Company an LLC?
SCREENWRITING:  Length of Scripts?
SCREENWRITING: Online Pitchfest XV: Horror/Thriller/Suspense Experience
SCREENWRITING:  Pitching Advice
SOUND EDITING:  Cost
SPECIAL EFFECTS:  How to Make Body Parts Disappear
SPECIAL EFFECTS:  Green Screen Color
VOICE ACTING:  Any Voice Over People in Seattle?
VOICE ACTING:  To Be or Not To Be a Voice Over Artist
 

TIPS

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