Getting Unstuck: How do I get staffed on a TV series and get to contribute my ideas in the writers room?
A: With the abundance of streaming platforms, TV writers’ rooms are fertile ground for writers looking to break into the professional world. In his Master Class: Episodic Writing, showrunner Glen Mazzara (The Walking Dead) said that he will read over 100 scripts to staff up on a new show. One of the primary things he […]
THROWING MUSES: WHAT INSPIRES SUNDANCE COLLAB ADVISORS
“There’s a painting by Frida Kahlo called The Broken Column. It’s a self-portrait. She’s got all these nails sticking out of her body, there’s this long gash going down her torso and a broken stone column where her spine would be. It’s beautiful and horrific and inspiring. She endured so much physical pain in her […]
Writing Prompts That Will Help You Develop Your Characters
Introduce Your Characters to Failure Failure forces our characters to be wrong. But what if failure actually emboldens your character to reach out to others for support and in compassionate solidarity? Or, what if failure makes your character take a good long hard look at themselves? Repent? Revise? Renew their vow? Redetermine the direction of […]
How do you separate your role as writer if you’re also directing or producing your work?
For this question, we turned to Chloé Zhao, who is known for wearing multiple hats on her projects, such as the recent Oscar-winning film Nomadland, on which she is credited as writer, director, editor, and one of the producers. In the Sundance Collab event Chloe Zhao on Finding Your Way as a Filmmaker, Zhao shares […]
Five Tips for Creating Strong Comedic Characters
1. Get to Know Your Character Bicks teaches that character, “is the most important thing that we can focus on. Regardless of what form your comedy takes, you have to know who your character is and what your character wants before you can tell me what’s funny about your character.” You’ve probably learned that […]
Getting to know Andrew Ahn
On his short film, Dol (First Birthday) and advice to diverse storytellers about sharing their stories Dol (First Birthday) – the story of a gay man who struggles to reconcile his shared life with another man, and his family’s Korean traditions – was an important film to him both professionally and personally. It was the […]
GETTING UNSTUCK: At what point in my career should I try to bring on an agent?
We’ve finally demystified the process in our Master Class: How to Find Representation for Writers and Directors with The Hollywood Reporter’s Rebecca Sun. CAA’s Christina Chou (agent to Wong Kar Wai, Cathy Yan and many more artists) joined the conversation to shed some light on an agent’s role. While many creators believe that you need […]
Darius Dawson: When Inspiration Struck
Inspiration sparks creative ideas and to most people, it can sometimes feel elusive to find when needed the most. Inspiration is also different for everyone and can range from immersing in moonlit nature to dancing drop beats in a sweaty crowd. But, sometimes the best inspiration is seeing what inspires other people and this is […]
What are the main differences between directing for series television and directing a feature film?
Directing an episode of television and directing a feature film are, in many ways, identical jobs. In both formats, the director is the one in command of the set and assessing, moment to moment, how the story is working and how best to tell it. The biggest difference however is that the television director must […]
Meet our Members: Joslyn Rose Lyons Makes Her Childhood Dreams Come True
Inspiration for her First Stories Joslyn was already conceptualizing her first short, The Looking Glass, when she read The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks “about taking that leap from your excellence zone, to your genius zone (…) and the ability to face complacency in order to awaken the creative fire within.” While the book first […]
Let Your Career Catch You Off Guard: Chloé Zhao on Navigating the Film Business
Choose Your Collaborators and Projects Mindfully One essential piece of advice that Zhao circles back to multiple times is that, “You have to surround yourself with the right people, your core people.” This is vital for having a sustainable career and can be especially important as a female director. But, if you surround yourself with […]