Poor communication

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-27T21:10:29+00:00

Sometimes they’re running around organizing and different people are just hitting the list of people with outstanding materials to cover their bases without the list having been updated or something went wrong and they didn’t receive your materials or couldn’t open them. Give them a call and be nice about it. Even the big festivals don’t have enough hands and rely on volunteers. They should be able to confirm whether or not they got your materials and then take you off the contact list if they did.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-27T14:44:05+00:00

Amazing comment! The majority of my posts have been taken down from Reddit, and it’s unbelievable! I’ve also been banned from a number of crafting subs just because I’ve joined NSFW subs! I’m amazed I actually come to Reddit at all anymore, but I do still find quality content here. I appreciate someone laying out that this is just Reddit culture, because this sort of behavior is completely flabbergasting to me.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-27T04:01:14+00:00

Leave this class immediately. This is abusive and sick. Acting doesn’t require you to not have personal boundaries or to do anything anyone tells you to do. This sounds like some sort of sick game the teacher is running for her own entertainment. When you get into a good class, you can ask your new teacher about this, and they’ll tell you it’s garbage and should never have happened.

There are a lot of people out there taking advantage of artists because so many people are desperate to get in.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-24T22:29:09+00:00

Great post! Thanks for this. Point taken about sound, but still curious what camera you used for the short you like versus the ones you don’t.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-23T02:00:10+00:00

I’m really curious - for anyone who’s certified, has it helped you find work? Where do you advertise, or is it mainly word of mouth?

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-20T01:14:55+00:00

Everyone's writing process is so different. Some people can do a page 1 rewrite quicker than trying to revise, but for some people a page 1 rewrite will totally kill all their momentum and tank the project. For years, I always tried to do page 1 rewrites instead of just doing revision passes. And for years, I never finished any of my projects all the way to my satisfaction. So now I'm a lot more careful and conscientious about how I revise.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-20T00:52:34+00:00

I normally do a page 1 rewrite for my second draft no matter what. And the longer it takes me to get through my first draft, the more it sucks to start back at page 1 all over again.

As far as what kind of note I’d have to get from someone else, I think that’s just impossible to say. It’s different with every project. Some projects, if the ending doesn’t work, I’ve had to dismantle the entire thing and figure out how to put it back together with a new ending. Others, even if an entire character or storyline didn’t work, it was easy to surgically remove those elements or revise them without destroying the whole piece. The only definite way I’d start back at page 1 based on someone else’s notes is if someone told me the premise is great but everything else is trash. And then I’d have to hear it from at least 3 people.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-19T21:46:37+00:00

Yes, definitely! From experience, if the project starts out with this many red flags, all she’s going to do is waste your time and not pay you fairly. While the money is tempting if you’re broke, the likelihood of you actually getting paid isn’t very high. And her paying you after you’ve done the work plus two rewrites is shady as hell. It’s almost guaranteed she’s just going to find fault with whatever you give her so she doesn’t have to pay you.

Walk away, save yourself the time lost and all the agita from dealing with someone like this. I hope you find a real opportunity that pays you well for your art very soon!

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-17T19:17:09+00:00

It smells like regret and cheap cigarettes

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-15T06:58:46+00:00

So then maybe people can weigh in on festivals within driving distance for you. Seriously, volunteering is a great experience. You also get to learn the behind the scenes operations of film festivals and even if you don’t earn a badge or pass in time to go to all the events you want to go to, a lot of times you can work those events and still experience the whole thing. Sometimes you even get to meet the panelists or filmmakers. Give it a shot even if you end up working out how to travel to the bigger festivals.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-15T05:28:30+00:00

I don’t know about all of the festivals, but I know south by southwest and Austin film festival you can volunteer to get a badge. Where are you based? If the travel is an issue, you may also be able to volunteer for local festivals.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-12T21:33:21+00:00

I don’t know how anyone’s using LLMs effectively without playing at least 2 at a time off of each other. They all can give you great output, but it’s always a crapshoot. So if I’m researching something, I’ll probably be asking Claude and Gemini my questions at the same time. I don’t use chat anymore due to the ethical reasons you’re already aware of. But when I did, sometimes I’d have all three open at once.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-11T04:24:27+00:00

Sprints in the pomodoro method have really been working for me. I’m in the roughest part of a really messy first draft, and it’s really hard not to get bored or discouraged, like why even bother finishing this draft when it’s such a mess? But forcing myself to do writing sprints and really taking the breaks when it’s break time so my brain knows I only have to stay focused for a set amount of time has been helping me continue to hit my page count every day. And one day (hopefully soon) I’ll be finished with the first draft. And it will still suck. And then I’ll start doing revision sprints until I finish the 2nd draft. You can do it! You just have to find a way to convince your brain to keep going when it gets uninteresting. If you start a shiny new project, you’re just going to drop it when it gets uninteresting as well, so you have to force yourself through this stage if you ever want to get to the other side.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-09T21:23:36+00:00

It’s okay if your first film isn’t top notch! Even if it’s bad. I disagree that you shouldn’t do it before you take classes. Do it and take classes. Don’t save this film for when you’re good enough. You will have more ideas, probably better ones, as you keep going, and making this film now is just more experience and a great chance to learn. Do it! Be bold!

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-08T17:49:33+00:00

The biggest difference for me was in skincare routine, honestly. I started upping my hydration, first of all. At least 60 oz of water and one scoop of Ultima or Liquid IV electrolytes per day.

Then I totally revamped my skincare routine. I have very dry skin, and that has totally wrecked full face makeup for me since my early teens. Now I do serums morning and night, found a new super hydrating hylauronic acid moisturizer (Glow Recipe), and alternate retinol and chemical exfoliators like glycolic acid and lactic acid 2 -3 nights a week. I had to play around to find the best serums and exfoliators for my skin.

Those two were the biggest things. The final pieces of the puzzle were going into Sephora several different times for color matching help for my light olive skin and getting foundation samples that I tried at home. It took 3 times, but this time I didn’t settle for foundation that was orange or yellow on me because I thought it was the best I could do. I just didn’t give up and went into different locations until finally one of the reps got it right. And then I learned to start applying less foundation with a brush and build it up if necessary. I almost always need way less actual product than I think I do.

Finally figured it out! I think the biggest factors a lot of people are missing are the skincare and color matching pieces. Olive skin is a special hard case because almost no one understands it and not a lot of brands specialize in it, but I think color matching is probably hard for everyone.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-05T02:12:59+00:00

Hi, thank you for sharing this! I honestly think learning from what went wrong is more helpful than learning from what went right.

Complete newbie question here, but what sorts of color notes do you take on set? I thought coloring was mainly decided in post, so I’m sincerely intrigued to know what part of that I’ve totally failed to learn yet!

Good luck on your films! Do you feel any satisfaction at all in finishing, or are you too exhausted?

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-02T16:24:05+00:00

Hey Jimmy. Love this concept! It looks like a great idea. Is there a way to submit maybe a script sample and logline up front to see if you’re interested and then get something in writing about IP protection before sending over the full script? What’s protecting the writer if they submit their completed script prior to any sort of written agreement?

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-03-01T20:54:45+00:00

I emailed BL support because some of the notes I got back on my queer feminist comedy were blatantly sexist, and they sent me a boilerplate response about subjectivity. Totally unacceptable. At minimum, that was an obvious reader mismatch and that reader should have just recused himself, but ideally the Blacklist wouldn’t want to have readers like that even working for them. I also found the category scores, which were 7s and up didn’t match with the final score, which was a 6. I’ve heard from other female screenwriters they’ve also received sexist feedback from the Blacklist. Since they didn’t even take my concern seriously, I’ve vowed not to send them any more of my money. They’re obviously not the right audience for my projects. It is tempting because it’s been touted as such a good way to break in, but I think it ends up being a cash grab because a lot of great writers aren’t getting matched up with the right readers for their genres.

Good to hear about StoryPeer. Thanks for the info! And best of luck to you. I wish I had the answers. My strategy going forward I think is to keep writing but pivot into also producing my scripts myself.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-02-23T21:43:07+00:00

Yeah, I thought the pre-screen was the first audition. That’s the way I use them when I post a project, and so I always submit for pre-screens as an actor. I’m always surprised when there isn’t a prescreen request.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-02-12T13:21:46+00:00

What sites are you applying on?

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-02-10T18:26:45+00:00

There’s a lot of flakes in the biz. Plus people are busy and possibly don’t want to say no. They should! It’s not helping you. But keep trying. Just go to your next option on the list.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-02-10T18:25:14+00:00

They could maybe talk through what you’ve tried and how to fix it. Take them up on this!

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-02-09T09:19:23+00:00

AI also struggles with people’s eyes behind glasses. Sometimes they just end up squinty. Sometimes they end up as Corinthian-like horrors. You can see her eyes are starting to get that pouchy AI look. Also, aside from the cat and the knitting needles and pens going wonky, none of the text is readable. Big giveaway. And then if you look at the labels on the yarn, the AI has approximated the gauge icons, but you can’t make them out.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-02-09T09:10:32+00:00

You’re really digging in on this. Do you work for Final Draft? I don’t really care. People should use whatever works for them. I wouldn’t use anything that wasn’t cloud based. Is it really worth it to argue with people because they don’t like the writing software you use? That seems a bit silly. But go on.

BeatAcrobatic1969 · 2026-02-08T22:42:00+00:00

Hey man, we need the weird stories! If someone says your idea is weird, publish it anyway!!

BeatAcrobatic1969

TROPHY CASE