On a more pure social collaboration level, Stage 32, a new site for filmmakers, screenwriters, actors, crew, agents, etc., is quite live and active, with over 10,000 members in more than 120 countries.  While getting funding is part of what the site enables with networking, it’s also about casting, getting crew, finding directors and classes, and just getting advice.  We love the registration via Facebook and how easily it’s integrated there.

The founders of Stage 32 are in the filmmaker’s corner.  The two are Richard “RB” Botto, a screenwriter/actor/producer and Curt Blakeney, president of Edge Public Relations.  They’ve made it a very personal experience, with your home page containing all the things you have added and want to add, suggestions of networking, wall communications.

We’ll be watching in the months ahead to see how it grows, but it’s certainly active, with multiple projects being added at all hours.  Any social network is only as strong as the socializing it attracts, but the tools are here on Stage 32 for filmmakers to connect in meaningful ways — not just in a contest.

As content creators ourselves, we understand what a long journey it can be to develop your own original ideas into successful projects. And we know how important it is to have the right forms of support along the way. There are not many organizations out there who are dedicated to helping emerging artists.

The Alliance for Family Entertainment who have been involved with getting such shows as “Gilmore Girls”, “Everybody Hates Chris” and “Friday Night Lights” on the air are sponsoring a FREE contest. (Full Disclosure: UC is involved with this project! YAY!) They’re looking for comedy screenplays having to do with the modern American family.

The winner will receive $5000, guidance and input from John Wells, whose work includes ER, Third Watch and The West Wing.

Dust off that :30 minute screenplay you polished last year or finish up on the one you started a couple weeks ago. THIS IS WIDE OPEN AND READY FOR THE TAKING!!!!

Submit and additional details here: ComedyWriterContest.com

DEADLINE: October 28th at 11:59 am ET.

We have a couple upcoming projects that we’re very excited about and can’t wait to share with you. But before we dive into those, I’d like to introduce myself as the newest member of the UC team. My name is Adam and I’m going to be helping out with anything and everything that the head honchos are too busy for.  Born and raised on the west side, I am a true product of Los Angeles. Having just graduated from the University of Arizona with some amazing work and cultural experiences, I am eager to hop on the bandwagon of UC success.

But enough about me, let’s get you guys up to speed. Our latest project involves the psychedelic hipster band known as Empire Of The Sun. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, just listen to their hit single “Walking On A Dream”.  If that still doesn’t ring a bell, get with the times. Having just saw them at Coachella a few months ago, I can assure you that these guys are going to be around for a long time and have some major influence on the industry. They’re known for their unique sound, mysterious and psychedelic stage presence, and their funny costumes. Put it all together and they’ve got what we like to call swag.

So we’re giving you guys a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the band in two different areas of the world. One lucky fan will get the chance to be flown to Los Angeles in October to meet the band and attend their sold-out show right in the heart of Downtown LA.  Our second lucky winner will have the same luxury however this time the show is in Melbourne, Australia. Sounds like a good deal to me. Here is a link to the contest and a little promo clip that we made to help you guys get pumped up for what could be an awesome weekend getaway.

So what were these drastic changes that turned the world upside down for a few days? In their effort to take over the world, Facebook added a few applications to make the site more efficient and competitive. Their new system of “Top Stories” and “Most Recent” posts  makes it easier for users to block out the people and or business’s that they don’t wish to read as often. It introduced a “Live Feed Ticker” to compete with Twitter, giving you an updated feed of what everyone is doing at all times (as if Facebook wasn’t already creepy enough). It has an application to check-in to locations to compete with Foursquare. They’ve also integrated Hulu, Spotify, and Yahoo News so that friends can watch movies, share music, and stay up to date on news stories with each other. These are just a few changes in the first wave of things to come.

While these changes may have a temporary effect on consumers, they will have a much stronger effect on brands.

The “Like” button will play a much smaller role in publishing content. Previously when a consumer “liked” a photo, video, or post on a brand’s page, it would be displayed on their page so that all of their friends could see this. This is no longer the case, giving brands less of an influence on Facebook. Furthermore, consumers now have the ability to decide what they wish to mark as a “top story”. Facebook algorithms can now use this information to filter out stories over time that seem of no importance to the user. This puts much more pressure on brands to come up with creative and engaging content. The more clicks and interactions a brand has with its fans,   the more top stories that brand will have with that specific user. This sets the foundations for better brand relationships.

On the upside, brands also now have the ability to promote a specific post, not just the most recent. This can be highly effective if they are trying to reach the widest audience possible with something that is extremely important to them. Previously, messages only reached 5-20% of their fan base. With this feature, they have the potential to reach everyone.

It is human nature to complain about something new. But the fact is that we use Facebook so much that three weeks from now our attitudes will have changed and we will have gotten used to the newer, sexier Facebook that replaced our ex-girlfriend.

I won’t go too much into Coops incredible MC/rythme spittin’ prowess, as that’s not so much the tip he and the group are on anymore, but trust, Kid has flow.  Here’s a link to a gem of a mix tape collabo i’d say i EP’d, mixed by my man Mister Best…. killer flow.

Ok, so fast forward, Steve has an evolved sound, that since I’m not so well versed in the rock genre I can’t make deft comparisons, but rest assured, their live show is guaranteed to have you tapping your foot, shaking your body, and feeling the tunes.  There are a lot of cool tweaked electronic Rhodes sounds, a tempo and pace that is high energy, (they can slow it down too on the grown and sexy tip), and incredible instrumentation all around.

its that kind of futuristic rock n roll that  a hip hop/electronic head can get with.  Dare I say, Radiohead, with faster tempos, more Americana vibed out.  I attended a show 2 nights ago at the Electric Bowery, a dungeony war bunker of a venue, and they tore it down.  Do yourself a favor, plug into Spirit Animal’s digital world and go see a show, I promise you won’t regret it.

Oh and the dude is straight comedy too.  Huge star in the making, mark my blog post. http://twitter.com/#!/thecostofliving

If you’re a hip hop head, having grown up in the 90’s listening to the likes of Tribe, De La, Jungle Bros., then this is a a film for you.   As much as the film documents the origins of one of the  most influential hip hop groups ever, their rise, inter personal issues, and eventual break up… this film is much bigger than them.  It’s really an ode to an era of hip hop, and tells the story of innocence and growth beyond where anybody ever expected it to go.  Tribe is merely a vehicle in my opinion here.

There are the expected cliched stories of egos (or perceived) run amuck, but the purity of the Native Tongues movement still comes through.  Rapaport does a great job of sticking to the script so to speak, of telling the story he, and I think a lot of people want to see.  A straight forward and sober portrait of a group that was instrumental in not only elevating a genre, but I’d argue, preceded and paved the way for the likes of Black Eyed Peas to make fun party jams that all races could get down together on.  The interesting thing is that ATCQ was really afrocentric in their whole persona, and at the same time, all about peace and love.  They don’t get enough props for that.

Big up, go see the film, big up to Michael Rapaport for clearly pouring his heart into a small doc that is an important piece of history… Now as Rapaport said in the Q&A, who’s going to do the WU doc?   “It would take like 7 directors and they’d all lose their minds.”

LETS DO IT!

Our Creative Consigliere Max Joseph helmed this fantastic video we created for TOMS Shoes, which really embodies the spirit of PLAY. We worked with a fantastic choreographer, and dance troop, all genuine TOMS fans, which really brought the whole concept to life.

I remember sitting at Jones on sm blvd, with K$, Hank, and Max, discussing the concept about 6 months ago. Took some time, but here it is.

Ok, we know, we’ve been pretty quiet lately in the megaphone social broadcasting about ourselves sense that is. We’ve been hard at work on a new video series that’s set to launch with GOOD and Ford called “Reinventing the Outdoors” which we’re really proud of. It’s been a ton of work, and in the coming week we’ll be posting the stuff.

So that said, we’re gearing up for a little European holiday/meet the creators tour. I’m going to be doing my best Chev Chase, while trying to stay out of trouble.

We’ll be in the following spots, and we’re looking to connect with creators, be you a blogger, a digital enthusiast, what have you in every city.

Tel Aviv
Jerusalem
Budapest
Berlin
Istanbul
Amsterdam
London
Belgrade

STAND UP!!! Dates to come, looking forward to buying ya’ll a round of drinks. If anybody has recommendations for good pub type spots, please feel free to ping me direct.

Name: Joe Sabia

Job: Lead Creative at JoeSabia.co

Favorite Food: My grandmother’s italian meatball recipe coupled with chewy chips ahoy cookies.

Weapon of Choice: A stereo system blasting aaron neville.

Craziest Moment of Past Year: Portland, Oregon.  Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros hit the stage to sing their crowd favorite, “Home”.  During the interlude where Jane and Alexander chat with each other on stage, they decided to give the microphone to audience members.  After two people speaking jibberish into the mic, I run up, grab it from him, and start freestyling “this is the best motherfucking concert that I’ve ever seen”.

What are you current working on?:

Friday’s are the best, aren’t they?

Tyler, The Creator – “Goblin” – Directed by Wolf Haley

Distant Relatives – “Patience” – Directed by Nabil Elderkin

Erykah Badu – “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long” – Directed by Flying Lotus

Toro Y Moi – “New Beat” – Directed by Scott Ross

Sanso-Xtro – “Hello Night Crow” – Directed by Fergal Brennan