I’m excited to roll out three new Film Case Studies inside Film Lab Society. Each of these takes me about a day to produce. 🎬 Blue Ruin 🎬 Whiplash 🎬 The Witch (For my Horror Filmmakers) These aren’t reviews or theory — they’re deep dive breakdowns of how real indie films were financed, produced, premiered, and sold. New Case Studies: Blue Ruin — crowdfunding + genre + Cannes Whiplash — proof-of-concept → financing → Oscars The Witch — prestige horror → Sundance → A24 Each class includes a full 5-module course, assignments, and actionable takeaways you can apply directly to your own film. THESE SHOULD BE USED TO SHOW INVESTORS ALSO! This is about learning how films actually break out — not just how they’re made. Dive in when you’re ready.

Hi my name is Hillary I'm a casting director with 38 years in the industry covering Film, television, and stage productions. I'm a big fan of vintage film styles and love to talk shop.

(This is the stuff they don’t teach in film school.) Alright listen up — because this is where 90% of screenwriters screw up before they even BEGIN. They open Final Draft…They crack their knuckles…And they just start typing page one. WRONG. That’s how you waste 6 months writing a script nobody understands, nobody finishes, and no festival cares about. 👉 Before you write ONE scene, you must know EXACTLY what emotion your movie is delivering. This is your product. This is what the audience is buying. This is what festivals are programming. Not your cinematography. Not your dialogue. Not your clever idea. The EMOTION. You have to answer this, right now, in ONE sentence: “At the end of my film, the audience should FEEL ______.” That’s it. That’s the whole game. Conflicted? Gutted? Uplifted? Disturbed? Vindicated? Electrified? Heartbroken? Empowered? Because once you know that, everything else becomes easy: - Your opening scene - Your character’s flaw - Your midpoint - Your climax - Your final image - Your music - Your pacing - Your tone Every scene either drives that emotional punch, or you CUT IT. And here’s the festival truth — straight from someone who’s programmed: Movies with a CLEAR emotional destination get programmed. Movies without one get tossed in the “maybe” pile… which is the “no” pile. So — ❓ What’s the emotion your film is selling? Post it below. One sentence. No fluff. I’ll reply to every comment and help you sharpen it so your script actually WORKS. Let’s do this. 🎬🔥

I’m Jonathan. I was born in Hollywood, California and, in a funny full-circle twist, I now work in Hollywood, Florida. I’m exploring a new project in the wine + fine dining space and joined FLS to sharpen my creative execution, storytelling, and production skills. One thing I’m actively working on is building the right team - leaning into my strengths and learning how to offload the parts that slow me down. I’m looking forward to digging into this with the community, Quincy, and all of you. Glad to be here and excited to learn from everyone.

Learn the complete roadmap for getting investors for your indie film. In this lesson, Quincy breaks down how to raise money using private investors, local community networks, entertainment funds, and the four mega-buckets of film financing. You’ll learn how to approach investors, what motivates them, how to structure deals, and how to build a pitch that actually gets funded. Click on CLASSROOM up above and check out the video! https://www.skool.com/film-lab-society/classroom/c1df087f?md=72d45f3340ce4c2780b919ffccd3a039