From broken dreams to script breakdowns

Hi all, today we release the blog in a slightly unexpected format. This time, we want to acquaint you with the backstory of how the idea of an AI-based script breakdown platform was born. Even the date is not a coincidence: on Christmas Eve, we want to share with you an inspiring story that proves dreams do actually come true. Our guest today is Egor Dubrovsky, co-founder and CEO of Filmustage.com, who wants to share his exciting story with readers. Enjoy.

But before we dive into this journey, we want to remind you that the main idea of the blog is to bring the love of art and try to inspire the shy guy sitting in the corner and keeping his creative ideas for himself to take a camera and implement his ideas and thoughts in a movie, leaving the boring pre-production routine to the Filmustage - automatic script breakdown.

Also, after a long time of hard work, we are happy to announce the beta-testing of the new scheduling feature. Be among the first to test the new functionality - click here for more details.

Comics by @nadi_bulochka

Hi, my name is Egor...

... and I'm the CEO and co-founder of Filmustage. I want to tell the story of how Filmustage was born: how an unlucky accident led to a cool startup that helps a vast number of filmmakers around the world. Everything started with the journey to the United States.

How did I get to America?

I'm originally from Belarus and have worked in advertising, filmmaking, and photography for many years there. We were all excited about what we were doing when I was younger and full of energy to learn and open new horizons. Thus, I founded my own production studio with my friends. As a part of the production process, we went to LA to shoot films and backstage footage, gain experience, make acquaintances, and learn from the best. As expected, I made many friends and got interesting contacts among movie makers.

We visited my friend in San Francisco and decided to go to the jazz club. The music was terrific, and I had a wonderful time in the company of friends, but as it turned out later, it was a fateful evening for me. I hadn't had a chance to leave all my valuable equipment and documents at my friend's house before going to the club, leaving all that stuff in the boot of my car.

As it turned out later, it was a criminal area, and we went there simply because of our ignorance. When our wonderful evening ended, we unexpectedly found that robbers had broken into my car and stolen my backpack with all my belongings.

We got lucky as the police were already nearby somehow, but we discovered they had come for another call. I asked them to help us, and they offered to stay with them until they finished with the first call, where someone had either been robbed or had tried to kill someone. In short, the neighborhood was dangerous.

I asked the police officers to take fingerprints off the car because I had seen how it had been done in films and TV series before. They agreed to show me how they did it but warned me that it would not bear any fruit. In truth, the police said that robbers usually throw away documents in such cases, and I could try to find them somewhere. I tried, but of course I couldn’t.

This is the story of how I lost everything. But when one door closes, another one opens to you, right?

I missed my flight home and called the Belarusian consulate. He told me that they would help me with all the papers to be able to return home. It took me a couple of days to get my documents done, but it was hurricane season in the USA, and they couldn't deliver them in time. So, I got stuck in LA and had to wait three months.

The Candle & the Curse

Darnell Rhea, Hayden Lam, and Ashwini Ganpule in The Candle & the Curse

IMDb

At that time, I ran out of money and felt insecure. I had to either join gangs, hahaha, or work as a dishwasher, but I decided to text some of my friends, and they helped me get a job shooting pilots for Netflix and Amazon. It was exactly what I was good at.

In the shooting stages, I started wondering and asking my colleagues how local filmmakers perform script breakdowns. It turned out that they did it using the analog method—with paper and pen in their hands. Back then, I didn't understand why, in an era when there was so much technology and smart solutions, filmmakers had to spend so much time on routine processes, so I got the idea to automate and speed up those processes by implementing AI-based technology in the filmmakers' day to day work.

Thus, by fate, I left the film industry in my own country to immerse myself in the one in the USA. When I returned home, my Hollywood adventures and their spirit inspired me to create an international product for filmmakers and production studios that helps all talented filmmakers do Hollywood-quality work wherever they are in the world. Prepare your script—we'll do the rest.

Afterword

The film industry is an industry of enthusiasm. Once you're there, you'll always be in the flow of creative hustle and responsibility, and that's what inspires the entire Filmustage team. We want you to be able to work comfortably with our all-in-one filmmaking pre-production platform. Don't be afraid of failure, and don't give up in the face of adversity.

Merry Christmas! We wish you to believe in yourself and make even the craziest ideas and dreams come true.

Love, Filmustage team.