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OREGON MEDIA PRODUCTION ASSN
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Oregon’s Resource for the Media Production Industry
Katherine Wilson: An Oregon Original Producer
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Director’s Letter
We Can Do Anything Together The OMPA Board is amazing. We held a strategic planning meeting at the end of February, and every board member expressed incredible experience and insight, leadership and maturity, creativity and flexibility. We have made OMPA an incredibly relevant institution even during a time of turbulent waters. In addition to the recession, we’ve faced retaining our relevance as the industry has changed, platforms for media have changed, and Oregon’s constituents have changed. In spite of that, OMPA’s membership has grown 83% over 5 years. Our budget has grown 34% over five years. Is growing OMPA a goal? It feels like it. It says that we are offering our professional industry members something of value, and something that they want to contribute to. Financial and membership growth isn’t OMPA’s goal in its own right, but it is a very good measure. How do we do it then? 1. We maintain programs that give value to our members. 2. We communicate that value. Is it easy? Of course it isn’t. There are certain limits to our resources and no limit to our ambition. Everything we do has to be simple to execute, or raise the resources to do so. Primarily we cater to our membership. And not just one type of member, but many, many types. You know who you are: Crew, Editors, Video games, Legal, all sorts of contributors to our industry. How do we organize them all? We publish the production directory, and by all measures, we publish a fantastic directory for the state of Oregon. We take our directory vetting seriously. We also modified the directory categories to better reflect current crew lists. We developed an ecommerce platform for SourceOregon.com. It looks great, and it works better than Oracle’s healthcare portal for CoverOregon. We held the very best industry day the state of Oregon has ever seen. Our story was picked up by AP and 11 other news outlets. And most importantly we activated hundreds of industry members from every part of the state to talk to their legislators in Salem. It was an outstanding exercise of just how organized this organization is. We support higher standards for ourselves and our industry members. In fact, our bylaws dictate that we issue a copy of the Industry Standards & Practices to each OMPA member upon becoming a member. We changed the platform of our website OMPA.org to an easier content management system, so that within a few minutes we can post new stories, information or video on the website, which feels more like a blog about the association than a static billboard. Continued on page 5...
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OREGON MEDIA PRODUCTION ASSN
03.2014 Board of Directors
Mission OMPA is a 501(c)6 non-profit trade association dedicated to the development, growth and enhancement of the film, video and multimedia industry in the state of Oregon.
Board of Directors
Nathaniel Applefield Lisa Cicala Slater Dixon Aaron Douglas Jacqueline Gault Dennis Gleason Stefan Henry-Biskup Jamie Johnk Dennis Noreen Thomas Phillipson Michael Ratoza Dave Spacek Dave Spraker Christopher Toyne James Wilderhancock
Volunteer Liaisons
Stephanie Strahan Jobs Liaison Megan Drennan Office Assistant Christian Henry Office Assistant Dayan Morgan-Sylvaen Portland Chapter Chair Jeff Johnston Willamette Valley Chapter Chair Jennifer Kelley Talent Committee Chair Sibyl Lazarra PR Liaison Gretchen Miller Post-Production Chair Roland Gauthier Post-Production Chair Enrique Arias Regional Government Coordinators Chair
Industry Directory
www.SourceOregon.com
03.2014 We do a lot of communicating. If you get the weekly email, the jobs email, the monthly newsletter, our special events invites, and your emergency updates, you know this. (And that doesn’t even include Facebook.) Chances are, we might even benefit from doing less communicating rather than more. But it’s like asking Charlie Parker to play fewer notes. Which ones would you take out? Can we improve? Yes we can. I’d like to make sure those listed in the book or online are getting the best value for their money. We can improve our search engine optimization for our production directory. It should make sense that we would advertise and promote the production directory. We would like to see us advertise in local outlets, and let small and large business owners know how easy it is to pick up the directory and hire the same professional resources that serve international clients to serve their business. Whatever it is. Or create a compelling documentary. Or make a stop-motion animation music video. Or a computer-generated one. We know there is a perception that we haven’t represented post-production or commercial producers in the same way or with the same visibility as our campaigns to recruit major budget film & television projects to Oregon. We know there are scores of indie producers shooting in driveways and parks and on Facebook and YouTube or whatever they watch now. And no shortage of extremely skilled independent filmmakers graduating from our educational institutions. We can cultivate those indie producers and help them connect the dots of talent, clearances, finance and distribution to see their products to market. We can help education connect their own dots, and see that the graduates they are producing are filling the actual labor demands of our Oregon companies. And what can we say when our light shines as bright as it does on Industry Day, or Oregon’s Got Talent, or the OMPA Classic golf tournament, or any one of our amazing networking meetings. Those events are so good. The only downside is that after each major activity, we hear a murmur of, “OMPA is only about Government,” or “it’s only about Actors,” or “it’s only about Eugene,” or about Golf, or about Portland… We engage our membership in our industry efforts with each other as volunteers as well. Our committees, our committee leaders, and our board members are all volunteer. Without buy-in from departments and the other members which make up the special interests of our industry, we really don’t have any authority. So our board is comprised of diverse industry specialties, and we constantly draw on department leaders to address how we organize and the goals we set for our industry. Here’s to OMPA. We can do anything together.
Tom McFadden Executive Director
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Katherine Wilson An Oregon Original Producer Katherine Wilson’s latest film, “Animal House of Blues: How a Community Helped Create a Hollywood Blockbuster OR TWO,” finishes production this month, and with that, Katherine announces her retirement after a 40-year career as an advocate for filming in Oregon. Through her career, she has connected producers and writers to a network of professional contacts, created grassroots networking organizations and provided services for Hollywood productions. She has mentored hundreds of young filmmakers into the industry along the way as one of Oregon’s first professional casting directors and location scouts. She was honored with the title of “Godmother of Film in Oregon” by Carol Edeline Lukens, one of Oregon’s first talent agents and a fellow casting director in the early 70s. Katherine began as an Oregon poetic cinema filmmaker and then started her Hollywood film career on Mark Rydell’s Cinderella Liberty (1973). Katherine was chosen as the Governor’s liaison to the set of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) and scouted and cast local talent in Animal House (1978). She continued to provide these services for the next 40 years on films including Stand by Me (1986).
Concurrently, she served Oregon’s industry by developing and creating screenplays to film in the Northwest, working with over thirty writers and completing five of her own scripts. Katherine was recently honored for her career in film with a weekendlong party at the Pendleton Round-Up with filmmakers from around the country. She was named by then Film Commissioner Laura Pryor to Governor Victor Atiyeh’s task force on Motion Picture Production in Oregon to create Oregon’s first film office, which helped get her and Marilyn Day grants to create the OMPA. Katherine operates the Oregon Film Factory Movie Museum which features artifacts from her history with Oregon’s industry. The Oregon Film Factory Museum is used to mentor young filmmakers in her presentations to film students, and for licensing to documentaries and publications including A&E Bio Channel and 1849 Magazine.
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Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (POWFEST) Portland, Ore. – The Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (a.k.a. POWFest) is pleased to announce the programming highlights of our upcoming festival scheduled to take place March 6 - 9, 2014 at the Hollywood Theatre. In its 7th consecutive year, POWFest continues to be the only film festival in Portland exclusively placing a spotlight on women directors by showcasing their work and strengthening the community of women in film; and only one of a handful of festivals in the U.S. dedicated to womendirected film. Our goal is to shift the world of women in film, honoring the true pioneers while providing support and recognition for the next generation of leading women filmmakers. In keeping with the organization’s mission to directly impact the future of women in film, this year’s festival will debut a new program aimed directly at local youth.
“...There is no proof that demonstrates women’s opportunities in any of the critical behind the scenes positions has materially improved in the past decade.... ...To that end, I am thrilled to announce the launch of a new skills building program developed with Portland Community Media and specifically designed for high school-aged youth called POWGirls. Over the course of three days– taking place during the 2014 POWFest–a group of selected girls will develop, produce, edit and present a film,” shares POWFest Executive Director, Tara Johnson Medinger. POWFest also hosts local award-winning director, producer and animator Joanna Priestley. With nearly thirty films that explore abstraction, botany, landscape, aging and human rights, we will be sharing a retrospective of her work on Sunday, March 9, 2014 at 7 p.m. followed by a Reception. You can find the festival schedule online at: www.powfest.com/2014-festivalschedule/
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Arri Introduces New AMIRA Camera at Koerner Camera Systems On March 10th and 11th, Arriflex Product Specialist Jim Davis and Arriflex Accessories Specialist Snehal Patel visited Koerner Camera Systems in Portland and Seattle to introduce the new Arri AMIRA camera to the Pacific Northwest. A large crowd of local filmmakers showed up to see what all the fuss is about.
There was 40-minute overview of the new AMIRA camera, presented by Mr. Davis, followed by Q&A from the audience, handson experience and food and refreshments provided by Koerner Camera.
Jim Davis shows off the features of the Amira.
The Amira camera.
The new AMIRA is a versatile, run-andgun, 2K camera with a compact design for single operator use. It can record up to 200 fps with ALEXA image quality, 14 stops, CFast 2.0 workflows and four channels of audio. Mr. Davis demonstrated how appealing the AMIRA is for working right out of the box with no rigging, fast startup time, internal motorized ND filters and a slim, sexy waistline.
Mr. Patel also took time to show off Arri’s new SXU-1 single axis wireless controller and the new WCU-4 three axis wireless lens control unit. Koerner currently has a number of Amiras on order and is expected to take delivery in late April of some of the first Amiras to be delivered in the country. “I think the Amira is going to be a popular option for handheld, providing a smaller, lower profile system,” stated Michael Koerner. “The 200 frames per second option is a no brainer, when you want to get high quality slow motion and have it ready to edit immediately.”
Jim Davis presents to a crowd. Jim Davis operates the Amira for a full room.
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Captions Move Beyond TV Ask your average person about closed captions, and most will picture the black and white blocks of text that accompany live or pre-recorded television broadcasts. But with a gentle but firm push from the Federal Communications Commission and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, captions have moved beyond television and into the realm of multimedia. Whether a screen is housed in a sports stadium, computer, tablet or phone, chances are it can support captions. “Captioning has evolved a great deal since we got into the business 21 years ago,” reported Carol Studenmund, president and co-owner of Portland’s LNS Captioning. “When we started, we captioned only in the broadcast world, both live and postproduction. And while we continue to work in that environment, captioning over 250 hours of live television every week, we also produce captions for clients such as CenturyLink Field, MetLife Stadium and the Moda Center.”
The technology supporting stadium captioning is rapidly improving. Whereas just a few years ago, deaf or hard-ofhearing fans had to make do with handheld assistive devices with weak or nonexistent signal strength, many stadiums now support captions on video boards and huge HD screens. LNS Captioning now provides live realtime captions for all Seattle Seahawks and Seattle Sounders home games in CenturyLink Field, where captions are displayed on two different screens in the stadium so all fans can read along with the public address announcer and any other onfield pronouncements, such as referee calls. On February 2nd, LNS provided live open captions at MetLife Stadium for the Super Bowl. “The best part of captioning the Super Bowl was writing in real time what Mr. Allen said when he was presented the trophy, Stadium captioning by LNS Captioning.
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and knowing Derrick Coleman—one of the Seahawks players who is deaf— could read along and understand what was being said as it was being said,” said Studenmund. The Portland Trail Blazers have been a broadcast client for 16 years. This season, the Blazers added open captioning to Blazers games in Moda Center. Blazer fan Jay Hutchins commented, “It’s so much easier to follow what the announcer is saying when you can read along on the big screen.” LNS also provides captioning services for the University of Oregon, Oregon State University, and the Superdome, captioning for both the New Orleans Saints and Tulane University.
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But sports franchises aren’t the only new captioning clients out there. A 2011 Johns Hopkins University study found that 7.8% of people in our country over the age of 12, or about 48 million people, have a significant enough loss of hearing to have harmful impacts in work and school. Those are all people who need assistance understanding the sounds of everyday life. Whether captioning a city council meeting, a university commencement ceremony or the Super Bowl, LNS Captioning enjoys serving our clients and caption viewers across the Pacific Northwest and the entire country.
Live captioning by LNS Captioning at the Moda Center in Portland.
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Ashland named #2 Top Town to Live and Work as a Moviemaker MovieMaker Magazine has designated Ashland, Oregon as the #2 Top Town in the US to Live and Work as a Moviemaker. The award was based on a number of factors including the frequency and quality of filmmaking, the established infrastructure for the industry, community support for filmmaking, and overall arts scene, cost of living and quality of life. Frequently appearing on national lists for its arts and theater, outdoor activities, culinary amenities and more, being recognized for filmmaking is a first for Ashland. With a population of only 20,000, far smaller than the #1 finisher on MovieMaker’s list of towns (under 100,000 people), steeped in culture and home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Southern Oregon University, Ashland has successfully created a top environment and economic platform for film and video production and media education. To be sure, Ashland has attracted moviemakers for years, but the past several years have brought significant growth in the frequency of films, particularly ones with recognizable stars: REDWOOD HIGHWAY, a film conceived, funded and partially shot in Ashland by local filmmakers (the entire film was shot in Southern Oregon), stars award-winning actors Shirley Knight and Tom Skerritt; NIGHT MOVES, another production with Oregon roots, stars Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard; and the latest film, WILD, starring and produced by Reese Witherspoon based on the book by Cheryl Strayed. Look for all of those movies to be released sometime this year. Add to this many other independent features, short films, documentaries and a robust slate of commercial and corporate projects, and the future is clear. Ashland will become more popular as a place to live and work as a filmmaker and enjoy
the benefits from this growing sector of its economy. The recognition comes in large part to the efforts of Southern Oregon Film and Television. Commonly known as SOFaT, the five year-old organization is a nonprofit professional association committed to the support and expansion of media creation across the entire region through networking opportunities for its members, marketing the region to outside producers, and creating support for the industry here at home. That support has been particularly strong in Ashland, as evidenced by the enthusiastic call to action for the MovieMaker competition. President Mary Cullinan of SOU and Ashland Mayor John Stromberg penned letters of support for Ashland filmmaking. The Ashland Chamber of Commerce contributed highly convincing materials, as did the Ashland Independent Film Festival, itself a MovieMaker awardwinner, named one of the 25 Coolest Festivals in the World in 2013. Acclaimed actor Catherine E. Coulson wrote in on behalf of the local acting community, and newly relocated documentarians and SOU film instructors Robert Clift and Hilary Demmon wrote highly of their new community. Beyond the actual filming of movies, the potential for an active economy in post-production also exists in Ashland. “Modern post production is possible here because of Ashland’s fat pipeline,” states Gary Kout, Executive Director of Southern Oregon Film and Television, referring to Ashland‘s broadband capacity and the need for moviemakers to move very large digital files over the internet. This same capacity was noticed by Google last May, which named Ashland as Oregon’s First Google e-city in 2013. Perhaps that will be the next area of rapid growth for the film industry in Ashland.
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Until that happens, Ashland will continue to do what it does: encourage, support and welcome filmmakers, such as Gary and Anne Lundgren of Joma Films. Not long after the former Southern California-based couple made their second film in the area, the coming-ofage baseball comedy CALVIN MARSHALL, they packed up and moved north. They have since made other films, notably the aforementioned REDWOOD HIGHWAY, and become active content creators for local, regional and national clients.
While the MovieMaker award highlights the Ashland community and its filming strengths, the recognition benefits all of Southern Oregon. “A win for Ashland is a win for the whole region,” says SOFaT’s Gary Kout. “In truth, very few large projects stay within the bounds of one town or another. Everyone is going to benefit from the economic activity that we expect this award will bring.”
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Call to Aspiring Filmmakers
Cinema Pacific and the University of Oregon present the Adrenaline Film Project. From the Cinema Pacific Film Festival: If you are unfamiliar with our festival, we are a collaborative effort between the University of Oregon and the Eugene community. Administered by graduate students in the UO Arts and Administration Program, who work alongside undergraduate interns, Cinema Pacific utilizes venues across campus and Eugene for a five-day festival of screenings, live multimedia performances and art exhibitions.
Screening at Cinema Pacific is the Adrenaline Film Project: this intensive 72 hour workshop is a one of a kind learning experience for student and community filmmakers. Over 72 hours, selected teams receive guidance from working film professionals and then screen their finished films during the festival. More Information at: www.cinemapacific.uoregon.edu/ adrenaline-film-project
Baldwin Blasts into Blogosphere Portland Writer Goes “Nuts” Stone-Cold Nuts, a blog by Portland writer and OMPA member Doug Baldwin, made its debut in late 2013. Described as “Words on Writing and Gambling,” the website takes the form of a travelogue, memoir, casino journey and— for those who care about such things— occasional gambling guide. So, what are “stone-cold nuts,” anyway? Here’s the answer as it appears on the site:
“You win. You lose. You split the pot. But every so often you come up with the stone-cold nuts, a hand no one can beat. At the poker table, this occurs with a degree of regularity. In life, maybe not so much. That’s why we savor those occasional moments of triumph, the rare moments when Lady Luck bestows a fortuitous break, those moments when we feel – when we actually are – unbeatable.” This is the initial foray into the blogosphere for Baldwin, who’s known primarily as a writer of TV spots, corporate videos, web sites and stage plays.
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Making Connections Work As submitted by Darice Dronzek of Darice Designs I have been designing websites since 2000 after I earned my Multimedia Design and Production degree from Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon. I first started volunteering and designed four department sites under the guidance of my teacher, Jerry Ross. This June will mark my 14th year of design, and I have designed on my own almost 100 websites. In 2008, I joined MOPAN (Mid-Oregon Production Arts Network) and became a Board Member and webmaster for the non-profit. MOPAN is a film networking group located in Eugene, which is now the OMPA Willamette Valley (MOPAN) Chapter. I learned through MOPAN how to network and meet potential business clients. During my time as webmaster, I designed the site three times and to its current status in Word Press while maintaining our membership directory listings online. I designed the 2011 Printed Directory for MOPAN (the last one of the group before we went online) with the help of the other Board Members. I have been volunteering at the local film festivals and have met some wonderful, talented Indie producers and crew members.
While at MOPAN, I also organized and assisted President Erik Talbert with guest speakers. One of the things that I love to do (even though I don’t produce film or write, etc.) is to network and put people together so they can do their magic. I love to see people seeing old friends and making new ones and growing their business in the process. My most recent success story is working with Jes Webb of Sights and Sounds Unlimited in Grants Pass, Oregon. I met Jes at the Oregon Media Production Association’s first directory release party that I helped Tom McFadden organize at Roaring Rapids Pizza in Springfield, Oregon in May 2012. We kept in touch and a year later, he hired me to update some of his websites that he has for clients this past May. What I have learned through all this networking is that no matter how hard you work and how many people you meet, it always matters on how you approach things in business and in life. If you have a positive attitude and work hard it will pay off in the end. You will make great business connections for long-term and wonderful friends in the process.
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SAG-AFTRA Members, APP-NW Members and All Other Interested Industry Professionals Are Invited to Life on Set 101 The boards of the SAG-AFTRA Portland Local and the Alliance of Professional Performers Northwest (APP-NW) invite you to attend a very exciting seminar, Life on Set 101, scheduled for Saturday, March 8, 2014. This event features three one-hour moderated panel discussions (including Q&A) starring local industry professionals and SAG-AFTRA staff, covering all phases of working on professional productions such as Grimm and Portlandia, including casting, contracts, on-set standards and working conditions, and compensation. When: 12:30-4:30 PM on Sat, Mar 8, 2014 Where: Northwest Oregon Labor Council 3645 SE 32nd Ave Portland, OR 97202 (one block south of Powell) Schedule includes: Pre-production: Acting coach Scott Rogers, agent Dennis Troutman and casting director Simon Max Hill share
what you need to do to get ready to get the gig. Grimm set costumer Lincoln Barron Holmes, key makeup Laura Loucks, and SFX makeup Christina Kortum talk about what you can expect, and what is expected of you as a professional talent, at the gig. Post-production: PayDogs president Susan Haley and Justin Habel, president of Q6 Talent Agency discuss what you can expect to receive in residuals and other forms of pay, and how you can leverage this gig to get the next one and build your career. For more information and to RSVP, contact Chris Comte at chris.comte@sagaftra.org.
PATA News General Auditions Registration
Audition Workshops
Mark you calendars! General Auditions Registration will open on Friday, March 7th at 8:00 AM. We can’t stress enough that audition slots will fill up quickly so hop online early! We’ll send you more information and registration details as the time approaches. The registration link can be found here: www.portlandtheatre.com/generalauditions.html
Our Audition Workshops page is full of workshop opportunities from some of PATA business members including: Sam Hull, Rick Lewis, Scott Rogers, Michelle Seymour and Tim True.
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Announcing Carter Jon
jill.edwards.61@gmail.com Actor represented by Take 2
Intel Corp - ISTV Chris Davis
503-515-3576 chris.m.davis@intel.com software.intel.com/tv Editor, motion graphics, post-production
Albie Mushaney
503-602-9050 amushaney@gmail.com Actor represented by Take 2
Amber Buker
918-708-2024 aeb@lclark.edu Law student at Lewis & Clark, law clerk
Andrew Poole Todd
503-701-6335 info@andrewpooletodd.com www.andrewpooletodd.com Composer of original music for film and television
Koptr LLC Brian Lehmann
503-272-1245 brian.lehmann@gmail.com www.koptr.com Low-altitude aerial cinematography
Colin K Flanagan
503-913-3980 ck.flanagan@gmail.com Actor represented by Take 2
Cynthia Palormo
310-795-8172 cynspica@mac.com Television, film & documentary producer
Darin Moran
213-819-2727 darinmoran@mac.com www.darinmoran.com Director of Photography
Lemoine Law Firm Gano Lemoine
503-799-9745 ganolemoine@lemoinefirm.com www.lemoinefirm.com Entertainment, media & business law
Isaac Hayden
Pura Vida Multimedia Caelan Huntress
503-956-6425 caelan@puravidamultimedia.com www.puravidamultimedia.com Website design, content marketing & videography
503-367-0060 isaac.hayden@comcast.net Set Dresser
Continued...
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Allied Video Productions Jeff Hart
503-363-7301, 800-949-7240 jeff@alliedvideo.com www.alliedvideo.com Corporate/industrial production company
Paul Santoni
714-227-1131 paulsantoni1@gmail.com 1st AC and underwater specialist
Rafael DeLima
Uncage the Soul Productions John Waller 503-970-9357 john@uncagethesoul.com www.uncagethesoul.com Commercial production company
Katherine Fletcher
480-326-8060 redgeisha79@aol.com Actor represented by Take 2
Studio 3 Films Laura Swales
503-238-1748 laura@studio3.com studio3films.com Full service production company
Melody Saunders Photography and Sound Blimp Rental Melody Saunders
503-636-1255 melody@melodysaundersphotography.com Event & headshot photographer
Mike McGonegal
603-654-7472 603-300-8275 mike@mikemcgonegal.com www.mikemcgonegal.com Voice Actor represented by Take 2
Nathan Narain
541-543-3590 nathannarain2012@gmail.com Actor represented by Take 2
503-953-3578 rafael@limazone.com www.limazone.com Student at PCC, studying Multimedia
Sarah Lombardi
617-208-8199 Lom.917@gmail.com Post Production
Summer N Phoenix
541-350-6366 summerphoenix09@yahoo.com Actor represented by Take 2
Vickie Paul
971-600-8404 vpaul2424@gmail.com MFA Candidate at Academy of Art University in Motion Picture & Television Production
Xan Wolfe
650-465-4895 ensowolfe@gmail.com Actor, artist
Zach Zoller
360-619-8607 ZachZoller@gmail.com Writer, director and producer