DIRECTOR+WRITER+PRODUCER+EDITOR RYAN BARTON-GRIMLEY
Ryan Barton-Grimley, or RBG as his distinguished colleagues refer to him, was born in Harare Zimbabwe in the mid-1970's. Battling blood-thirsty lions and mad wilder-beasts for just shy of a decade, he moved to the USA with his family, settling in Carpinteria California, in other words, the exact opposite of Harare Zimbabwe. After doing time at various public and private institutions, almost getting nine degrees in everything from basket-weaving to filmmaking, he graduated from UCLA with a prestigious degree in liberal arts. This astounding feat of academic excellence led to a starring role in the acclaimed indie feature film TROPIX opposite Danielle Bisutti and supporting roles on CRIMINAL MINDS and Fox Movie of the Week, THE PRICE OF LOVE. Burned out on all the fame and fortune, RBG decided to slide further down the rabbit hole writing and directing the internationally acclaimed home invasion thriller... THE TRUTH, starring John Heard, Brendan Sexton III, Erin Cardillo and Daniel Baldwin in 2010. This stunning piece of independent cinema was distributed worldwide, much to the chagrin of film critics everywhere and was one of the most pirated films on the Internet preceding its release. After a short period of reflection on the peak of a mountain at an undisclosed location and directing a slew of advertising and selling out to “the man,” RBG decided to step back in front of the camera, starring in and producing Douglas Mueller's debut feature film... REPATRIATION, a “soldier coming home” story with a twist, currently taking the festival circuit by storm. Next he directed and starred in his second and third feature films... ELIJAH'S ASHES and Award-winning road comedy about brotherly love and homophobia, and... HAWK & REV: VAMPIRE SLAYERS a slacker-horror-comedy about "kicking vampire ass and taking vampire names!" Lastly... keep an eye out for RBG performing improv at UCB or Groundlings and follow him on twitter @rybartongrimley or harass him at www.ryanbartongrimley.com personally or at his award-winning production company www.rbgfilms.com
WRITER+PRODUCER ARI SCHNEIDER
Found hanging off a glacier in Antarctica and raised by an indigenous tribe is NOT how one would describe Ari Schneider’s early life. Rather, he is from Los Angeles, his mother from Buenos Aires and father from the Bronx. He attended school in Santa Monica, did some plays like The Importance of Being Earnest and Comedy of Errors, and learned stuff. Later he was accepted into the Guildford School of Acting in England where he f–ked around a bit and performed in such plays as The Merchant of Venice and Three Sisters. There he received a BA with Honors in acting and musical theatre and was awarded a “Gold with Distinction” from the Royal Academy of Dramatic arts for Stage Combat in use of Broad Sword, Staff and Case of Rapiers. Yup…that’s right. That means he can kick some serious royal ass on stage, but in the “real world” can easily be dominated with a simple kick to the shin or ankle. He currently resides in Los Angeles where you might find him performing at the Second City Theatre, doing thespian bulls–t, living the life of a tortured writer or playing video games. www.arischneider.com
PRODUCER AJ GORDON
An organized and reliable film-nerd evoking the entrepreneurial spirit... A tried and true producer of feature films, broadcast commercials, and high-end corporate video content... A.J Gordon was born and raised in Portland, Oregon as a fan of film, sports, film, live music, film, the outdoors, film, and movies... after graduating from film school, he immediately moved to LA to pursue his lifelong dream of becoming a filmmaker. After gaining years of professional experience on feature films, national commercials, and A-List special events, he re-relocated back to Portland to be involved in its ever-growing motion picture community. www.loadedimageentertainment.com
CINEMATOGRAPHER SEAN AYERS
A native of Hanford CA and a graduate of Cal State Monterey's esteemed Film Studies program, Sean has quickly worked his way up mastering every position related to lighting and camera. Inspired by Emanuel Lubeski's use of natural light, Sean brings a sense of naturalism to all his work. He looks forward to collaborating with you!
PRODUCTION DESIGNER AUDREY HAWORTH
Audrey is a native of Los Angeles and from an early age was trained in classical oil painting and sculpture as well as set design and construction. Growing up amongst artists and engineers of all sorts, and loving both worlds, she became known as the MacGyver of any situation. She graduated with honors from Otis College of Art and Design where, aside from honing her skills in multiple media, site-specific art and environmental design, she focused strongly on the psychology of perception and art theory. She was Art Director on her first film, "From Here to Infinity" with Patrick Stewart at the age of 18 and continues to work on music videos, TV and film in various creative capacities. She has simultaneously worked as an interior designer for many years, consistently reinforcing her love of production design and the psychology of designing worlds around individuals. Always eager for a new challenge, her favorite thing to hear is "I have no idea how we're going to do that! Audrey, go figure it out!" www.audreyhaworth.com
ART DIRECTOR A.J. CAUFIELD
Born into a family of artists, it was only a matter of time before Austin found his rhythm to the beat of the world. Fascinated with art, astronomy, and the great unknowns, his photography allows his imagination to morph and shape the world through his lens. Production Designing and Art Directing enable Austin to live within and see the manifestation of his ideas and creativity in life-size scales as opposed to confined by the limitations of a photo border. It is here that he has found the most success, and the two aptitudes interweave seamlessly, allowing juxtaposition in a beautiful and synonymous manner. www.ajcaulfield.com
COMPOSER ROBBY ELFMAN
Robby Elfman is a graduate of the USC Thornton School of Music (2003) with a Bachelor’s degree in music composition. He was the recipient of the Joe and Alice Harnell Scholarship, the Silvia Grancel Endowed Music Scholarship, the Michael Kamen Scholarship through the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, and the BMI Scholarship for music for film and television. While attending USC he had new music compositions premiered by local L.A. groups such as The Capitol Ensemble, the Donald Novakowsky Foundation, and the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony. He also wrote the music for several short films and documentaries, including the award-winning “Pharaoh’s Streets”, which received recognition at the Silverlake Film Festival in 2002. In 2004, Robby was one of fifteen composers selected to attend the prestigious ASCAP Summer Film Scoring Workshop. In 2009 and 2010 Robby had two original compositions premiered in New York, as part of the “Detour” concert series featuring the work of new composers. In 2012 he composed the original score for the short film “Private War”, which was shown at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. In 2013 Robby was hired to compose the entire news theme music package for San Diego’s local CBS affiliate KFMB News 8. In 2015, he composed the music for 2 independent feature films, “Repatriation” and “Elijah’s Ashes.” In addition to composing music, Robby is also a professional instrumentalist, recording saxophone and clarinet for film and TV scores, radio and TV commercial spots, and rock/pop albums. In 1999, he won the coveted Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Award for his jazz performance on the tenor saxophone at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. He was the 2nd chair clarinetist of the L.A. Jewish Symphony from 2002-2012, and the tenor saxophonist for the L.A. jazz quintet, Jazz Punks, who recorded their debut album Smashups in 2011. In 2014 he moved up to the Bay Area joined a swinging indie-rock band, Royal Jelly Jive, with whom he performs up and down the west coast. Robby lives in the Bay Area, where he performs regularly, continues to compose music for film, television and the concert stage. Robby Elfman
LOCATION SOUND MIXER JOSHUA TIMMER
At an early age Joshua used a friends tape recorder to capture a naughty word much to the shock of his mother, which earned him a strong rebuke and a vow that he would never record again. He's been hooked on sound ever since. Joshua has been working in Chicago's audio and film industry since 2005, continuing a lifelong passion, working in two recording studios, then maneuvering into films, commercials, reality tv, and the list continues to grow. In the future he wants to be the "go-to" location sound recordist in Chicago, and is gaining exposure for his work in post-production audio as well. www.joshuasounds.com
SOUND DESIGNER ALEX REEVES
Alex is podcast engineer and resident sound guy at RocketJump Studios of Video Game High School fame. As a sound designer, Alex has worked on numerous projects for web, broadcast, and film, including music videos for Childish Gambino and Queens of the Stone Age, standup specials for Comedy Central, and RocketJump shorts such as Skyhook and Milkman 2. He also served as ADR Supervisor for all three seasons ofVideo Game High School. In addition to pushing lots of buttons on mixing consoles, Alex is also an accomplished television editor, producer, director, and founder of Point of Blue Studios in Burbank, CA. At RJFS, Alex covers the art of recording voice-over and ADR, the ins and outs of signal flow, and geeking out over sweet audio gear. He also raps, occasionally. www.pobstudios.com