Film and Television

2010

Editor of feature films, television series and commercials; film director, visual effects editor, visual effects compositor and visual effects coordinator

Emmy recognition for visual effects on the HBO miniseries "John Adams"

Set Guinness world record for the longest wedding train on film short "The Differences Between Men & Women"; editor of "Along The Way," Best Picture Winner at Wilmington Independent Film Festival; visual effects editor on "Unbreakable" theatrical trailer, Best of Show Winner and Best Drama Trailer Winner at Key Art Awards

Member of Editors Guild

"I began teaching years ago as a motorcycle safety instructor in California and found the experience to be quite wonderful. As I pursued my career in film, I ultimately become a mentor and advisor to many co-workers ascending through the ranks with me. During my time of owning and operating an environmental health business in Austin, Texas, I was routinely invited to guest lecture at seminars around the state. These experiences ultimately converged as I became a guest lecturer to the film department at The University of Texas. It is through this experience that I have discovered the tremendous joy in educating others. I have found the exposure to the new and creative energy of SCAD students to be amazingly rewarding. I have had so many diverse opportunities in the film industry and sincerely enjoy sharing what I have learned with this next generation of filmmakers."

• FILM 210 Postproduction Techniques
• FILM 322 Advanced Postproduction
• FILM 367 Directing and Producing the Music Video
• FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III

"I am passionate about film and enthusiastic about my chance to mentor and educate the next generation of filmmakers. My fellow faculty members are amazing, and I absolutely enjoy the opportunity to collaborate with them on projects and course development. As the students grow and learn more about their craft, I continue to be amazed as to their artistic and technical abilities. Their dedication to the program is infectious and keeps me going every quarter. I am looking forward to many more years of teaching these students."

jonalvord.com

2003

Writer and producer for network and cable television since 1981, including situation comedy, drama, documentary and daytime drama; development deals with Castlerock, Universal and The Family Channel

Executive producer and creator of "Big Brother Jake" (The Family Channel); staff writer for "The Cosby Show" (Carsey-Werner/NBC); associate writer for "As the World Turns" (Procter & Gamble/CBS); story editor for "Diamonds" (USA Network/CBS); supervising producer/writer for "More True Stories from Touched by an Angel" (CBS) and "The Mysterious Man of the Shroud" (CBS)

Emmy nomination for "As The World Turns"

Writers Guild of America, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, University Film and Video Association

• "The Littlest Magi," Zonderkidz, 2004
• "The Legend of the Sand Dollar," Zonderkidz, 2005
• "Molly and the Good Shepherd," Zonderkidz, 2005
• "A Thief, A Stranger, and A Pack of Lies," Zonderkidz, 2005
• "The Chinese Puzzle Box," Zonderkidz, 2005
• "The Forgotten Room," Zonderkidz, 2005
• "Hidden in Plain Sight," Zonderkidz, 2010

"All of the great films and television shows of the past. Every generation needs to understand where we came from to help us know where we're going."

• FILM 105 Preproduction
• FILM 106 Introduction to Screenwriting
• FILM 215 Screenwriting
• FILM 310 Television Comedy Writing
• FILM 315 Advanced Screenwriting
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 450 Off-campus: Los Angeles
• FILM 707 Screenwriting
• FILM 726 The Screenplay Adaptation
• FILM 762 Writing for Television: Drama
• FILM 763 Writing for Television: Comedy
• FILM 769 The Television Pilot

"In the absence of genius, there is always craftsmanship. Lack of genius is understandable since there are so few that grace our presence, but there is no excuse for lack of craftsmanship."

1996

Cinematographer, Canton-Walker Productions, No Joke Productions, Hood Fellas Records, BBC Productions

Mission on the Move Honduras Mission; No Joke Productions documentary on black comedians; Project Azuka Beijing Film Festival

Who's Who of College Professors; Black International Film Festival; Night of the Black Independent Film Festival

• Cinematography seminar, Teen International Film Festival, Toronto
• Cinematography seminar, Hot Springs Film Festival
• Cinematography seminar, Burke Film Festival
• Cinematography seminar, Savannah State University Communications Expo

"I once heard a director respond to the question posed to him 'Why do you direct?' and he said, 'Never ask the centipede why it walks, because it will stumble.'

"Teacher/Artist/Father/Husband/Son is who I am. My teacher in high school, Ms. Barbara Maimon, saw an artist inside a graffiti writer and pulled him out of me, while at the same time mentoring me to use art to express myself and tell stories and ideas. As a teacher, I want to do the same for other artists. I love to mentor and educate students to help them find the artist that they can be, that they are, and what message they can give the world. My reward is when they become that artist, the world recognizes them and they are rewarded for their work."

• FILM 100 Introduction to Film and Video Production
• FILM 132 Lighting and Field Production Techniques
• FILM 313 Advanced Lighting
• FILM 393 Digital Cinematography
• FILM 403 Cinematography
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 501 Technical Elements of Film Production
• FILM 710 Film and Digital Media Production Technology
• FILM 727 Cinematography
• FILM 732 Field Production
• FILM 767 Graduate Digital Cinematography

"As a child sitting in church and kicking my feet against the pew in front of me, I would turn and look past my older brother and see my mother's expression, one of warning and a promise of certain punishment once we were away from church. Life is full of special moments like this. We rarely stop to notice them. As an artist I want to capture those moments and put them on display, be it on canvas or the screen. I want to share the moments one might miss, and cause a dialogue about what the image evokes."

1998

Independent filmmaker and visual artist; freelance television producer, New York, New York; graduate instructor, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts; educational film producer, New Orleans, Louisiana

Writer, producer and director of award-winning short film, "Luke"; world premiere at the 33rd International Film Festival Rotterdam, 2004

Alumni of the Year, College of Architecture, Art and Design, Mississippi State University

University Film and Video Association

• 2011. Ray Bradbury's "Fahrenheit 451," director of live action film segments for the theatrical production, Lucas Theatre for the Arts, Savannah, Georgia
• 2009. "Ever Present and in Motion," ACA Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
• 2008. "Cindigenous," sponsored by the Savannah Film Commission and the Telfair Museum of Art Jepson Center for the Arts, Savannah, Georgia
• 2007. "Together @ Last" juried exhibition, Red Gallery, Savannah, Georgia
• 2007. "Finding Rothko," Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charleston, South Carolina, original 16mm film accompaniment to Adam Schoenberg composition
• 2006. "Virginia Film Festival: God on Film," Charlottesville, Virginia
• 2005. "Syncretism" Exhibition (Drain magazine), site specific, Savannah, Georgia
• 2005. Spring Vernissage EXPO 2005, Lacoste, France
• 2004. "Quiet" Exhibition, Aquaspace Gallery, Savannah, Georgia
• 2003. "Flow" Exhibition, Aquaspace Gallery, Savannah, Georgia

"Each of us has a voice. As an educator it is my mission to work with each student in assisting them to discover and unleash that voice through art making. Today, more than ever, our culture is permeated with the complexities of time-based media. The need for exploring new avenues of storytelling with vitality and clarity of vision is paramount in cultivating new talent. It is in the process of discovering and forming these unique voices that I am called to a life of education in the arts."

• FILM 100 Introduction to Film and Video Production
• FILM 215 Screenwriting
• FILM 320 Directing the Narrative
• FILM 337 Directing the Documentary
• FILM 361 Theory and Application in Film
• FILM 365 Experimental Film and Installation
• FILM 366 Production for Alternative Distribution
• FILM 401 Directing Actors
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 503 Practical Elements of Film Production
• FILM 729 Directing for Film and Television
• FILM 768 Directing Actors

"Art shows us a new way of looking at something. Art provokes us to ask questions. It is the role of the artist to create an intercessor between idea and participant so that we might begin to see the connections we often take for granted through a new lens. Film and television are the optimum media for collaborative learning and participation. It is through the discourse of multiple voices that we learn about one another and mature in our understanding of the complex communities with which we are a part."

2006

Professor, The Art Institute of Atlanta; production manager, Metro Atlanta; executive producer/local production, Georgia Public Broadcasting; executive producer, "Georgia Digest"; producer, "The 43rd Annual Puppeteers of America"; producer/director, "Do You Want to Win?"; producer/director, "The Wally Botkin Show"; producer/director, "Georgia Forum"; producer/director, "Power Switch"; producer/director, "By Line"; director, "The Lawmakers"

Served in the United States Army for two years in the Signal Corps; honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant

Recipient of the 2002 National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Silver Circle Award for 25 years of outstanding service to the television industry; six Regional Emmy Awards

American Federation of Radio and Television Artists, Screen Actors Guild National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Board of Governors, International Documentary Association

• "The Art of Field Dressing," Georgia Outdoor News, 1997
• "Trophy," Southern Sportsman, 1998
• "The Lure of the Hunt," Southern Sportsman, 2001
• "Flying Dragons," children's novel, currently submitted for publication

"Hilderbert Eusebius Suggs, my great uncle. He raced motorcycles. He invented a device to shell peanuts and his metal shop was always closed on opening day of quail season."

• DWRI 101 Introduction to Dramatic Writing
• FILM 105 Preproduction
• FILM 106 Introduction to Screenwriting
• FILM 215 Screenwriting
• FILM 224 Survey of Film
• FILM 337 Directing the Documentary
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III

"If you are not having fun, you are doing something wrong."

1987

Cinematographer, "Winter in the Grand Tetons"; cinematographer, "Wildlife Near Venice, LA"; cinematographer, "Putting a Pyramid in the Ocean"; cinematographer, "Solar Mirror Field"; cinematographer, "Geothermal Electric Production"; helicopter cinematographer, "Santa Barbara Coastal Project"; lighting director, "Garage Sale of the Stars" public service announcements; Steadicam operator, Lee Motion Pictures; underwater camera supervisor, two-man submersible and team of two underwater cameras; offshore cinematographer, "In Bering Sea"; faculty supervisor, 1996 Olympic coverage

"Working with a muse by the name of Jean Wolff; meeting Ben Morris; working with video artist Bill Viola; credit on the Grammy award-winning CD "In The Moment" by Dianne Reeves; meeting Geraldine Chaplin and her husband at the Savannah Film Festival; attending the Cannes Film Festival the first time and being met at the airport by a guy holding a sign with my last name on it."

Georgia Southern University, "A Short History of Video Art"

"Filmmaking is an experiential process, handed down by film professionals in mostly an oral tradition of mentor to student. Being able to share the combined work/art/research/experience of a 30-year career with the next generation of filmmakers is rewarding in and of itself; it is made even more fulfilling when SCAD film alumni tell me of their successes."

• FILM 132 Lighting and Field Production Techniques
• FILM 224 Survey of Film
• FILM 312 Panther Dolly Seminar
• FILM 323 Art Video
• FILM 408 Steadicam
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II

"To quote Berlin-based photographer Stephan Tillmans: 'The television picture breaks down and creates a structure of light. The pictures refuse external reference and broach the issue of the difference between abstraction and concretion in photography. The breakdown of the television picture describes the breakdown of the reference. The product is self-referential photography.' "

2008

Motion picture writer/director, producer and writer; creator, ABC television series "LOTTERY!"; writer, "Goldie and the Bears" pilot script; writer, "Campus Heat" pilot script; writer and producer, "MacGyver"; creator, Universal Television, Tri-Star Television, Interscope and Dick Clark Productions, series concepts; director and writer, "AMERICA 3000"; additional work as a documentary and commercial producer, cameraman and editor

Writer/director, "America 3000"; creator, "Lottery!"; writer, "Death Wish II" and "Over The Top"

The Southern California Motion Picture Council's Golden Star Halo Award, The Academy of Science Fiction and Horror Films' Golden Scroll Award for Outstanding Achievement for "America 3000"

Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America, Alpha Psi Omega

"Motivating tomorrow's filmmakers and writers to create new, original and exciting material."

• FILM 106 Introduction to Screenwriting
• FILM 310 Television Comedy Writing
• FILM 315 Advanced Screenwriting
• FILM 320 Directing the Narrative
• FILM 431 Senior Project
• DWRI 101 Introduction to Dramatic Writing
• DWRI 495 Dramatic Writing Senior Project
• MPRA 315 Advanced Playwriting

"I strive to create strong and emotionally engaging films and screenplays, which open up the audience's eyes and challenge their perceptions of the world and their place in it."

2002

Feature film director, episodic television director, screenwriter, Los Angeles, California, 1994-2001; script supervisor, Hollywood, California, 1985-94; camera operator and sound boom operator, Athens/Atlanta, Georgia, 1978-85; adjunct professor, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia, 2001-02

Becoming a movie director in Hollywood in an era when women represented only 3 percent of feature film directors

Directors Guild of America, 1994-present; Writers Guild of America, 1994-present; The Gersh Agency, New York, New York, 2008-present; The Gersh Agency, Los Angeles, California, 1994-2002; IATSE, 1990-96

Director and co-writer of "Savannah," starring Jim Caviezel, Chiwetel Ejiofar, Sam Shepard (release, 2012); director, "Foxfire" starring Angelina Jolie; "The Foot Shooting Party" starring Leonardo DiCaprio; "seaQuest DSV" produced by Steven Spielberg; director and co-writer of "Love is Strange" starring Ron Silver and Julie Harris; co-writer of "Blue Valley Songbird" produced by Dolly Parton

"There is a Chinese saying, 'To teach is to learn twice.' I stepped out of the industry straight into the classroom with a ton of experience and little idea how to impart what I knew. So I asked a lot of questions and did a lot of listening to my students - to where the student was, what his goals were, what she needed to achieve her dreams. I learned a vocabulary existed for what I was doing: the 'Socratic' approach, 'student-directed' learning, and very gradually this give-and-take between the students and myself evolved into a teaching style. There is no greater joy than to help another achieve their dreams and there is no greater source of inspiration than an environment of learning. My inspiration for teaching is the students themselves: the teaching they impart on me."

• FILM 401 Directing Actors
• FILM 412 Shot Design
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III
• FILM 768 Directing Actors
• FILM 708 Designing Shots

"To be productive and creative, to make a meaningful contribution to society as a filmmaker and writer. To consider the impact my words and my work have on a community and be mindful of my choices."

2003

Director of photography, Los Angeles, Madrid, Beijing, Paris, Munich; film, television and commercial director, Los Angeles, Madrid, Beijing; lecturer, UCLA, Los Angeles, California; instructor, Maine Photographic Workshops, Rockport, Maine; instructor, Sony Institute, Los Angeles, California; director, Arkansas Film and Television Workshops, Hot Springs, Arkansas; lecturer, Northeast Arkansas Educational Coop

Member of the production teams for award-winning television shows "Happy Days," "Laverne and Shirley," "Mork and Mindy," "Rhoda," "Valerie," "Perfect Strangers" and "M.A.S.H."

Panavision Professional and Educational Award; Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Faculty Award, Los Angeles, California; Eastman Kodak Film Grants; DGA Writers Workshop

Directors Guild of America, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, University Film and Television Association, International Cinematographers Guild

Presentations

• "Leadership and Filmmaking," LEAD Conference, Savannah, Georgia, 2011.
• "Filmmaking as a Profession," Arkansas Student Filmmakers, Hot Springs, Arkansas, 2010.
• "The Reel and the Résumé," Southeast College Teachers Association, Savannah, Georgia 2009.
• "Advanced Telecine Techniques," Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, Los Angeles, California, 2002.
• "Lighting Large Surface Green and Blue Screens for Visual Effects," Tiffen Technical Center, Burbank, California, 1995.

Papers

• "French Theatrical Exhibition," UFVA National Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2008.
• "Current French Cinema Production," UFVA National Conference, Orange, California, 2006.

Panelist

• "Lighting for Features," Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, Georgia, 2004.
• "Cinematography for Features," Savannah Film Festival, Savannah, Georgia, 2003.
• "Cinematography," American Society of Cinematographers, Los Angeles, California, 2000.

Books

• "Preparation of Motion Picture Camera Equipment," American Cinematographer Manual, 9th Edition, 2004: 84-100.
• Creative Control: Filmmaking and Cinematography, by Michael Hofstein. USA: Little Horse Press (1998).

Articles

• "Los Angeles Film Festival," Indie Slate Magazine, Issue 37, Vol. 8, Oct. 2004: 47-50.
• "An Indie Action Thriller," Indie Slate Magazine, Issue 23, Vol. 5, Nov. 2001: 21-23.
• "Inspiration on the Ice Planet," In Camera Magazine, Oct. 2001: 23.

"After receiving most of my training from mentors within the major studios in Hollywood, I experienced the transition from a unique filmmaking system, which was ostensibly run by the remaining original families and filmmakers, to a motion picture studio system purchased by international corporations who changed the business model. With this change, many unique studio departments were abandoned including the studio camera departments. With this transition, a vacuum developed whereby future filmmakers could no longer train and learn the significant skills necessary from those studio producers, directors, cinematographers and art directors who had come before them. That was the moment I decided to become involved in education. Now as a professor, I teach students who have the desire to become filmmakers. I look for the individual with distinctive qualities, individuals who exhibit not only the desire but also have the intensity and the understanding for learning the filmmaking process. I am inspired when such a student appears in my classroom, and I enjoy the process of teaching and observing each of those exceptional students grow and develop as artists."

• FILM 100 Introduction to Film and Video Production
• FILM 132 Lighting and Field Production Techniques
• FILM 313 Advanced Lighting
• FILM 393 Digital Cinematography
• FILM 403 Cinematography
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 710 Film and Digital Media Production Technology
• FILM 727 Cinematography
• FILM 732 Field Production
• FILM 767 Graduate Digital Cinematography
• FILM 790 Film and Television M.F.A. Thesis

"When I work either as a film director or as a director of photography, I have developed an intensity and passion whenever telling a story either through the emotions displayed when an actor speaks the written word or when lighting a scene to create a visual sense of place and mood. Within the collaborative process where the true story unfolds I am overtaken by a sense of wonderment as the written word transitions to a visual story. And as an integral part of the artistic team, it is a true thrill when the results of this collaborative process can envelope an audience and cause an emotional reaction or perhaps later cause an audience's reflection of the events created within that story. I find inspiration and a sense of fulfillment when the audience's reactions transport them into the alternative world projected onto the screen."

2002

Film and television director; chair of film and television department, College of Muse and Dramatic Arts, Czechoslovakia; film and television professor, College of Muse and Dramatic Arts, Czechoslovakia

Producer of "The Lunch Box," the winner in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Student Academy Awards competition; The Best Director Award for TV Miniseries "The Goblin"; National Film Award for Best Feature Film "Aphrodite" at Der Augsburger Kinderfilmdrache International Film Festival, Germany

The Best Director Award for the film "How Julia Saved the Middle Kingdom"; director of "Aphrodite," awarded by The Prize of Children Jury for the film; director of many films chosen to be part of the official selections at international film and television festivals including: Cannes, France; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Prix Italia; Reims, France; Golden Chest Plovdiv, Bulgaria; Varna, Bulgaria; Munich, Germany; Prix Danube Bratislava, Slovakia

LITA Society of Authors, Union of the Slovak Television Creators

"I began a career as a child actor at age 14. I found this experience very useful and intended to use it along with my film graduate education in the professional pursuit of my passion, film and television directing. As soon as my professional career took off, I got an offer from my alma mater to return as a film educator, which I gladly accepted. And that was the moment when I've discovered my second passion, teaching. I owe much to my parents, who were educators as well, with great experiences. I tremendously enjoy teaching, mentoring and inspiring a young generation of filmmakers. Nothing is more awarding for me than instilling a passion for a film art into students and seeing the result of appreciation of cinema in their successful film productions. For me, it is like an extension of my own life."

• FILM 320 Directing the Narrative
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III
• FILM 729 Directing for Film and Television
• FILM 790 Film and Television M.F.A. Thesis

"I teach film and television directing based on my own directing experience and theoretical knowledge from a deeply personal point of view, inspired by European film school. What I try to convey in class is also my own answer in looking for a balance between two different approaches - to teach the craft of filmmaking (my U.S. experience) or art of filmmaking (my European experience). I try to blend both approaches and equally divide the emphasis between the artistic part of film and television directing, on one side, and practical training in skills and craftsmanship with theoretical inquiry on another side. I continually implement high aesthetic and academic principles in students' work and do my best in order for the thesis films of our students to be even better and recognized all over the world. The students' professional education and professional success is my primary goal."

2008

Electrician, "No God No Master," Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Grip, "Nonames," Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; Electrician, "Paula's Party," Savannah, Georgia; Promotions Producer, WFRV, Green Bay, Wisconsin; Utility, Fox Sports, National; Utility, CBS Sports, National; Utility, ABC Sports, National

President of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees 320, Savannah, Georgia

Best Cinematography in a short film, 48 Hour Film Festival 2010, Savannah, Georgia

International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

"Being a film professor is an amazing career. I get to combine my love for filmmaking with mentoring students. The time in class is fun and rewarding, because I get to share my experiences on set and help train the next generation of filmmakers."

• FILM 100 Introduction to Film and Video Production
• FILM 105 Preproduction
• FILM 106 Introduction to Screenwriting
• FILM 132 Lighting and Field Production Techniques
• FILM 210 Postproduction Techniques
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III
• FILM 708 Designing Shots
• FILM 710 Film and Digital Media Production Technology
• FILM 748 Film and Television M.A. Final Project
• FILM 757 Advanced Editing

"I am drawn to moving images and light. In my work I combine motion along with color theory to help bring meaning to the visual image on the screen. Through different lenses and lighting it is possible to physically change the way someone looks at a person, place or environment. As a director of photography it is possible to create a peaceful moment of relaxation, tension or provoke almost any emotion within the viewing audience. The power of this medium is why I am a filmmaker."

1994

Chair of the film and television department, SCAD, 2001-04; professor of film and television production, Instituto Tecnologico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Mexico City, Mexico; BMG Video; J. Walter Thompson; Pedone & Partners; staff comedy writer, Once Upon A Planet Books; former AEA member; producer, director, writer and actress at theaters including La Mama, WPA, Old Reliable Theater Tavern, New York Theater Ensemble, Women's Ensemble Theater at the Women's Interart Center, Alice Theater, New York City and Bucks County Playhouse, New Hope, Pennsylvania

Producer/director/screenwriter of  "Sturdy Browns" starring Shirley Stoler screened at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York; producer of Lubriderm Lotion's "Quick Reminder" named "Best Commercial of the 90s" by ADWEEK; performances reviewed in the New York Times for the plays "L'Etat" and "Electra Speaks" a one-woman show "You Don't Know Me, I'm Not Famous"; selected by Martin Scorsese to participate in his mentorship program at NYU graduate film and television department, Tisch School of the Arts

Most notable commercial spots:
"Pretty Gritty" - Unilever - Lever 2000 Soap - "New York Magazine" write up; "Quick Reminder" - Warner Lambert - Lubriderm Lotion - "Adweek" - Best Ads of 1990; "Tell Nuprin Where It Hurts" - Bristol Meyers - Nuprin; "Cook Your Food Not Your Wrap" - R.J. Reynolds - Reynolds Wrap; "Spirit Is" - Warner Lambert - Spirit Gum - Winner of $50 million new business pitch; "Anthem"; "The Jones's" - Circuit City - Winner of $30 million new business pitch; "New Mouth"- Chesebrough Ponds - Winner of $10 million new business pitch.; Radio Commercials -  "Law Firm," "Pet Shop," "Repeat and Return Call" - Bell Atlantic - Clio Nomination

Most significant student accomplishments:
31st Annual Student Academy Awards -- Silver Medal; Family Circle Cup Tennis Tournament Commercial - National Spot; Best Latin American Phil Collins Promotional Music Video

NYU graduate grant assistantship; Mobil Award; the Haig Manoogian Award at the Directors Guild of America; Mobil Corporation Finishing Fund; Helena Rubinstein Achievement Award in film; NEA at the Women's Interart Center; winner at the Kodak International Film Festival; juried selection at Women in the Director's Chair; BP Expo Film Festival; and U.S. Film Festivals

• "Pineapple Upside-Down Cake" Web TV Series - pudc.tv
• Comedy Writer, Once Upon a Planet Books, publications include "Why I Hate Men," "Why I Hate Women" and an array of numerous comedy paperback and coffee table books

"If not you - then who? Who should be you!" - My sister, Tisa
"You should be a teacher. Café Reggio or Perogies today? Oy, vhat a vomen" - Professor Arnold Baskin, NYU, Film and Television, Tisch School of the Arts
"Pineapple Upside-Down Cake" Web TV Series - A collaborative web TV series with students, faculty and staff

• FILM 105 Preproduction
• FILM 106 Introduction to Screenwriting
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III
• FILM 707 Screenwriting
• FILM 732 Field Production
• FILM 770 Film and Television Professional Development
• FILM 790 Film and Television M.F.A. Thesis

No man is an island except if you were raised in Coney and Manhattan, Island.

PUDC.TV

2006

Producer/writer/director, National Geographic Television, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, California; producer/writer/director, Turner Broadcasting System, Atlanta, Georgia

National Geographic Specials; National Geographic Explorer; "Trumpet of Conscience" for TBS; "Portrait of America" for TBS; independent feature "Coyotes"; narrative shorts "San Juan Story" and "Extinction"

Primetime Emmy Award and two Regional Emmys; four Primetime Emmy nominations; Peabody Award; four CINE Golden Eagle Awards; Best Feature Film, 1999 Savannah Film Festival; Academy Award semi-finalist, live action short for "San Juan Story"

SCAD press release:

• "Award-winning SCAD professor to screen "Extinction" at SCAD Museum of Art"

SCAD article:

• "'Extinction' comes to life"

Writers Guild of America, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, BLUE Ocean Film Festival Board, Grays Reef Board

"I love inspiring the next generation of filmmakers to venture out into the unknown, see things with fresh eyes and take creative chances."

• FILM 106 Introduction to Screenwriting
• FILM 224 Survey of Film
• FILM 315 Advanced Screenwriting
• FILM 320 Directing the Narrative
• FILM 337 Directing the Documentary
• FILM 421 Environmental Filmmaking
• FILM 747A Graduate Seminar in Film and Television: Directing the Documentary

"I enjoy making and watching films that transport me to another time or another place. Before I became a filmmaker I was a merchant mariner and oceanographer. They say that spending too much time near a compass induces severe wanderlust. I am so afflicted, and I think it shows in the types of films I've chosen to make over the years: documentaries filmed from Samoa to Africa and fictional films set in other lands."

2004

Professor, University of Southern California; director of publicity, A&M Records; president, A&M Films; president, Wildwood Productions; president, Act III Productions

Executive producer of "The Breakfast Club" and "Fried Green Tomatoes"; author, "Dancing on the Seats," a Billboard publication

Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay Adaptation, "Fried Green Tomatoes"

"My uncle, who taught at Yale University."

• FILM 105 Preproduction
• FILM 215 Screenwriting
• FILM 315 Advanced Screenwriting
• FILM 420 The Distribution Revolution
• FILM 425 Advanced Production Practicum
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 704 Producing for Film and Television
• FILM 707 Screenwriting
• FILM 726 The Screenplay Adaptation
• FILM 732 Field Production
• FILM 770 Film and Television Professional Development
• FILM 787 Film and Television M.F.A. Thesis Preproduction

2003

Producer, writer, developer and director for dozens of films; executive positions at Columbia Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox studios; president MFN Productions Inc., Full Body Productions Inc.; general partner, The Charlie Mopic Company; senior vice president production and acquisitions, Alliance Entertainment Group; executive consultant production and acquisitions, New Century/Vista Films and Atlantic Entertainment Group; vice president motion pictures, executive assistant to the vice-chairman, Twentieth Century Fox; reader, story editor, executive story editor, executive in charge of acquisitions, vice president of creative affairs, Columbia Pictures; visiting faculty, Brooklyn College; lecturer, University of South Carolina; instructor, El Camino Community College; visiting professor, Loyola Marymount University; think tank member, early advisory board member, Sundance Institute; board member, Independent Feature Project/West

"Mentoring my students at SCAD."

Humanitas Award nomination, Best Children's Teleplay, "Maniac Magee"; Christopher Award, Best Motion Picture, "Mr. Holland's Opus"; twice-nominated producer for Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival, for "84 Charlie Mopic" and "The Pornographer"; producer runner-up, Best Narrative Feature SXSW Film Festival; director, "Wildly Available," Discovery Award Hollywood Film Festival; Major Film Critics 10 Best Films of the Year lists ("Heart Like A Wheel," "84 Charlie Mopic"); films have been invited to major film festivals around the world, including New York, Tokyo, Chicago, Sundance, Deauville (France), Toronto and Honolulu; (past resource) Sundance Institute

Writers Guild of America; past CFO Independent Feature Project/West, helped found the Independent Spirit Awards; past National Advisory board member, Sundance Film Festival

• "The Auteur Theory - Rest in Peace," Screenwriter Magazine, 1995.
• "Ken Russell and Other Madness" - USC Masters Thesis, 1985.
• "King Vidor's The Big Parade," Pan Magazine, 1971. Miscellaneous articles, Star Magazine, 1972.

"I've been fortunate to have a number of exceptional mentors during my lifetime, my father being the first. Three film professors influenced me greatly: Arthur Lennig, Arthur Knight and Arthur Mayer. The professional mentors I need to acknowledge are Robert Littman, motion picture agent/executive extraordinaire, Norman Levy, vice chairman of 20th Century Fox Entertainment, and film directors Nicolas Roeg and Ken Russell. The influences of these mentors have inspired me to be a mentor to others.

"In 1995, my partner, Patrick Duncan, wrote 'Mr. Holland's Opus,' which I produced, to honor teachers everywhere. I suppose to some extent the fictional Mr. Holland became my model for what a good teacher could be."

• ENGL 180 Writing Fundamentals for Screen and Stage
• FILM 105 Preproduction
• FILM 106 Introduction to Screenwriting
• FILM 205 Language of Cinema
• FILM 215 Screenwriting
• FILM 224 Survey of Film
• FILM 315 Advanced Screenwriting
• FILM 431 Film and Television Senior Project I
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II
• FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III
• FILM 707 Screenwriting
• FILM 748 Film and Television M.A. Final Project
• FILM 770 Film and Television Professional Development
• FILM 790 Film and Television M.F.A. Thesis

"True ease in writing comes from art, not chance, as those move easiest who have learn'd to dance." - Alexander Pope

2011

2009

Professor, California State University, Northridge; Photo-Sonics and Phantom high-speed camera technician

"My family."

Numerous awards for the film "The Mexican Dream"

SCAD press release:

• "SCAD wins top two prizes in Woodchuck Hard Cider video contest"

AFI Fellow

"I enjoy being able to guide young talent, and I hope to help them become better filmmakers."

• FILM 100 Introduction to Film and Video Production
• FILM 132 Lighting and Field Production Techniques
• FILM 313 Advanced Lighting
• FILM 316 Stereoscopic Filmmaking
• FILM 432 Film and Television Senior Project II

2005

Film editor, credits on "Virtuosity" by Paramount Pictures, "Hideaway" by TriStar, "Storyville" by Lynch/Frost, "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" by Orion, "Bojangles" by Showtime, "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie" by Twentieth Century Fox, "Where Sleeping Dogs Lie" by RCA/Columbia, "Freak City" by Showtime, "Disposable Heroes: The Other Side Of Football" by HBO and "Marley" by Island Pictures; additional film credits include "Mr. Jones" by Tristar, "Jacob's Ladder" by Carolco, "Henry and June" by Universal Studios and "Amadeus" by Orion

Six years of teaching at SCAD

Golden Reel Award Nomination from the Motion Picture Sound Editors for "Amadeus"

American Cinema Editors (A.C.E.), The Motion Picture Editors Guild, Phi Delta Theta

• One-man show, October-November 2009, Hall Street Gallery: "Professor Sears' Electrophonic Anachroscope and Other Steampunk Amusements"
• University Film and Video Conference, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2008: "Sympathetic Strings and the Future of Film Editing"

"After finishing a documentary film on The Boulder Valley Institute in Boulder, Colorado, I was asked to stay on and teach for a year. That one year teaching turned into two. On my return to Hollywood to continue my career as a film editor, the satisfaction of teaching never left the back of my mind, and I knew someday that it would be a rewarding second career."

FILM 210 Postproduction Technique
FILM 330 Aesthetics of Film Editing
FILM 433 Film and Television Senior Project III
FILM 717 Postproduction
FILM 728 Theory of Film Editing
FILM 757 Advanced Postproduction

"I have always been passionate about making things, whether three-dimensional in the real world, or two-dimensional (disguised as three) in the digital world. Whether it was wood and brass or light and sound, I discovered early on that the challenge of each piece was unique. As the cultural context of each work changed with time, the rules or grammar of their construction also evolved. This moving target is what continues to excite me in my own work. As I lend my experience to students, I hope to challenge them with the idea that they will be taking part in the continual evolution of the language and the grammar of film in particular. It will not be their father's world that they are building."

bjsears.com