Denver Media Professionals Podcast

Denise grew up in Texas and graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor in Fine Arts and Theatre Arts with an emphasis in Directing. After working her way up in the film industry as an intern, PA, location assistant, and second assistant director, she became a member of the Director's Guild of America in 1993 in the category of Assistant Director. Since then she's moved from Second Second AD to Key Second AD, and on to First AD where she currently works on commercials and feature films. During her career, Denise has worked on known projects such as Dumb and Dumber, The Bucket List, Switchback, The Laramie Project, and Things to Do In Denver When You're Dead.

Todd is a working makeup effects artist and designer. He began his career in entertainment with PBS while a graduate student in Television Production at the University of Tennessee. Before starting his own small effects shop (BaPoFX) in Denver, Colorado, Todd worked as a production manager, writer, and producer for cable pioneer Ted Turner at TBS in Atlanta. He was also a writer/producer with 20th Century Fox Television in Los Angeles, and a visual effects animator for Warner Brothers, Walt Disney Pictures, and Walt Disney Television Animation. Among his feature film credits are Die Hard 2, Contact, Batman and Robin, Incoming Freshman, Cannon Fodder, The Enemy God, Decay, Apartment 212 (Gnaw), Hoax, and Ink, just to name a very few. Todd has sculpted and molded wounds used in the 2013 Tom Hanks film, Captain Phillips. Some of his television credits include Jag, and an uncredited contribution to one of his favorite TV programs, Dr. Who.

Oksana is a 15-year veteran of film, TV and the fashion industry, and also the founder of Oksana Starling Beauty. As an established makeup artist, she has worked with major networks like Food Network, Bravo, NBC, CNN, and VH1. She has also shot commercials for Microsoft, KIA, Duke's, DISH Network, and Frontier Airlines. Her client list includes Andre Agassi, Phil Collins and Genesis, Von Miller, Clinton Kelly, and Zac Brown, just to name a few. She was a makeup department head in the film Social Dilemma, which has been one of the most talked-about documentaries at Sundance this year.

Jacob is an award-winning Colorado fillmmaker, a former mayor, and a former U.S. senate staffer. His films include a family short called Chasing Rabbits, and the feature documentary Waking the Sleeping Giant: The Making of a Political Revolution, which is currently in national and international distribution. He's also the executive director of a local government coalition advocating for stronger climate policy in Colorado.

Audrey is the executive director the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS). In this podcast, Audrey explains what it takes to enter a project for the regional Emmy awards. The discussion covers who's eligible, who does the judging, the costs, and the deadline.

Sara Elizabeth Timmins established Life Out Loud Films in 2008 to create quality, inspiring, impactful films that champion women. Her films have been seen in theatres, the Hallmark Channel, Starz, Showtime, and internationally. She's worked with talented actors such as Jane Seymour, Ellen Burstyn, Chris Cooper, Josh Lucas, Mackenzie Foy, and writers like NY Times best-selling author David Baldacci.

Tom Malloy is an actor, writer, and producer, a passionate and driven filmmaker committed to telling compelling stories with commercial appeal. Many of these projects are developed through the production company he founded in 2005, Trick Candle Productions. In 2016, Tom co-founded the sales and distribution company called Glass House Distribution. Glass House maintains a presence in all the major film markets including AFM, EFM, TIFF, MITcon, and Cannes, and has grown from two people to a seven-person operation, recently adding a TV-series department. Tom's unique ability to both write projects and raise funding for them has been a primary factor in the success of the company. In fact, Tom shared his expertise on the subject in the best-selling book about independent film financing called Bankroll. In 2019, Tom co-founded Filmmaking Stuff HQ, which is one of the premiere online training platforms for filmmakers.

Trai Cartwright is a 25-year industry veteran and a creative writing and business development specialist. She teaches, produces and writes screenplays and novels. While in Los Angeles, she was a screenwriter, independent film producer and story consultant, and development executive for HBO, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, and New Line Cinema. She was the assistant director for Leonardo DiCaprio's online endeavors, and the manager for 20th Century Fox's Mobile Studios. Trai currently teaches creative writing, screenwriting, and producing for Western State Colorado University, Denver University, and CU Denver. Conferences, cons, and one-on-one as a development and story editor. She's the screenwriter of Secret Ellington, and the producer of a docu-webseries called Hidden Tigers, and a short film called Sundown Road.

As a youth, Jeanne grew up in New York.  Then, as a young adult, she made her way out to Colorado studied art at the University of Colorado. Over the next few years, Jeanne worked as a graphic designer and then art director for the KUSA television station.  Early on, she started requesting opportunities for creative direction on set. People took notice of her passion and talent, and she was recognized with 12 Emmys during her time at the station. Jeanne then moved on to Colorado Production Group, which eventually became Citizen Pictures, and that’s where her career as a director really took off. About 10 years ago, Jeanne and her husband started Mrs. K, which is based in Boulder, CO and focuses on creating branded content for networks.  Jeanne has worked with clients such as ABC, Animal Planet, the Cooking Channel and many more.  She’s worked with talent such as Oprah Winfrey, Anthony Bourdain, Mike Tyson, and on and on.  The list is very large. Jeanne is known for a calm directing style with celebrity talent and for her ability to draw out performances not only from actors but also from “real” people.

Kate Lowell is a director and conceptual artist and is fascinated with the unifying powers of an original story. She loves the harmony between visuals and sound and the way that they work together to create an emotional impact. Her experience includes wor

Katie Gail Smith Katie is a dedicated grip from the Denver market and has been an active member of the freelance film community for over 6 years. After transitioning from stage lighting, she’s worked on national commercials for top Fortune 500 companies

Kent Youngblood has over twenty years of production management experience with commercials, network promos, digital content, and photo shoots. He spends his career crewing, scheduling, budgeting and location managing for production companies such as Paramount, Viacom, Herzog & Company, and High Noon Entertainment. Kent helps create commercials for clients like Audi, Ford, Coors, Microsoft, IBM, Oracle, and Verizon. He helps create promos for networks such as Disney, HBO, and Starz. You may have seen his work on properties such as the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network, CNN, ESPN, and CBS Sports. In addition to making commercials, Kent is a film director, a producer, a writer, and a cinematographer. His films have screened at numerous festivals worldwide, garnered notable media attention, and won the coveted Golden Remy for Best Experimental Film at Worldfest several times. Those films were Patriot Dreams in 2003, and Wonder City in 2004.

A true renaissance man of film, Alex Ferrari worked his way up through the ranks from the bottom to become an award-winning director and writer, as well as a producer, editor, colorist, cinematographer, podcast host, consultant, and all-around indie film guru. His commitment to making the art of indie filmmaking accessible and relatively inexpensive to the masses has garnered a massive following of dedicated fans worldwide. He can often be found on the guest list as a speaker at any number of film and media events, and his films have screened at festivals around the globe. In addition, Alex Ferrari is the creator of the Indie Film Hustle website and podcast. He has also created the podcasts Bulletproof Screenplay and Ask Alex, and has recently launched Indie Film Hustle TV, which is a fantastic resource for filmmakers on the internet.

Cory Taylor Bryant is an award-winning professional production makeup, special makeup effects, and hair artist based in Denver, Colorado. Cory has been a member of IATSE since 2014 and has over 20 yrs. experience. She has trained with several of the industry’s top award-winning makeup artist including Ve Neill, Eryn Krueger Mekash, Neill Gorton, and Todd Debreceni. Cory has worked on a multitude of various productions including feature and short format films, television, music videos, commercials, live stage events, musical acts, corporate, personality/celebrity appearances, print, and editorials. She’s worked with celebrities, CEO’s, top motivational speakers, personalities, politicians, professional athletes, and musical artists. Cory specializes in beauty/straight makeup, male grooming, special makeup effects including prosthetic application and extensive complex effects, character/disguise/aging/trauma/injury makeup, practical makeup effects, and hairstyling.

Chad Chisholm is a professional photographer and travel writer who specializes in commercial photography in the food and beverage, hospitality and luxury travel industries. His work has been featured in many publications including Cowboys and Indians, The Wall Street Journal, Modern Luxury and more. Chad’s homeschool background allowed him to experiment with entrepreneurship from a young age and earn three college degrees by the age of 20. A brief stint in Real Estate taught him some essential sales techniques but couldn’t sway him away from a creative career. Today, Chad works full time as a commercial photographer from his home base in Denver, CO. Through his business—Custom Creations—Chad works on a huge range of job profiles, from agency run, international projects to creating updates for small business marketing materials. In this episode of the Denver Media Professionals podcast, Chad shares the trials and tribulations of forging a career in photography and gives his advice for breaking into a lucrative and sustainable photography career.

David Baud is the owner and founder of Kosmos Productions, based in Denver, Colorado. Hailing from France originally, David currently lives with his wife in Colorado, but continues to work extensively in Europe. David has over 20 years of experience in broadcast television, film and video, and has directed, edited, and color graded numerous national and international productions. David's passions for film was first nurtured by his childhood love for making stop motion movies with his older brother. Using a variety of different animation techniques, he learned his craft literally frame by frame. After studying computer generated imagery and computer languages in Paris, David first became an assistant to a television director, then a freelance cameraman. He learned all the aspects of production—from working on 16mm film to a weekly broadcast video television show. Since the advent of non linear editing systems in 1993, David has applied his expertise to digital post production, editing, and visual effects, with color grading being his special focus.

Meryem Ersoz is one of Colorado’s top film producers and has worked on projects ranging from the $200,000 to 3 million dollar range. Her local production company, Red Pine Studios provides local Colorado production services and supported the major motion picture Dear Eleanor, directed by Kevin Connolly. She has worked as a cinematographer and digital imaging technician for the Discovery Channel, Nova, Nat GEO, CNN, Vice and more. Her latest venture, Blackwing Air Sea Land Cinematography is set to be a game changer in high speed productions. Meryem’s background as a PhD academic and professor gives her a unique and cerebral take on the business of filmmaking. Meryem talked with us about her unique insights into everything from understanding and distilling film, to her favorite adrenaline inducing moments with her latest venture.

About Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Design was founded in 2002 with its release of the DeckLink capture card. The company originally specialized in capture and playback cards, but today encompasses all aspects of the film, post production and television broadcast industries. The product line underwent a huge transformation in 2009 when they acquired DaVinci Systems. Bob Caniglia, who was working for DaVinci at the time, came over to Blackmagic Design with the acquisition. Bob tells us that one day he was the youngest guy at DaVinci, and the next found himself as the oldest guy at Blackmagic Design. He sat down with us to talk shop and deliver the inside scoop on all of Blackmagic Designs's most exciting innovations. About Bob Caniglia Bob Caniglia has been working in the film and television industry since 1985 when he was a part time camera operator and editor for industrial videos. He went on to finish school at night while working full time as a commercial producer and director at a local CVS affiliate. Eventually Bob found himself in Los Angeles, working as an editor for the Disney Channel and 525 Post Productions. He later worked on music videos for the likes of Prince, Madonna and Michael Jackson.  Bob eventually transitioned his career into production and post production, working with major manufacturers including Panasonic, Snow, DaVinci Systems and Blackmagic Design where he is currently Director of Sales Operations. When he’s not telling the world about the latest and greatest Blackmagic Design projects, Bob is a professional comedian performing under the stage name Bobby Z.

Eileen O’Brien’s vast career in the film industry is a testament to luck, hard work, and the value of kindness. Eileen’s credentials span from holding cue cards for Eddie Murphy on Saturday Night Live to working for David Letterman, also known as the best boss she ever had, to taking on the role of production secretary for Dick Cavett. After transitioning to film festivals, including Cannes and Sundance, she settled in Denver where she continues to foster support and connections for the local film industry.

Freelance director Adam Patch graduated ten years ago from San Francisco’s Academy of Art with meaningful connections in the industry and an impressive demo reel which launched his career. Since moving to Denver in 2013 and starting a family, Adam found steady freelance gigs which allow him to work remotely, traveling only for the days of the shoot. Some of Adam's recent clients include tech giants Apple, Square, Google, and LinkedIn.

Diane Bell is a screenwriter and director of several indie films. Her first feature, Obsolidia, premiered in Dramatic Competition at Sundance in 2010 and won two awards. Her second film, Bleeding Heart, is a drama starring Jessica Biel and Zosia Mamet, which premiered in 2015. She is currently working on her third feature, Of Dust and Bones, which tackles the aftermath of violence. In addition to writing and directing films, Diane is a founder of Rebel Heart Film Workshop Program, which can be found at RebelHeartFilm.com. Here she teaches how to make an indie film stand out step-by-step. The most valuable thing she has learned and that she likes to pass on in her instruction is to always trust your heart and to never back down from what you love.

Anastasia M. Cummings brings an intense backstory to her filmmaking career. Her love of story began with a tumultuous childhood in Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, where she watched spaghetti westerns dubbed in Arabic. After living in 7 different countries, she found herself working in LA as a script supervisor. Quality of life led her to Colorado, and she now works as both a director and producer. With 7 short films to her name, including the Oscar-qualifier Menschen, Anastasia is currently at work on the feature-length version of her short film CODA. In this episode of the Denver Media Professionals podcast, Cummings talks about the trials and joys of filmmaking, industry insight, surviving cancer, and the importance of positivity.

Olivia Carmel and Demi DeHererra are kindred spirits and collaborators in the Denver film scene. They are currently at work on The New Freedom, a horror film that tackles issues of racism, sexism, and current societal shifts. Both women are passionate about fostering diversity in the film industry, dynamic when it comes to creating opportunity for themselves and others, and dedicated to the quality of their work.

In this podcast, we hear from DK Johnston, a full-time assistant director, writer, and producer. DK Johnston is an Assistant Director and Producer currently working in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the founder of Tri-Seven Pictures, originally founded in Anchorage, Alaska, producing multiple awarding-winning shorts and screenplays. His career has taken him all over the U.S. working on both independent and high concept feature films, television series, political media campaigns, and commercial productions. He has earned degrees in Journalism and Tele-Communications from the University of Alaska Anchorage, where he later taught as a visiting professor, and an MFA in Film Production from the New York Film Academy. While living in Denver, he was a board member of the CFVA and helped organized, and participated in, multiple film workshops and networking events  around the state, and Co-Produced the Colorado Based feature comedy “Army & Coop.”

As a DGA member since 1996, Vincent Gonzales has over 20 years of experience in the film industry, producing, supervising and working as a DGA Assistant Director. He has worked on features such as The Sandlot, Gattaca, and The Tooth Fairy. TV shows include the Walking Dead, Charmed and Boston Legal just to name a few. Click here to learn more about Vincent Gonzales on his IMDB page.