Joe Walker, ACE, Keynote

Joe Walker, ACE is a celebrated British film editor working in Los Angeles, California who was initially trained as a classical composer.  He has forged notable partnerships with directors Denis Villeneuve and Steve McQueen.  In the past six years, Walker has been nominated five times by the ACE Eddie Awards and he won most recently for Arrival. This three-time Academy Award nominee and four-time BAFTA Award nominee is also known for his exemplary work on films such as Sicario, 12 Years a Slave and Blade Runner 2049. Walker’s latest collaborations with Denis Villeneuve are Dune Part 1, and later this year Dune Part 2.
 
Joe’s collaboration with Steve McQueen on four films began with McQueen’s debut feature Hunger in 2008, Shame in 2011 and Academy Award best picture winner 12 Years a Slave in 2013 which earned Walker his first Oscar, ACE Eddie Award and BAFTA Award nominations and Widows in 2018.
 
In addition to Dune, Walker’s collaboration with Denis Villenueve included three back-to-back features beginning with Sicario in 2015, Arrival in 2016 (which earned him his second Oscar and BAFTA nominations and his first ACE Eddie Award win) and Blade Runner 2049 in 2017 for which he received BAFTA and ACE Eddie Award nominations.
 
In 2010 Walker cut the acclaimed documentary feature Life in a Day for Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald and producer Ridley Scott.  It was filmed by YouTube users across the globe over a single day in July 2010.  Walker cut the film from over 4,500 hours of submitted footage to shape the documentary time capsule which debuted at Sundance in 2011.
 
Walker learned his craft in the BBC’s Film Department at Ealing Studios. He had studied and composed music for many years, so it was a natural progression to break into the field as a sound editor where he spent much of his early career until he segued into film editing.  As a film editor, Walker began his career working on numerous British television series such as Jonathan Creek and The Lakes before moving into features like crime thriller Brighton Rock, Harry Brown starring Michael Caine and Rupert Wyatt’s The Escapist.
 
He received his B.A. in music from the University of York, who awarded him an honorary Doctorate in 2019. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra has played his music live in Trafalgar Square.  He wrote the score for the BBC/HBO drama Dirty War.  London born-and-raised, Walker now makes his home in Los Angeles.

Javier Marcheselli, Keynote

Transplanted from Argentina to New Orleans to Los Angeles, Javier Marcheselli has worked as a VFX Editor for the past 15 years including films such as Hugo, 12 Years a Slave, Sicaro, Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune. Currently, he’s been VFX consulting for Steve McQueen on his upcoming film.

Chris Voutsinas, Keynote

Chris Voutsinas is an Assistant Editor based out of Los Angeles but grew up in Philadelphia. Even as a child, he had an affinity for film, specifically gravitating towards stories that built worlds that didn’t exist while balancing themes that dealt with the human condition. As a teenager, he spent much of his time shooting, and editing demo tapes for local skateboarders, which helped him realize how much he loved the editing process. He graduated from Temple University with a Media Arts Degree in 2008 and moved to Los Angeles in 2010. Since then, Chris has worked as an Assistant Editor on many big-budget films including Dune, Captain America: Civil War, Captain Marvel, and Suicide Squad.

Nam Na-Young, Keynote

Nam Na-Young is an award-winning South Korean film editor and negative cutter. She graduated from Kyungsung University’s Department of Theater and Film and began career as a negative cutter in 1997. Her career as a film editor began with the 2002 film Wet Dreams, and went on to work with established South Korean film directors. As of 2020, Nam has edited more than 60 films!

She recently worked on the Netflix Series, Squid Game (2021) which was nominated for the ACE Eddie Award under the Best Edited Drama Series category. Her notable works as an Editor also include feature film, Space Sweepers (2021), feature film, Extreme Job (2019) and feature film, The Fortress (2017).

She won an Asian Film Award for I Saw the Devil; and at the Blue Dragon Awards, she won for Masquerade and was nominated for Tazza: The Hidden Card.

Keynote, Sam Nicholson, ASC

Sam Nicholson, ASC, is CEO and founder of Stargate Studios, a state-of-the-art visual effects production company founded in 1989, with studios in South Pasadena, California and Vancouver, British Columbia. As Stargate’s CEO, principal director and cinematographer, Sam draws from his thirty years of expertise in film, television and visual effects production to lead his company of over 125 talented artists and technicians. A graduate of the UCLA graduate school of Fine Arts, Sam has been involved in film and television production for over thirty years. From his first experience as on-set visual effect supervisor on ‘Star Trek I’ and the groundbreaking ‘Max Headroom’, to his recent Emmy Awards for Best Visual Effects for TNT’s “Battlegound” and NBC’s “Heroes”, Sam Nicholson has led his company, Stargate Studios, to become a leader in digital imaging for high concept television and feature films. Currently working on multiple television series, national commercials and feature films, Sam has overseen the visual effects for numerous series such as “Heroes”, “24”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “CSI: New York”, “Ugly Betty”, “ER”, “The Event”, “Pan Am” and “The Walking Dead”. Some of his motion picture credits include supervising and producing the visual effects for feature films such as ‘Ghostbusters II’, ‘Highlander II’, ‘Naked Gun 33 1/3′, 40 Days and 40 Nights’ and ‘White Noise’.

Sam Nicholson is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, an IA Director of Photography, a member of the Directors Guild of America, an award-winning member of the Visual Effects Society and he serves on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Technical Awards committee.

Keynote, Dave Van Dyke

Dave Van Dyke is an award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor and Producer in television and film. His long and distinguished career in Visual Effects has put him at the forefront of the entertainment business and an industry leader on many of Hollywood’s biggest and most popular titles. 

Dave began his career in the early 2000s working at Phil Tippett’s, Tippett Studio where he worked on the miniatures stage for Ivan Reitman’s Evolution and Guillermo del Toro’s Blade 2. His time at Tippett led him to new opportunities working directly for del Toro on his Revolution Studios classic, Hellboy. 

After his time on Hellboy, he has gone on to work on over 150 titles for every major studio. Those projects include HBO’s Behind the Candelabra, Legendary’s Watchmen, Fox’s The Wolverine, and Warner Brothers’ 42.
Currently, Dave is the Visual Effects Supervisor for HBO’s Euphoria, HBO’s The White Lotus, A24’s The Idol and HBO Max’s Our Flag Means Death.

Steve Hullfish

Steve Hullfish is a noted author of six books on editing and color correction and a feature film and documentary editor with over $100M in box office. He edited “The Oprah Winfrey Show” for nearly a decade and for Bill Kurtis Productions. He also edited projects for PBS including “American Masters’ Joffrey: Mavericks of American Dance” and was a producer for VeggieTales. He has been a consultant on technical and creative issues by many of the top companies in the industry including Avid, Adobe, Blackmagic, Fujifilm, and Tektronix.

Richard Harrington

A certified instructor for Adobe and Apple, Rich is a practiced expert in motion graphic design and digital video. Starting his career out in the world of broadcast journalism, Rich has always had great interest in visual communications. His producing skills were also recognized by AV Video Multimedia Producer Magazine who named him as one of the Top Producers of 2004.  Rich is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team, and a popular speaker on the digital video circuit. He has been the Program Manager for the Post|Production World Conference since 2003.

Rich is an internationally published author. His book, Photoshop for Video, was the first of its kind to focus on Photoshop’s application in the world of video. He is also a contributing author for From Still to Motion, Video Made on a Mac, Final Cut Pro On the Spot and Professional Web Video. A Master’s Degree in Project Management fills out Rich’s broad spectrum of experience. Rich enjoys traveling and digital photography, as well as teaching his kids the joys of science fiction and comic books.

Check out Rich’s website below the sessions!

Douglas Spotted Eagle

Douglas Spotted Eagle is a giant in the video and audio industries, having received Grammy, Emmy, DuPont, Peabody, and many other awards. Douglas is a primary instructor and industry consultant for Sundance Media Group and VASST, authoring several books and DVDs and serving as an advisor and guide for videographers, software manufacturers and broadcasters. Douglas is a well-known musician and a world-travelled speaker/instructor. Douglas now focuses his energy and experience within the UAV/sUAS industry.

Skydiving since 2006 and instructing UAS since 2012, Douglas is an accomplished aerial photographer who thrives in the adrenaline-filled world of fast-action videography. Appointed as a Safety and Training Advisor in the aviation world, he is a risk management/mitigation subject matter expert. Douglas is an audio and imaging pro with numerous awards for his productions; with an intimate knowledge of the FAA FARs and FSIMs, Douglas’ vision is to incorporate his years of imaging and aviation experience into best-practices for everything drone/UAV/UAS. Douglas is a frequent (and dynamic!) speaker and consults on UAV cinematography, public safety implementation of UAS, commercial and infrastructural UAV applications, UAV risk management, night UAS flight, aerial security systems, and 107 training to ensure pilots clearly understand the FAA laws.

Gary Adcock

Few exemplify the changing technological landscape in digital cinema more than Gary Adcock. With a unique understanding of on-set technologies and their relationships in post-production has allowed him to act as a guide in the evolving relationship between acquisition, edit, and delivery. Gary is one of the co-authors and tech editor for the original version of the Data Handling Procedures and Best Practices guide used by IATSE Local 600 (Cinematographer’s Guild). Gary has been a speaker on cinematography and the related technologies at events around the world, and has presented on various topics at the National Association of Broadcasters Las Vegas convention continuously since 1999, as well as presenting on a diverse array of subjects at NAB Shanghai, IBC Show, Interbee and Broadcast India. His knowledge and capabilities keep him in demand as both a consultant and technical writer for a wide array of manufacturers and publications. You can follow Gary on Twitter and Instagram as @garyadcock or read his blog at garyadcock.com

Ian Robinson

Ian Robinson is a creative director and trainer specializing in motion graphics and visual effects. Working in broadcast for over 20 years with such clients as Discovery Channel, National Geographic International, PBS, and Google. As an author and trainer, Ian has been working with Adobe Learn developing After Effects training both online and in-application. He is also the co-founder of the online learning website Creative111, an author for LinkedInLearn- ing, and has written books for Peachpit and Adobe Press. When he’s not designing or teaching, you can often find him exploring the rocky mountains of Colorado.

Kyle Hamrick

Kyle Hamrick is an Emmy-winning motion designer, video editor, Adobe-Certified software trainer, and all-around After Effects & Premiere nerd who loves sharing knowledge. A workflow & efficiency fan who always enjoys a new challenge, Kyle hops between creating everything from live arena visuals, animated gifs, efficiently-built templates and IMAX documentaries. He’s also a mediocre guitarist, a lover of dinosaurs and Lego, and a big believer in using creative skills for good.

Rhea Allen

Adjunct marketing professor, marketing expert, industry leader, popular podcast host, and national keynote speaker/presenter, Rhea Allen has nearly 20 years of experience as a Culture + Branding Expert. She’s the Co-founder, President/CEO of an award-winning creative and digital marketing/ad agency, Peppershock Media, the host of The Marketing Expedition Podcast (ranked among the top 10% most popular podcasts globally), the founder of The Marketing Expedition Community, and TheMarketingExpedition.com, a premium online subscription-based resource for Fortune-none to Fortune 100 companies. Peppershock has performed professional marketing and creative production services all over the world. She and her crew will often hire freelancers to add to her team and work with creatives from many different mediums, capabilities and talents based on their client’s needs. She has a distinct style in which she provides encouragement, coaching, and feedback to promote a supportive environment that facilitates the creative process. By taking advantage of many varying perspectives and strengths, Rhea and her team are able to empower their clients to pursue their goals of successful personal and/or professional brand creation. Rhea and her husband Drew Allen, who is also the co-founder of Peppershock Media, have two teenage boys and they enjoy the great outdoors and everything their community has to offer.

Kelley Slagle

KELLEY SLAGLE is a multimedia content strategist, producer, and creator with a 20+ year unique career journey. She is a customer education, corporate training, and product marketing specialist who works with non-profits and tech startups, as well as an award-winning independent filmmaker with her company, Cavegirl Productions.

Recent films include the 2019 feature documentary EYE OF THE BEHOLDER: THE ART OF DUNGEONS & DRAGONS and the 2024 feature documentary IGNITING THE SPARK – THE STORY OF MAGIC: THE GATHERING. 

Along with fellow producer Rachel Longman, Kelley co-hosts WE FIX IT IN PRE, an industry video podcast on making pre-production the most important part of your production timeline. She is also a LinkedIn Learning instructor, Docs in Progress Fellow, and a Producer’s Guild of America member.

Valentina Vee

Valentina Vee is a director, cinematographer, and editor living in Los Angeles, making content for branded campaigns and shows all over the world. Her clients include Nike, AT&T, National Geographic, Dell, L’Oreal, MTV, Chevrolet, Mashable, Fujifilm, and Adobe. She specializes in creating compelling stories with positive messages as well as consulting with companies on how to make authentic, well-executed videos for their audiences.

Her Discovery docuseries focused on youth empowerment, “GIMME MO,” was nominated for an Emmy. She is Aputure’s Resident Pro cinematographer and an Adobe Max Master trainer, teaching Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects at top industry conventions. Find her on Twitter @valentinavee and Instagram @valentina.vee

Juliana Broste

Juliana Broste | TravelingJules | Manfrotto Ambassador | The Video Hustle Juliana Broste, “TravelingJules,” is an 11x Heartland Emmy award winning Travel Video Journalist–a producer, shooter, writer, editor and host. Whether you spot her in front of the camera or behind the lens, you’ll recognize this fierce female filmmaker sporting pink lipstick and an armful of camera gear! She calls Denver, Colorado her home and her launchpad, where she springs off to adventures near and far. Maybe you’ve seen Jules on CNN Airport Network waiting for a flight. She’s also been spotted on networks like PBS, Local Now, Matador Network, Lonely Planet, USA TODAY, Viator and beyond. Jules recently got back from a round the world storytelling adventure as Bumble’s Global Connector Bee. Travel brands and tourism boards are big fans of Jules – her enthusiasm and joie de vivre make her vlogs a delight to watch. Jules is also a global Manfrotto Ambassador, always up to date on the latest camera tools and trends. She shares creative and technical tips on her website, The Video Hustle. Jules serves on the Board of Governors for the Heartland Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. She is also a Travel Massive Colorado chapter leader. In her spare time, you’ll find Jules snowboarding in Vail where she is a certified instructor. Come along for the adventure with TravelingJules on Facebook, Instagram and on her travel vlog on YouTube. Happy travels!

Jeff Greenberg

Jeff I. Greenberg has nearly two decades of experience as a Post-Production consultant and Master Instructor (trainer for other trainers) for Adobe, Apple, and Avid, specializing in the areas of editorial, workflow, compositing, sound, color grading and compression. Jeff is the owner of JGreenberg Consulting and for a decade was the Principal Instructor for Future Media Concepts. Consistently voted as one of the top seminar speakers/interviewers, audience’s feedback includes depth of subjects covered, approachability and student-centered teaching that helps keep them up to date on industry standards. Jeff teaches seminars at events such as NAB, IBC, CES and Inter BEE. He’s the chair for the Editors Retreat, an annually held exclusive getaway for editors.

Seth C. Polansky

Seth C. Polansky, a contracts, intellectual property, and start-up specialist, founded the professional firm Seth Polansky LLC in 2005. Through both this firm and his corporate experience, he has enjoyed a diverse and rewarding practice. In addition to working with private corporations, government and state agencies, he has counselled small businesses and artists in securing copyright, trademark and other intellectual property protection, and aided them in navigating contracts. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Contract and Procurement Law at the University of Maryland University College. In his spare time, Seth is a programmer and bass player for his band blindtillnow, and works as a producer, composer, sound designer or location mixer/sound recordist on independent films. For more information on Seth, visit sethpolanskylaw.com.

Frederick Van Johnson

Frederick Van Johnson is a photographer and marketing professional with over 20 years of experience working with many of the Fortune 500 companies that dominate the photography industry. A former United States Air Force Combat Photojournalist, today he is founder and Editor-in-Chief of the This Week in Photo (TWiP) podcast network, and former Chairman of the board for Brooks Institute. Frederick’s USAF unit was among the first in the US military to receive, and put into daily action, digital imaging technology and software. As a result, he was awarded the prestigious Air Force Commendation medal for his key role in facilitating the US Air Force transition from film-based imaging to digital. He is the “This Week in Photo” (aka TWiP) podcast and general manager of all related properties — TWiP remains one of the most popular photography media properties. Frederick left the military to study visual communication at the University of California, and Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California — where he ultimately became Chairman of the Board of Trustees. While at Apple, he was key in the development of iPhoto, Apple’s revolutionary photo management application. He went on to Adobe Systems, where he helped manage marketing for Lightroom and Photoshop. Today Frederick lives in northern California, and continues to travel, podcast and practice photography whenever possible. He has also been spotted making aerial photographs with his drone.

Nick Harauz

Nick Harauz is a Director of Product Marketing at Boris FX. With over 19 years of experience as a certified trainer for Adobe, Avid, and Final Cut Pro, he is an expert in post-production workflows and techniques, as well as a passionate advocate for creativity, post production and innovation. You can find several courses produced by Nick directly on Linkedin Learning.

At Boris FX, Harauz helps lead the content marketing strategy and execution for Continuum, the award-winning suite of plug-ins for editors and motion graphics artists. He also speaks on creativity and is writing his second book Finding Creativity in Uncertain Times. Harauz has worked as an editor and motion graphics artist for clients such as Proctor and Gamble, Virgin Mobile, and Blackberry. He has also directed and filmed celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Richard Branson, and co-edited the documentary My Father and the Man in Black.

Amy DeLouise

Amy DeLouise – Creative Director, DeLouise Enterprises Amy DeLouise has built a career as a storyteller across digital platforms, hybrid and live events. Her clients include: Fulbright Association, Meridian International, Skylum Software, Jewish Federations of North America, National Association of Chemical Distributors, Federal Express and Microsoft to name a few. Amy also helps to train other digital storytellers as a consultant to international companies looking to improve the impact of their branded content. She is a LinkedIn Learning author of 11 courses on video production and business, and has authored two books with Routledge Press that are used in film and media programs around the world: The Producer’s Playbook: Real People on Camera (2016) Sound and Story in Nonfiction Film and Video: A Guide for Content Creators (2019). Amy has received more than 40 top creative awards for directing and producing, such as the CINE Golden Eagle, NY Festivals, DC Peer Awards, and Telly Awards and is a recipient of the prized Woman of Vision Leadership Award from the Washington, DC Chapter of Women in Film & Video. Amy founded #GALSNGEAR (@galsngear on Instagram) to amplify and support women leaders in media, entertainment and tech. Follow her on LinkedIn, Instagram (@adbrandbuzz) and Twitter (@brandbuzz).

Doug Daulton

Doug is a writer/producer based in Spokane with over twenty years of experience working with a wide variety of storytelling platforms, including feature films, podcasts, and multi-camera live streams. His portfolio includes projects for Google, YouTube and Salesforce. His work as a storyteller has taken Doug around the world, covering subjects at the highest levels of industry, entertainment and government.

Bokeh, his first feature film, was selected for IFP’s Independent Film Lab, acquired by Screen Media Films, screened at the 2017 Santa Barbara Film Festival and enjoyed a theatrical run in the spring of 2017. It is now available on all major VOD platforms. Currently, Doug is developing several projects including a transmedia documentary about the adventures and sacrifices of a once top-secret cadre of American fighter pilots.

PhotoJoseph

PhotoJoseph is a content creator and educator — he’s been shooting since the age of seven, teaching and presenting on stage to audiences around the globe for 30 years, and runs an online resource for video, photo and live-streaming education at photojoseph.com and YouTube

Following an eight-year tenure at Apple as the lead presenter, producer and photographer for the Professional Applications Division, he stepped out on his own in 2009 to pursue all things photo and video. Today you can find PhotoJoseph shooting video productions for global brands, speaking at international trade shows, hosting online events for industry leaders, and consulting on all topics production-related. PhotoJoseph is an American living in Slovenia, straddling the east-west timezones.

You can find PhotoJoseph online as @PhotoJoseph just about everywhere… mainly X (Twitter), Facebook and Instagram!

Luisa Winters

Luisa Winters is an Adobe Premiere Master Instructor, an Adobe Certified Instructor, and an Apple Certified Trainer. She is an accomplished videographer, editor, 3D animator, and graphics designer. Her compositions have been seen on broadcast TV as well as in private video productions. She has created and edited scores of video and web projects for dozens of corporate, government, and educational, commercial, and private clients. An accomplished nonlinear editor and instructor, Luisa has conducted training sessions and master classes for Adobe After Effects, Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Flash, Dreamweaver, Captivate, and Encore DVD. A Private Pilot and a UAS Pilot, Luisa has led sessions and workshops in almost every U.S. state and in several countries across the world. She has been a featured speaker at NAB and other national and international conferences every year since 2005.

Rachel Longman

Rachel Longman is a Senior Producer specializing in multimedia video production. Rachel has produced a wide range of content, including National Television commercials, Public Service Announcements, Educational Training, multi-camera field and studio productions. There’s no one who knows real-world workflow like Rachel!

Scott Simmons

Scott Simmons was born in rural West Tennessee and didn’t really realize that movies and television had to be made by actual people until he went to college. After getting degrees in both Television Production and Graphic Design he was in one of the early graduating classes at the Watkins Film School in Nashville, Tennessee. During that time at Watkins he discovered editing. While most of his classmates in film school wanted to be directors, Scott saw real career opportunities in post-production and took a job as an assistant editor after completing film school. Not long after that he became a freelance editor. With nearly 20 years of experience in all areas of post-production Scott has worked both as a freelancer and on staff at a post-house. He has edited a diverse number of projects ranging from music videos, to live concert productions, to commercials, to documentaries and everything in between. When not working in the edit suite Scott teaches other about editing and writes about post-production at The Editblog on ProVideoCoalition.com, a blog which he has published for over 10 years.

Jessica Weiss

As a fully remote freelance motion graphics artist, Jessica Weiss Thomas, uses her mastery of cutting edge video technologies to create outstanding work that has won a number of national awards, including Addys, Tellys and five Emmys. She works for clients such as Coca-Cola, McDonalds, Wendy’s and many others all from her remote home of Alaska. Jessica loves to create exciting projects, and loves to share what she’s learned with others. She is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design in Motion Graphics and Photography, and has used her education as an inspiration to keep learning and growing as an artist.

Al Mooney

Al is the former Product Manager for Adobe Premiere Pro with 7-year tenure turning the product into the most widely used NLE worldwide. He then spent almost four years at The Company Formally Known As Facebook (it was called that when he was there) where he worked across several teams, including Goodwill where he was PM for the personalized video experiences, a short stint working on AR prototyping technology, followed by a year and a half building tools for video creators. At Dolby, he’s working to bring Dolby Vision into the creator community, and showing what you can do with this high-end professional technology in simple, fast turnaround, creator workflows.

Tom Graham

Tom has been part of the audio/video content creation industry for combined 54 years, having been on the cutting edge of technology at Digidesign, Avid, Adobe, Apple, Facebook, and now Dolby.

Niko Pueringer

Niko Pueringer is the Co-founder of the CORRIDOR Crew, Node, and Corridor channel with Sam Gorski. He was born on November 21, 1985 (36) in Stillwater, Minnesota. He, along with Sam Gorski, Daniel Kim, and Brandon Laatsch created the Node channel on 24 February 2006 altogether and collaborated with Sam Gorski and other crew to create Corridor, a production house that garnered around 7 million subscribers. He also collaborated with Sam Gorski to create their own channel, CORRIDOR Crew which garnered around 3.3 million subscribers.

Noah Kadner

Noah also wrote the Virtual Production Field Guide for Epic Games and currently hosts the Virtual Production podcast. He is also the Virtual Production Editor for American Cinematographer magazine and has interviewed many groundbreaking filmmakers, including J.J. Abrams, Jon Favreau, Sir Kenneth Branagh, and Michael Bay.

Maxim Jago

Maxim is a media technology trainer, filmmaker, futurist, and author of multiple books and training series including the official Adobe Premiere Pro Classroom in a Book, and Adobe Audition Classroom in a Book. He has recorded over 2,300 tutorials exploring post-production, including many official videos for Adobe Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, and Grass Valley EDIUS.

Maxim has directed many short films, the feature-length documentary ‘Trust Me: Working with Richard Foreman’, and the forthcoming supernatural-thriller feature film ‘It’s Haunted’. His films have won Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor awards. He has guest directed for RADA, the Director’s Guild of Great Britain, and the Pit-Bull Snyder Actors Studio in Hollywood. A regular speaker at film festivals and conferences around the world, founder of The Creative Community, and The Creativity Conference, Maxim has mentored many newcomers to the film industry and is based in the UK.

Gabriel Cowan

Gabriel Cowan is the CEO of Audio Design Desk, a software platform that uses AI and a huge royalty-free library of sounds to assist video editors in creating their soundscapes. Cowan is a Sundance and IFP fellow as well as an award-winning filmmaker. He has produced over 20 feature films including Cheap Thrills which won the audience award at South By Southwest, Bad Milo which he produced with The Duplass Brothers, and Academy Award Winner Adele Romanski and They Call Us Monsters which won the 2017 Independent Lens Award. As a musician, Gabe is a multi-platinum recording artist who played and recorded with Jackson Browne, Ry Cooder, Robbie Robertson, and the Tower Of Power.

Danilda Martinez

Danilda is a content producer/editor of documentary, corporate, live event, and editorial productions. In her role of Asst. Professor of Digital Media Production at PBAU, she strives to inspire her students to create compelling narratives using the most current storytelling tools and tech. During her time as a content producer for Bankrate, a Fortune 500 company, Danilda produced editorial video and multimedia content with personal finance experts and celebrity influencers from around the country. She also produced live news segments along with major networks Fox, CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, and ABC. As an entrepreneur & consultant Danilda produces traditional media and explores 3D storytelling with Datzi Media. She co-founded Immersive Spaces, a virtual tour company in South Florida. Danilda’s work can be seen on NBC Peacock Network, National Geographic, Hulu, ESPN, ESPN Deportes. Danilda is truly passionate about sharing stories about people and brands, and seeks to connect people through her stories. She is regularly invited to speak at events on media, leadership, and women’s empowerment as an expert on digital media and storytelling. She enjoys finding beauty in the ordinary through abstract photography, loves good conversations over coffee in person, or virtually.