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About

Michael Coleman

Michael Coleman
Producer & Director

A Bay Area native, Michael started directing and producing shortly after graduating from Northern California’s arts college, Ex’pression College for Digital Arts, in March 2003.

Michael continued his studies after graduation with legendary Producer/Composer Jack Douglas. As Jack’s assistant in Boston, MA, he joined the world-renowned rock band Aerosmith for their 2004 blues album release, Honkin’ on Bobo. During the seven-month project, Michael worked closely with the band and album engineering staff. In addition, Michael captured over 1000+ still images and endless hours of video footage that were utilized for tour and album production.

Aerosmith released the “making of” DVD, You Gotta Move, with studio footage from Honkin’ on Bobo, concert footage, interview clips, and never-before-seen live footage in the studio. To date the DVD has gone 4X platinum, selling over 400,000 units and the audio CD was certified gold.

Since returning to the Bay Area, Michael has directed and produced videos independently for companies such as Apple Computers, Lucasfilm, Lexus, Macy’s, Celebrity Chef Tyler Florence, UC Berkeley, Kaiser Permanente, Dolby Laboratories, Walt Disney Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Skywalker Sound, Epitaph Records, Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, and San Francisco’s legendary 10K Bay-to-Breakers race.

In 2005 Michael approached San Francisco’s popular KFOG Radio station to produce exclusive video content around their pre-existing private concert series. Today the video series continues to be a success and has included performances by artists such as The Grateful Dead, Death Cab for Cutie, Jack Johnson, Train, Snow Patrol, Foster the People, Florence and the Machine, Melissa Etheridge, Los Lonely Boys, David Gray, KT Tunstall, Steve Earle, Chris Isaak, Matt Costa, Pete Yorn, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Jackie Greene, and Mat Kearney.

Over the years Michael has also been approached to direct music video projects for a wide range of musical artists including The Kin, Lia Rose, Francesca Lee, The Matches, and Finding Mercury. Michael also won Alice Radio’s 3-minute film contest for his music video “Salty Eyes” for the band The Matches that was also featured by Rolling Stone Magazine, SPIN Magazine, Current TV, and USA Today.

In November of 2009 Michael launched the SoundWorks Collection videos series. The SoundWorks Collection takes you behind the scenes and straight to the dub stage for a look into audio post-production for feature films, video games, and original soundtrack composition. This exclusive and intimate video series focuses on individuals and teams behind-the-scenes bringing to life some of the world’s most exciting projects.

The SoundWorks Collection video series has already surpassed 20 million hits in just over two year and has included interviews with Directors Steven Speilberg, George Lucas, James Cameron, Brad Bird, Lee Unkrich, Henry Selick, and many other leaders in the audio industry.

Alex Calleros

Logan Grime'
Assistant Director & Editor

Grime's background as an audio engineer and drummer has played into his interest for producing music docs, live concert videos, and music videos for local bands. His recent collboration with Skyler Kilborn has formed the San Francisco based group Midimatilda whom were recently featured in the Huffinton Post music blog, KQED Arts Section, and ACER Computers.

Logan received his B.A. in Sound Arts from Northern California’s arts college, Ex’pression College for Digital Arts.

Michael Tucker

Michael Tucker
Assistant Director

An accomplished young filmmaker who has been directing and shooting movies since a very young age. Michael has produced numerous independent works of varying lengths, from short 30 second commercials to a full length feature.

Michael has produced work for such clients as Lexus Hybrid Living/Articulate, Sunsweet Growers, UC Berkeley, MIX Magazine, The Owl Mag, VISA/T-Mobile, Skywalker Sound/ILM, Apple, Tyler Florence/MACY'S, Bay to Breakers, as well as being involved in the production of number of music videos for Bay Area based bands.

Tucker recently finished directing a short narrative, "The Reunion of Amilia Marbleberry and Marcy Stills" which is currently slated for future festival screenings.

Brandon Vedder

Brandon Vedder
Assistant Director

A talented filmmaker whose passion for film and music has led him through an array of experiences. He realized early on shooting live music and music videos would combine his two passions. Brandon got the opportunity to join rock band Pearl Jam on their 2003 Riot Act tour to shoot the multi platinum selling live DVD “Pearl Jam: Live at the Garden”. Since then Brandon has been shooting for top rock and hip hop artists like; Wu-Tang Clan, Sleater Kinney, Lauryn Hill, OK GO, Mos Def, Sparta, De La Soul, Jet, Dispatch and many others.

Brandon has also produced content for such companies as Mix Magazine, Remix Magazine, Omega Watches, Lexus Hybrid Living, The Collective Sound, Capitol Records, Highway Video and many others. He has also worked as a camera operator on a handful of feature length narrative and documentary films. He has produced and directed many short films of his own, some under contract and some independently. The independently produced short films have garnered festival attention and the most recently produced film was the recipient and made under the coveted Kodak 35mm grant. Brandon is currently in development on his first feature length script with a boutique production company in Los Angeles.

Deborah Coleman

Deborah Coleman
Photo Editor & Photographer

Deborah Coleman is a professional photojournalist, and has worked in the industry for over a decade. She is a Poynter Institute Fellow, was posted in the White House during the Clinton administration, and worked as a photographer at The Palm Beach Post, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and The Contra Costa Times. She is now the Photo Editor and behind-the-scenes documentarian at Pixar Animation Studios.

Deborah has worked directly with a wide range of subjects, from Heads of State, CEOs, actors and directors, to rural villagers in Guatemala and monks in Cambodia. She is comfortable operating in both intimate and high-intensity situations -- whether it be at a wedding, portrait session, or event. With an eye for detail and a non-intrusive style, Deborah captures and portrays the best of your day, using the light, camera angles, and subsequent post-production work to provide not just a set of pictures, but memories that last a lifetime. To see Deborah's work, go to: colemanfoto.com

Coleman Advisory Board:

 
Jack Douglas

Jack Douglas
Producer/Composer

Grammy award winning producer whose credits include some of Rock’s true legends; Yoko Ono, John Lennon, The Who, Supertramp, Slash, New York Dolls, Cheap Trick, Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, and the hit mobster television show “The Sopranos”.

Starting out as folk musician and performer, he worked on Robert Kennedy's senatorial campaign as a song-writer. His first professional job was at a new recording studio Record Plant Studios, not as producer or engineer, but as the janitor.

Soon he was working at the recording desk contributing to projects by Miles Davis, The James Gang, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, Moxy and Mountain. Later on as a Record Plant staff engineer Douglas also forged working relationships with Patti Smith, Blue Öyster Cult, the New York Dolls, Cheap Trick and most notably Aerosmith.

Dennis Erokan

Dennis Erokan
President, The Placemaking Group

A pioneer in niche market publishing, Dennis created BAM Magazine in 1976 to give the West Coast entertainment industry a way to reach young people at a reasonable cost. An innovator from the start, he made BAM the first publication to be distributed free at point-of-purchase in retail outlets throughout California.

In 1978, Dennis founded the first Bay Area Music Awards, more commonly known as the "Bammies." He continues to produce the internationally recognized awards program, which attracts over 6,000 music industry leaders annually.

In 1984, Dennis launched MicroTimes. This magazine focused on the heroes in the computing industry instead of the endless descriptions of electronics, and became the nation's largest regional computer magazine with a circulation topping 200,000 when sold in 1999.

Ann Kroeber

Ann Kroeber
Sound Mountain Sound Effects

Ann Kroeber began her film career at the Office of Radio and Television at the United Nations. One day a colleague there asked her to record fireworks and ambient sound at a Chinese New Year Celebration. Her world changed that day when she put the headphones on. The textures and tones surrounding her became intensely fascinating. She broke recording conventions and returned with an aural pastiche that delighted her employee. After her assignment at the UN was complete she freelanced for the BBC, CBS, ORTF, and also did production sound on docs & low budget features.

She moved to San Francisco in 1978 and was hired there by Alan Splet to record sound effects for the Black Stallion, which won an Academy Award for Sound Fx Editing. Kroeber was a sound fx recordist and later fx editor with Splet on such films as The Elephant Man, Dune, Never Cry Wolf, Wind, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Mountains of the Moon, At Play in the Fields of the Lord, Henry and June, The Mosquito Coast, and Dead Poets Society. She was the production mixer on Blue Velvet.

In 1999 she formed a company called Sound Mountain and has recorded and or provided sound effects for such films as The Star Wars Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of The King, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Gladiator, The English Patient, The Horse Whisperer, A Bug’s Life, K-19, Polar Express, The Village, Hidalgo etc. and many games. She was Sound Designer on Carroll Ballard’s recent Duma and Fx Editor on his Fly Away Home as well as Affonso Arau’s Zapata. She has also provided sound effects and sound designed for a number of popular Games. She produced a 3 CD set of sound effects for the Hollywood Edge called “Sounds of a Different Realm. The BBC, NPR, KPFA and Finnish Radio have interviewed her.

Stephen Kopels

Stephen Kopels
Director of Education,
SF School of Digital Filmmaking

Stephen has been a working filmmaker and television director for the past thirty-five years. His career started in 1968 as a combat photographer in Vietnam, shooting pictures for The United States Army journal Stars and Stripes, The New York Times, Newsweek, and other major publications.

For the next twelve years, Stephen worked for PBS as a senior producer/director. During his time with PBS, Stephen created hundreds of documentaries and live television shows that won him numerous national and international awards (the New York International Film Festival, the Gabriel Awards, and the San Francisco International Film Festival to name a few) and such honors as being named American representative at the Rockefeller International Independent Film Symposium in Venice, Italy and receiving two Peabody nominations.

Stephen currently runs the premier filmmaking school SFDigiFilm located in San Francisco, CA.