Digital Video Intensive:
Student Success
Tony Sondag
Top 40 DJ, Sculptor, Musician, & Now Video Pro
With a multitude of films to his credit, Tony Sondag has made a name for himself in the commercial, non-profit, and music arenas.
With his life as a Top 40 DJ and professional bass player under the belt, Tony Sondag’s next adventure was to earn his MFA in sculpture from the California College of the Arts. While there, he attended a seminar on video production with hopes to use the medium to highlight his work. It was at this time he discovered his love for filmmaking. The instructor turned out to be Chris Gee who, after leaving his full time position at the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC), attended SF State’s Digital Video Intensive.
After earning his MFA, Tony himself attended the DVI which led to his internship with the program’s director, Craig Abaya.
Today, Tony’s credits include “Crossroads in Nihonmachi”, a documentary that spans the 100-year history of San Francisco’s Japantown. Originally stepping in to assist the inexperienced crew, Tony’s skills quickly elevated him to the roles of co-producer/director, co-editor and director of photography. The film premiered at the Sundance Kabuki Theater in December 2007.
Since 2006, Tony has served as camera operator and editor for San Francisco’s annual Stern Grove Festival. The performances, interviews and press conferences feature international celebrities and music legends. Artist conversations and musical performances are available on iTunes and at Sterngrove.org.
Tony was selected as editor and one of the camera operators for Radio Alice’s “Return to the Studio”, which premiered in April 2008.
These and many more projects make up the long list of credits that Tony has earned in a very short time. As he adds to his list, he continues to work closely with the DVI and CEL, where he got his start with his new first love, video editing. For more information about Tony, visit: http://tonysondag.blogspot.com/
Paul Hoffman
DVI Grad Tells the Story of One Homeless Man's Triumph
In 1989, Paul Hoffman a young Chicago Cubs fan, was moved by the passion in a homeless man’s victory cheer at Wrigley Field. That homeless man is Ronnie Woo Woo Wickers. After getting to know Ronnie, Paul was further taken by Ronnie’s amazing personal story and was determined to someday share it with the world.
Paul, now a graduate of our Digital Video Intensive program, makes his debut as a documentary filmmaker with his feature length film, WooLife. WooLife was released on Opening Day of the 2008 baseball season.
Monica with her award from the miniDV Film Festival
Monica Daniel
After receiving her bachelors in psychology from University of California, Davis, Monica turned to the DVI to prepare her to pursue her love of film. In addition to her work on classmates' films, and the various exercises, she produced 3 shorts in the DVI. This includes her final project, All That Now Has Left Your Reach, which went on to take the BEST MUSIC VIDEO award at the Hollywood DV Festival.
After the DVI, Monica went on to a paid internship at Digidesign (in Daly City) followed by internships at Studio Funny Films and PlasterCity Digital Post (both in Hollywood).
She was then hired by E! Entertainment where she has become editor and color corrector. Monica also continues to work on indie films. Her work has also appeared at the Cannes Film Festival.
See a sample of Monica's video work.
Mary Ann Cotter
DVI grad Mary Ann Cotter was awarded $25,000 through Google's Android Developer Challenge. Her company, Cooking Capsules, features interactive cooking videos for smartphones.
Eric Herzog
Congratulations to DVI graduate, Eric Herzog, on his new position at Lucasfilm.
Matt Goldade
Matthew Goldade took a hiatus from his job at Oracle to take the DVI. He return to Oracle for a while then eventuallly set his sites on the Southern California, where he landed the position at Yahoo! Media Group.
"A month ago I moved on to FOX from Yahoo! and owe so much to your program for helping me go in the right direction. I'm doing things today I didn't think were possible—walking on the FOX lot watching various shoots, working with the FOX Sports guys on video creation, working in 'Nakatomi Plaza' (FOX Plaza) from Die Hard. :)"
Ben Pierce
Ben Pierce retired as principal dancer for the San Francisco Ballet when he decided to learn how to make films. In addition to his personal projects for the DVI, The Dying Swan (featuring Muriel Maffre of the SF Ballet) and a Mini Cooper commercial, Ben directed the class project which made it into the 48-Hour Film Project international tour.
Ben is currently on staff at San Francisco PBS station KQED, working on its celebrated arts program, Spark, consulting with other PBS affiliates around the country. Ben is developing new ways to use digital video to revolutionize stage production.
Dia North
Multitalented author, motivational speaker, and management consultant, Dia North attended the Digital Video Intensive in the spring of 2007.
"I wanted to add something new to my telling of stories. Because of the great interest in YouTube and other video-based websites, I decided to learn about the complexities of filming with professional video equipment, along with the technical intricacies of digital non-linear editing, budgeting, screenwriting, producing and directing. The DVI exposed me to all of these things and even more including hands-on experience doing special effects and effectively preparing video for the web. I went into the DVI with a strong desire to learn new ways to tell stories. I received these skills and much, much more. After just 16 weeks, I now feel prepared to produce and direct my own video productions and work confidently with cinematographic professionals. I have been interviewing people for my new book and now feel qualified to take high-quality videos of these interviews. Thank you, Craig, Phil, and all of the instructors in the DVI."
-Dia North, Author, “Lovers at First Sight: Real People Living the Fairy Tale”
Jonathan Reed
After studying Maya 3D in one of the DVI's sister certificate tracks at SF State Multimedia Studies Program, Jon realized that his primary interest was in live action filmmaking and was accepted into the DVI where his elaborate final project found his crew and himself filming an outdoor desert scene as well as cutting open a Chevy van to get the right angles and lighting. He was kind enough to include a testimonial in his closing credits: "Special Thanks to the DVI, the best 10 grand I ever spent!"
After graduating from the DVI, Jonathan moved to Southern California Hollywood where he was made Senior Producer with E! Entertainment. Making the switch from TV to films, Jon left his position at E! to work for Sample Digital. He continues to direct independent projects, often hiring his fellow DVants along the way.
"The program is amazing and its existence makes so much possible for those who go through it."
Randy Spencer
After graduating from the DVI and serving on the summertime Stern Grove Festival concert film crew, Randy moved to Southern California where he started his first Hollywood job, like many of his fellow DVants, working for E! Entertainment. He moved on and is currently working as online producer for Online Nation at The CW.
Dave Hurley
Dave Hurley, a self-proclaimed "computer geek", is a professional roto-artist, editor, Apple-certified Final Cut Pro trainer, and Adobe-certified Photoshop expert.
He graduated from the Digital Video Intensive during its inaugural semester and has 15 years of corporate marketing experience with large corporations including Discover, First Nationwide Bank, and Pacific Bell. Dave also works as a production boom operator and has taught courses in Unix. Dave specializes in corporate videos and short films through his companies, Syfer.net and Hurleymotion.com. His clients include Macromedia, Nintendo, the De Young Museum, PeopleSoft, and Family Violence Law Center.
Doug Nunn
School teacher, Doug Nunn, wanted to take his eclectic skills to the next level by learning digital filmmaking. During his time in the DVI, he put to use his voice talent and writing skills by creating a parody of the West Wing using action figures.
Nunn has worked as a comic in Europe and the USA, having appeared on CBS' Murder She Wrote, BBC's Combing the Fringe, and Comedy Central's Win Ben Stein's Money. He has coached improvisational theatre extensively in the US & Europe, where his book Show Up-Theatrehandbook for Shows with Teens is published in German-speaking countries.
If you've seen The Simpson's Movie, you've seen the screen credit for his After Effects work. You can learn about his company, Large Child Productions, at www.dougnunn.com.
Lisa Colvin
Lisa Colvin is an independent filmmaker, linguist, and ontologist. She recently completed her work as assistant editor on the documentary Knocking for nationwide broadcast on PBS. More info at www.knocking.org.
Ariella Quatra
Ariella has always had a passion for film and had some first hand exposure to the industry in her former occupation as a paralegal and in non-creative areas of the entertainment industry. After attending various lectures and screenings, she decided it was time to take the plunge and learn how to make films herself.
In the spring of 2004, Ariella joined the Digital Video Intensive. Her final project, Parent Voices is a heart wrenching account that brings to light the seriousness of childhood asthma and the need for teacher training in the subject.
Shortly after completing the DVI, Ariella was hired by Edelman Productions (History Channel, HGTV, etc.) where she currently serves as field producer (among other things).
Amy Spadacini
After much searching for an intensive program to train her in digital filmmaking, Amy Spadacini discovered the DVI on the Web.
In addition to her Aesthetics project, Amy produced two final projects for corporate clients Lufthansa Airlines and NextBus for the DVI. In addition, she served as camera seven operator for the Bruce Hornsby Live at Villa Montalvo, the DVI concert film for DIRECTV.
Amy resides in Cernobbio, Italy where she produces documentary, broadcast and promotional films from her home studio.
"I thought of you and the DVI and thanked my lucky stars that I happened upon you guys. I really will never be able to thank you enough for the training and help you have given me over the years. I am so grateful!
Jay Levine
After selling his successful business, Jay was determined to pursue his life long dream of making films. His final project for the program, The Hope, earned a $25,000 grant from the Gates Foundation.
In the summer of 2006, Jay traveled around the U.S., filming footage for a documentary he had planned.
Sadly, we lost Jay to aggressive forms of cancer. "During his final months, Jay's overwhelming desire was to complete his film, even posthumously," says Craig Abaya (DVI Director). "However, his life is a great triumph. He came to me at 61 expressing years of regret in not following his dream to study filmmaking at 18. I told him that technology had made this a much more exciting time to make films than 1960." Jay finally became the filmmaker he had dreamed of becoming.
Upon entering the DVI, he stated: "My Life Begins Today."
For more information about the Digital Video Intensive, please see their Web site at http://msp.sfsu.edu/dvi/.
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