Biography
Daytime Emmy Award winning Production Executive
Shepherded over 1000 Episodes of Broadcast Television as Line Producer through Vice President of Production
I started my career in the entertainment industry as a Production Assistant in 1996. The first five years were spent learning as much as I could from every department and working my way up to 1st Assistant Director in feature films, music videos, episodic television, infomercials, and commercials. When SAG went on strike in 2001, I applied the structure of what I had learned to the (then) new genre of reality television. I was employee #1 on a show Titled "The Surreal Life" which turned into a 9-year job at a company that became 51 Minds Entertainment. It grew into one of the largest independent television companies. In the first 6 years at the company I was the sole Line Producer. In addition to creating budgets and production schedules, I was in the field managing multiple crews on multiple shows until the volume of work moved me into a desk job. My role as Director of Production, and then Vice President of Production, enabled me to setup individual shows to succeed and focus on the future of the company. When that job came to an end (amicably) I Became Head of Production at Merv Griffin Entertainment just as that company was ending. We then formed a new entity, Banca Studio, and had an overall deal with Lionsgate. During this time, I was responsible to not only the executives at Lionsgate, but also the networks that ordered shows from us. I was managing up and managing down while still meeting every deadline and delivering every show under budget. We then decided to be a fully independent production company, I took what I had learned from the corporate side of things and re-arranged our business model. Over the past 20+ years I have been involved in every aspect of production from development to delivery. I have also made it a point to run every show as if it were union and as if it were fully auditable even though much less was required of me. I enjoy overseeing multiple projects at once. Through weekly meetings with all departments, I can ensure that communication flows freely. My goal is to set up the projects to stand on their own so I can focus on the bigger picture while still being close enough to effectively jump in and run triage if necessary. The challenges that exist in the fast-paced environment of reality television gave me the confidence and ability to handle any obstacle. In addition to the production work, I've also taken on the responsibilities of business startup duties including but not limited to finding corporate headquarter office space, purchasing camera, lighting, and editing gear after analyzing the cost savings and building a master rolodex of companies and crew that have always delivered for me.
Applied Skills & Responsibilities: Created and executed budgets and schedules for series, pilots, presentations, and sizzles Verified and Signed all checks Assisted in the compilation of due diligence documentation for company sale Created and maintained a master slate of all production hot costs Created Company database of preferred crew and vendors while developing new relationships Executed new policies and procedures from parent companies while still running the shows independently Identified Profitability and Overhead expenses and savings while locking hard costs at a manageable number Interfaced with Network Production Management, Legal, and Insurance as well as Parent Company Business Affairs Met with show Accountants and Line Producers weekly to identify savings and overages Oversaw all production from Development through Delivery Oversaw multiple shows and teams as well as 600+ employees Reviewed and approved final credits for every episode Reviewed Contracts for Third Party Agreements (Trade Outs, Location Agreements, Cast Contracts, etc....) Setup and bound Insurance for each show based on specific requirements and risk management Worked closely with the Development Department to budget and strategize new projects Maintained consistency throughout all production and development by creating and executing company policy and procedures
