CREDITS
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CREW
E. ALAN CONTINO - DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
E. Alan Contino completed his first animated short film when he was just 12 years old. Alan had already begun studying electrical engineering, specializing in digital video and audio technology. By the time he was 15, Alan was a featured cable television producer and director for local origination programming on several different cable broadcast systems around the metro Detroit area.
Alan began regularly producing and directing live broadcasts when he was only 19 years old, making him the youngest broadcast engineer and director in America. Alan has more than 50 screen credits in motion picture and television productions, including an experimental film he wrote, produced & directed, Kill Joi. With more than 17 years of professional experience, Alan has become Chief Executive Officer/Producer and Senior Partner of Delirium Films.Delirium Films formed in 1996 in order to help young talent find the means and the education to produce their own works of art, while representing their abilities to clientele in a professional manner in order to gain legitimate work experience. Alan has never given up on his love for technology and is contracted as Chief Research Engineer for the Virtual Theatricality Laboratory at the Henry Ford Community College Theater. To find out more about this unique talent visit Alan's personal website.
Tyler Gibbons, a native of Vermont, is a composer and professional bassist. Along with scores for feature films, shorts, and instructional videos, Tyler has composed a string quartet performed by the Mendelssohn String Quartet at Harvard University. Tyler has performed with outfits such as Red Heart the Ticker, Mildew and Star, The Humming, and David Berkeley.
As a bass player, Tyler has accompanied the famed jazz singer Sheila Jordan in concert, and performed with the Norwegian duo M2M on a U.S. tour with Jewel. In addition to the score for An Apology to the Dead, Tyler most recently teamed up with Saturday Night Live and Hall and Oates bassist, T-Bone Wolk, to score the feature film Senses of Place (Temple Films)
JOEL H. NEWPORT - SOUND DESIGN
Sound designer and effects editor Joel H. Newport is a Michigan native and has been working in this field since 1991. Mr. Newport enjoyed his collaboration with Jeff Daniels on films such as Escanaba in the Moonlight and Super Sucker. He also contributed his talents to Dark Art Productions’ Hatred of a Minute and, most recently, Mutant Swinger from Mars. Currently working for Harvest Music & Sound Design, Mr. Newport lives in Mason, Michigan with his wife and two children.
Coming Soon
CHRIS O'HARA - 1st ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Chris O'Hara was one of the first Michigan filmmakers Tim and Jon met when they started attending Michigan Filmmaker Forum meetings early in Pre-production. Chris has been a dedicated member of Apology's crew, and has been there for the film every step of the way. Chris O'Hara attended Lansing Community College, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Telecommunications. Chris is the founder of Crazy Bookhead Studios, dedicated to supporting art in the Mid-Michigan area.
Chris has always been highly active in the Michigan Film Community, and has worked for The East Lansing Film Festival, and as an advertising editor for WILX Channel 10 in Lansing, MI. Chris is always looking to help budding filmmakers, and has also recently started collaborating extensively with local horror filmmaker, Jeff Burton.
Chris, by channelling the power of the Patches, will one day become a major internationally recognized filmmaker and very rich and very powerful. And there ain't much you're going to be able to do to stop it, because the schwartz is with him. Until that momentous day arrives, he lives peaceably in Michigan with his wife Cindy, and their pets, and is still waiting for Tim and Jon to finally cough up the $40 they owe him.
DALLAS GRIFFIN - 2nd ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
A man with a thousand personalities and the ambition to match.
One Man....
One Dream....
One Hope...
One Desperation that haunts him every second of his being.
One way in
No way out
The life event that he can't afford to miss.
TO ENTERTAIN THE WORLD!"I'll make you famous!"
Mark A. France began his professional film career in 1993 after he fatefully answered a want ad in a local newspaper to become an extra in an upcoming horror film called Blood Fever. Initially a two-day stint, Mark met several native Michigan Special FX Artists who allowed him to assist with special fx on the set. Blood Fever went on to be known as Mosquito (the first film directed by Gary Jones ), which can be seen quite frequently on the USA and Sci-Fi channels.
Mark met up with independant filmmakers Jon Worful and Timothy Gunn, and was hired to work on their first feature film, An Apology to the Dead as the makeup artist for the production and in the supporting role of Julian's academic colleague, Larry. Beginning with pre-production planning, this was the first time Mark had the opportunity to work on a dramatic independant feature from start to finish.
Encouraged and inspired by the collaborative spirit of the many talented people within the Michigan film industry, Mark has chosen to pursue a project he has long sought to complete. Midnight of the Mind, Mark's directorial debut, is currently in post-production as the first feature film of Mark's production company, SandStorm FX & Productions.
Aimee Ragsdale was a film rookie at the start of An Apology to the Dead. By the end she had every costume committed to memory - minus the voluminous amount of neckties (most of which were cut). She resides in Lansing MI with her three year old daughter. She is a stifled State employee who revels in any free time she gets to break out and be a part of the creative process.
Since her work on Apology she has worked on Midnight of the Mind and is looking forward to her next opportunity to participate in the creative genius of film. She would like to thank Tim and Jon for their confidence in her, and her friend Dallas for introducing her to the group. She will keep all of her friends from Apology close to her heart.
A. E. GRIFFIN - 1st ASSISSTANT CAMERA
An Apology to the Dead became a watershed moment in A.E.Griffin's life. "I had completely gotten out of filmmaking years ago and by sheer luck had heard about this movie being made in Lansing so I thought I'd check into it," remarked A.E.
"After meeting with Tim and Jon, I was impressed by their spirit and professionalism and I just knew I'd found something that I'd been missing in my life for a long time. I couldn't have dreamed of a better experience making ATTD, and I'll always be grateful to them for reigniting that spirit within me."
Since Apology, A.E.Griffin has gone on to DP several other feature length projects, including LCE's Love and Plutonium and Weenie Roast Massacre and SandStorm FX and Production's Midnight of the Mind, as well as his own project to encourage and support local Michigan filmmakers, UnSAFE TV
BARRY "THE FOOT" ELMORE - 2nd ASSISTANT CAMERA / INTERN
Barry “The Foot” Elmore is a man. He enjoys tattoos of bears. That’s about it.
Oh for real?
Barry “The Foot” Elmore was the resident intern of this production, and did a fantastic job of doing Tim and Jon’s dirty work. No job was too small for this young man. The coffee was always ready, back rubs always firm, and no else could have laid out the directors clothes on the ends of their beds, better than da Foot. He truly was the backbone of this production.
Still not right? Man...
Ok, Barry graduated from Lansing Community College in the Summer of 2004 with an associates degree in Motion Picture Direction. He is currently writing a script and hopes to direct his first film in the summer/fall of 2005. Besides working on films, Barry loves music and currently plays in two bands in the Lansing, MI area.
ZACK POHL - PROPMASTER / SET DECORATION
Zack Pohl is a Junior at Michigan State University, and is an English – Film Studies major. Zack joined the crew of ‘Apology’ in June 2003 after hearing about the project from a family friend. With absolutely no experience in filmmaking, Tim and Jon took a chance on their would-be prop master by offering him a challenge: find a “Pulp Fiction-like briefcase” within 48 hours, and the job was his.
Of course, after scrambling around for two days, that suitcase never made it into a single shot. But, after two weeks of rehearsals, four weeks of shooting, and two spring re-shoots, Zack Pohl has his foot firmly planted in the door of local filmmaking…before ever taking a single film class. He is currently planning a documentary about his father, Scott Pohl, entitled A Face Made for Radio, to be shot in the summer of 2005.
DAVID "THE MUTTONS" PROUTY - KEY GRIP
David Prouty was an incredibly versatile addition to the production of An Apology to the Dead. A native of Chicago, David Prouty traveled the farthest of any member of the Apology team, and yet was always the most punctual, energetic, and excited person on set.
In addition to portraying the role of Richie, a brash student in Julian's ethics class, David also has received credit as the Key Grip, but additionally helped with lighting, stunt coordination, driving, and anything else the directors randomly needed.
AARON PICOT - SCRIPT SUPRVISOR
Picot was born Aaron Nicholas Picot in Port Huron, Michigan in 1981. Twas a cold winter's day and he was brought into the world by Cesarian. 9 pounds 11 ounces. Son to David and Gayle. Brother to Andrew and Angela.
After seeing Reservoir Dogs for the first time, Aaron decided he wanted to be a filmmaker. In college Aaron joined the Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts program and met many lifelong friends. Although he learned much in college, enough to obtain a Bachelor of Applied Arts degree, he felt filmmaking was not covered adequately. During his internship at Michigan Government Television in Lansing, MI, Aaron met Jon Worful and was invited to the rehearsal shoot for a movie Jon was directing. Aaron then joined the crew of An Apology to the Dead in the summer of 2003 and met more lifelong friends. He soon was working in Lansing at the NBC affiliate WILX-TV channel 10 as a promotions writer and editor.
In June of 2004 Aaron joined the crew of A Life Like Mine, a drama about breast cancer. He was the script supervisor. Also in June of 2004 he was the Assistant Director for a short called Once or Twice, a comedy about sex and trains. Then in July and August he joined the crew of Jeff Burton's Dead End Road, a horror film about an Edgar Allen Poe serial killer.
Mr. Picot is currently working on a comedy screenplay with a former co-worker and hopes to have it completed by Spring of 2005.
He enjoys his life but waits anxiously for the next film project to come along.
Recording Engineer Jen Shangraw started off life as a cellist but quickly saw the light and prefers to work on the other side of the microphone. Jen is currently head of Recording Services at Michigan State University's School of Music where she also serves as an Associate Professor.
Jen has worked in the past for Western Sound Studios, Interlochen Center for the Arts, The Folger Consort, The Twentieth-Century Consort, Brown and Brown Recording, and many others. This is Jen's first foray into audio for a motion picture and she owes a lot to Joel Newport for his instruction, guidance and patience. Jen lives in Lansing, MI with her husband, Dan.
James E. Miller has had a wide variety of audio engineering experiences. Since 2000, he has been the Audio Coordinator at the Peoples Church of East Lansing. In the fall of 2001 James began working at Michigan State University School of Music Recording Services as both a recording engineer and live sound engineer.
Additionally, James has worked as an independent recording engineer, live sound engineer, and sound system consultant throughout the Lansing area. An Apology to the Dead is his first venture into feature film audio.
Mr. Miller graduated from Michigan State University in the spring of 2004 with a degree in Music Education. He is currently the Director of Vocal Music at St. Johns High School and St. Johns Middle School.
Coming Soon
Mike Pasky is a filmmaker located in Lansing, MI. He has had packages he shot and edited for TV shows Hip-Hop Nation and Playground Earth syndicated nationally on UPN and WB affiliates in the US and on Fox Sports International in Japan, Brazil and Spain.
He is currently the Director of Photography for the Creative Services Dpt. of WILX-TV 10 where he shoots commercials on a daily basis. He has produced, directed and shot a number of music videos and recently produced, directed and shot his first short film "Once Or Twice". His website is www.abstrusefilms.com.
JOHN SAWYER - BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO / PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
Name: John Sawyer
Location: Fowlerville, MI
Age: 20
Schooling: Attending second year at LCC majoring in Film Production (in hopes of one day becoming a film editor) and minoring in Digital Media. Future plans for school is to have maybe one more year in at LCC then transfer to Chicago for two years and then of to L.A. to finish up schooling. Lots of plans and so little time.
What I've been up to: As before, lots of school and work but who isn't doing that? Still playing in my band Negative Acceleration (with Jon Bell) I think that it has been close to six years that we have been playing now, but I'm not so sure. You can always check us out at here. Doing a lot of short films on the side nothing major just fun little stuff; but just living life and loving it.
Plans for the future: Well, I can't really answer that one. I kinda live my life as it happens but on thing i do know for sure, if Tim or Jon need me for any of their projects I'm there anytime. Thanx for this experience guys.
Jon Bell- BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO / PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
I didn't get any "nicknames" like the rest of the crew. I guess I wasn't "hip" enough, but working on this film was a great experience. Everything about it was apsolutely a life changing thing. Everybody was where they were supposed to be. Couldn't ask for a better crew to work with.
I am now attending school at Lansing Comunity College for an associates degree in Film Production, and hope one day to be a great guy and a hell of a producer. I don't have a lot of film experience in my background but after helping these guys on this feature, I am excited to work on further projects in the movie industry.
JARIN SPENCER - SET PHOTOGRAPHER
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MIKE McLEOD - STUNT COORDINATOR / WEB DESIGN
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