Crew

 At ease working across cultures and languages, Rob has helmed numerous bilingual productions, and shot in studios and on-location across Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.  His work ranges from short subject dramas to commercials, documentaries, interactive mixed media, and exhibit/installation projects.  Over the course of the last two decades he's  crafted  spots and longer format programs for the likes of  IBM, GE, Proctor & Gamble/Gillette, CEMEX  S.A., Adidas/Reebok, State Street Financial, Liberty Mutual, XL Insurance,  NEC,  Hearst Broadcasting/History Channel, and Boston University.  During that time his commercial work has garnered numerous awards and recognition for technical or creative excellence including Telly, CINDY and International Television Association prizes, as well as honors from the New York Film & Video Festival.  Recently, El Bolero, a dramatic, Spanish-language, short film which he wrote and directed, has won several audience and jury awards, and has screened at festivals across the country, including the HBO-sponsored NY Latino Independent Film Festival.  El Bolero also  gained top accolades at the highly regarded WorldFest Houston, receiving a coveted  Gold Remi award for a dramatic short. Rob's formal training began in Big Sky country, at Montana State University, where he  earned a B.S. in Film and Television Production after switching from the school’s  Fine Arts program.  His first job out of school was working in one of GE’s marketing departments  designing and programming multi-image slide shows, before an early mentor steered him into writing, directing, and editing  corporate image films.  He spent several years freelancing before forming Black Pearl Productions in 1993,  a boutique-sized production shop which works both with other, larger,  production houses and directly for Black Pearl’s own roster of clients.

 Susan Escher, Co-Producer

 Susan serves as President of Symphony Financial Group, a consulting firm specializing in product development and project management and GeoREstore, a renewable energy data service.  Susan recently served as Senior Managing Director in Penton Media’s Information Data Products division where she worked with a variety of commercial and business aviation properties. Susan also served as Senior Vice President at Investors Fiduciary Trust Company (now a part of State Street) overseeing the bank products and treasury divisions.  Susan has a Masters in Business Administration and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

 Joe Figucia, Director of Photography

 Joe Figucia is a veteran Director of Photography based out of New England with 25 years experience providing his services worldwide. He has lensed projects in 35mm, super 35mm and 35mm anamorphic as well as all high definition video formats. He has shot in all major domestic markets and internationally in Canada, Mexico, Europe, Egypt, The Philippines and the Caribbean. Joe's work has received numerous Telly, Cindy and Golden Slate awards. His films have been recognized with a gold medal at the International Film and TV Festival of New York, and a Best of Broadcasting award for Cinematography. He has acted as Director of Photography on many commercial, broadcast and top tier corporate projects where he has serviced a broad clientele of fortune 500 companies such as Gillette, Reebok, and IBM. His most current endeavors include longer format narrative and documentary work including the current Please Remove your Shoes and the indie El Bolero, filmed just prior in Mexico City.

 Frederick C. Gevalt III, Executive Producer

 Fred Gevalt is founder of The Air Charter Guide, a directory and information business that serves the worldwide market of on demand aircraft charter. Gevalt began the business in 1984 and sold it in 2005 to Prism Business Media, a spin off of K-III Communications, which later merged with Penton Media. A political activist, Gevalt cut his teeth on countering federal agency behavior in 1998 with a successful lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration on behalf of his air charter constituency. An avid pilot since returning from VietNam in 1968, Gevalt has built airplanes himself, and currently flies aircraft for business as well as recreation. He graduated from Harvard College in 1972, and earned a Master in Architecture in 1976.

 Rocco Giuliano, Writer

 In his varied (some would say “checkered”) career, Rocco has worked as a rock band roadie, medical photographer, communications consultant, freelance corporate scriptwriter and media personality.  One happy result of Rocco's broad-based experience is his ability to handle any kind of content, and to write in whatever style works best for the job at hand. Rocco has written hundreds of video scripts and executive speeches for high stakes events such as investor meetings, global conferences, trade shows, and product launches. His clients include industry leaders such as CEMEX, Sepracor, Covidien, US Department of Defense, EMC, HP, and Iron Mountain. Rocco's media credits include:

 • Writer/Star, Soundproof (2008), Film Short        • Writer/Star, Marathon Theater, 38 Late and Rocco Goes To The Drive-In WSBK-TV

• Writer/Star, Verbal Assault Radio Free Augsburg (DE), Music Radio Holland     • Commentator, Morning Edition NPR, WBUR-FM, Boston

Lorraine Pouliot, Co-Producer

 Lorraine studied film and communications at Boston University, where she produced a graduate student's award-winning thesis film, the comedy Disturbing Leonard. While still a student, she was Line Producer and Production Manager for the independent dramatic feature Mother's Little Helpers. Lorraine honed her skills over four years as a producer and project manager with Northern Light Productions, a successful Boston-based documentary film production company. There, she worked with teams large and small to fuse aesthetics with relevant content for clients ranging from the History Channel to the Smithsonian Institution. Lorraine is passionate about exploring storytelling with new media formats and continues to develop independent projects.