THE TEAM

Executive Producer

Rod is a serial entrepreneur and investor with a passion for technology and its impact on society. At 25, he founded his first company and grew it into a $50 million business. Since then, he has been an early-stage investor in a wide range of technology-focused industries, including alternative energy, tech-enabled healthcare, innovative nutrition, software development, and internet-centric businesses. In addition to his investment portfolio, Rod founded Tristar Properties, a company that has originated and completed over $1 billion in commercial real estate transactions.
Rod’s interest in technology’s role in shaping our world led him to found Catnip Productions, where he serves as Executive Producer.

Producer, Director & Lead Editor

James Gregson is a talented and accomplished director and producer with a background in audio engineering and electronics. Growing up in a corporate environment, his family played a key role in the growth and success of Tandy and Radio Shack. James honed his skills early on, working with his father and brother at their audio engineering and manufacturing company.
In 1997, James was awarded first place for a comedy action trailer and a short film called “Youngblood Super Spy” at the international “Fastival” film festival sponsored by Adobe, Pinnacle, and Fast Electronics. This kickstarted his career as an independent director and producer as several studios considered Youngblood Super Spy for an action series.

Producer, Creative Director & AI Images and Animation

David Elfanbaum’s career has focused on turning complex information into easily understandable and engaging narratives.  As a co-founder of Asynchrony, a tech consulting company that grew to be a $50 million per year organization, he worked with a wide range of Fortune 500 organizations to create videos, courses, presentations, and articles. Additionally, he developed a curriculum on visual thinking processes that was used to train thousands of people to use whiteboards, markers, and sticky notes to expand understanding, collaborate and innovate.

David was an early innovator in using virtual worlds as a platform for art and video and was featured in multiple virtual world art exhibitions ranging from solo shows to international artist collaborations. He was the keynote speaker at the 2011 Virtual Worlds Best Practices in Education conference, which brought together 500 educators worldwide and a collaborator in a pioneering invite-only virtual world innovation conference at Sony Studios.

www.fourworlds.com
https://www.instagram.com/fourworlds

Entertainment Attorney

Ted Baer Law is a private law firm owned and operated by J. A. Ted Baer, Esq. The firm has specialized in transactional matters in the entertainment industry for over 40 years, and has worked with many prestigious names, companies, and all of the major Hollywood film studios. The firm’s reputation for expertise in negotiations and contractual matters is respected throughout the entertainment industry, and its connections, networking, and partnerships with entertainment companies is unparalleled.

Since 1978, Ted Baer Law has been helping individuals and businesses in the entertainment industry worldwide. We advise individuals and businesses on contract negotiations, film libraries, rights deals, business negotiations, talent contracts, book deals and other entertainment law services.

Production Manager, Gaffer & Video Editor

With a background in music, Rick Vaughn began his career in show business as a concert lighting designer in New York City. In 1994, after completing the Orange and Blue World Project tour with jazz guitarist Al DiMeola, Vaughn moved into television production.

Hired by Berner and Brill Lighting Design in NYC, he became lighting director for many popular TV shows such as Bill Maher’s Politically Incorrect, NBC’s Inside Stuff with Ahmad Rashad and Willow Bay, MTV & VH1’s studio productions, and TVFN’s (Food
Network) cooking shows.

Director of Photography

Dave Rutherford, SOC has been a film and television camera and Steadicam operator since the 1990’s. He is known for his work on Good Morning America, Nightline, 20/20 , and American Idol. Rutherford has a compassion for factual storytelling with a visual flare. He has lensed network shows for over twenty years.

Dave was recognized for his work on Stephen King’s “Strawberry Spring” which won a Society of Cinematographers Guild Emerging Cinematographer award at the Canne Film festival. Dave is a member of The International Cinematographers Guild and The Society of Camera Operators.

Director of Marketing, PR & Communications

Dave Costello is the principal of TechSposure, a tech PR firm located just outside of Boston. He has provided counsel and public relations for approximately 75 companies during his 25-year career. He has helped many organizations bring to market emerging technologies, including data management, web technologies, and customer relationship management. Dave has promoted several keynote speaking engagements for various well-known executives, authors, consultants, and elected officials. He has also helped companies from other industries outside of tech, including sports, consumer, retail, healthcare, and convenience stores.

He was an adjunct professor at Boston University’s College of Communication and Emerson College’s School of Communication for close to 10 years, where he taught public relations, communications writing, and marketing. He is the author of Tech PR Blueprint.

Screenwriter & Interviewer

Arthur Sesnovich is an experienced screenwriter, author, and journalist. He has written two feature-length films and has been represented by The Gersh Agency, one of the most high-profile agencies for creative representation. Sesnovich has also been an active participant in the 48-Hour Film Festival as a screenwriter for five years running. His script for “Bad Memories” won the Best Original Script in the 2018 competition.

Sesnovich authored a book called “Mumblings of a Mortician,” a humorous look at the lighter side of the death business. He is currently working on a pilot for a television series based on the book. As a journalist, he has written features for a number of high-profile media outlets, including The Boston Globe and The New York Times. He is a member in good standing with the Writers Guild of America.

Music Composer

Larry Kornfeld knew at a very early age that music would be his life. Every aspect of music was fascinating to him – vinyl records, the gear used to play the records, the recording process, and of course, the music itself. Lessons on the bass guitar led to more serious study on the upright bass.

As a 16-year-old high school student, Larry was hired to play upright bass for an album project arranged by his orchestra director. Stepping into a recording studio was a life-changing event. Upon hearing that first playback, he was convinced that being a session bassist was to be his future and earned a performance degree in Studio Music and Jazz from the legendary University of Miami school of music.

Line Producer

Christopher has written and produced media in multiple sectors over the decades, from the International Contemporary Art world with or about organizations like Bridge Art Fair, Sotheby’s, Berliner Liste, Bad at Sports, The Armory Show, Art Chicago & more. As well as with commercial developments, web services, non-profits & federal agencies.

Having created multiple travel photography books, Christopher is always looking for the next visual story to tell.

Controller

Gene became an accredited Certified Public Accountant after earning a Bachelor of Science with an emphasis in Accounting from the University of Missouri, St. Louis.

His career includes 30+ years of experience in public & private accounting within the fields of auditing, tax planning and preparation, business consulting, financial reporting, human resources, and risk management.

Production Assistant & Researcher

Tarek is a fresh filmmaker with prior experience in screenwriting, research, and directory work. His film journey began with his first screenplay, The Melting Pot (2020), a historical drama focusing on Ellis Island immigration and New York City tenement housing in the early 20th century. Just one year later, he wrote a coming-of-age screenplay, A Day in the Life (2021), which focused on his experiences as the only Middle Eastern high school hockey player in St. Louis. A Day in the Life won a research grant from his university, Saint Louis University (SLU), to finance larger scenes that he directed himself with brand new student-actors.

Tarek’s literature analysis paper, Civilizing the Colonized, received a SLU Spaulding Literary Essay Award. Furthermore, an American history paper, Social Mobilization: An Analysis of Military Propaganda in Film, won an Honorable Mention for the SLU Tuck Louie Prize for Best Undergraduate Essay on American Culture.

Upon graduating from Saint Louis University in May of 2023 with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Film Studies, English, and American Studies, Tarek began helping filmmaker Katrina Parks and Cinefemme transition Parks’s existing American History documentary, Route 66: The Untold Stories of Women on the Mother Road (2022), into an educational curriculum.

Animator & Motion Designer

Alex Evens is an experienced animator, film editor, and cinematographer with a diverse portfolio of work spanning commercials, music videos, corporate interviews, social media ads, and documentaries.  

His proficiency extends to motion design and editing, where he has created compelling animated explainers and motion graphics for leading companies and documentaries. With expertise in Adobe After Effects, Premiere Pro, and Cinema 4D, among others, combined with his FAA drone pilot certification, Alexander possesses a deep understanding of visual storytelling and is passionate about all facets of filmmaking.