Jon Michael Simpson
Writer, Director, Producer
Jon Michael is the director of the Pivot TV Grand Prize winning short, that developed into his feature directorial debut HI IM BLAKE. He studied film at the University of Texas at Austin and since graduating has produced four narrative feature films, in addition to writing and directing shorts films, documentaries, commercials & digital series.
Lee Rothenflue
Co-Producer, Editor
Lee is the owner and founder of Cut to Black. He has over 15 years experience overseeing the production and post production of many different types of film and video projects, including feature films, documentaries, corporate promos, and commercials. He has worked with clients like Charles Schwab, Seton Hospital, Verizon, the Tiger Woods Foundation and PetSmart, among others. His attention to the specific needs of every project and creative ability helps projects finish on time, within budget, and beyond expectations.
Trent Russo
Co-Producer
Trent Russo graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s in Professional Accounting. Upon graduating, Trent began his career with Ernst & Young, a Big 4 accounting firm, providing assurance services to large public clients across a wide range of industries. Trent’s education and experiences have taught him to organize the people, funding, and logistics that are essential to the success of any project.
Jeff McQuitty
Producer, Cinematographer, Composer
Jeff McQuitty is a director, producer and cinematographer based out of Austin, TX. He served as the cinematographer for the award-winning documentary short film that inspired the feature version of HI I’M BLAKE. After graduating from film school at the University of Texas at Austin, Jeff has created a variety of projects, including narrative features, documentaries, commercials and short films. Apart from production, he is also an accomplished composer, having scored three feature films.
Hanan Townshend
Composer
Hanan Townshend is a New Zealand-born film composer based in Austin, Texas. Townshend was a music licensee on Terrence Malick's Palme d'Or winning film The Tree Of Life, where he received his first significant recognition. He has composed for numerous feature films, including Malick's 2014 film To The Wonder and more recently, Knight Of Cups, starring Christian Bale, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchett and Imogen Poots. He has scored over a dozen large commercials for brands such as Apple, American Express, Nike and Google. He has also collaborated with producers such as Mike McCarthy and the legendary Daniel Lanois.