FILMMAKERS



John Jacobsen

John Jacobsen - Director

Director and host of The Artist Toolbox, Jacobsen is the director of the recent short films Arthur, winner of the Best of Fest Award, and Spinning, and he directed the feature film Around the Fire which premiered at The Seattle International Film Festival where it was nominated for The Best Independent Filmmaker's Award, moving on to take top prize at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy. John has also produced feature films and numerous award winning shorts. He has directed over thirty plays, assisted legendary Broadway director, Hal Prince, produced the Tribute to Katherine Dunham on CBS's Emmy Award winning Kennedy Center Honors, and worked under the Academy Award-winning documentary maker, Charles Guggenheim. He has served as the Vice President of Seattle's ACT Theatre, one of this country's leading regional theatres and is President of TheFilmSchool which he co-founded with actor Tom Skerritt, Stewart Stern and other leading filmmakers. He managed the Motion Picture and Television Department at UCLA Extension, and was a Directing Fellow at the American Film Institute (AFI). He is a partner in the production company Moga Jacobsen, is a screenwriter, and teaches writing and directing around the country.


Chris Oliver

Chris Oliver - Producer

Chris Oliver began his film career after a meeting with actor Tom Skerritt. His career has included producing, directing, writing, and production of feature films, short films, commercials, and television shows. He is the President and Founder of Wishing Star Pictures. His most recent credits include a PBS Nova special, a Toyota Venza commercial, a multi-million dollar feature film, and the short film “Checkstand For Two”. He has worked with such stars as Tom Skerritt, Eric Roberts, Elizabeth Rohm, and Sean Patrick Flanery

Oliver graduated from the University of Washington – School of Business with degrees in Entrepreneurship and Marketing. His first consulting business was formed at the age of 12, and since then he has been involved in numerous start-ups and marketing campaigns. In an effort to understand all elements of film production, Oliver chose to build a strong background in film by attending TheFilmSchool’s competitive screenwriting program, directing courses, and personal acting classes in the Seattle area. He currently has numerous film projects in various stages of development.


Joshua Bourland

Joshua Bourland - Writer

Joshua Bourland graduated from TheFilmSchool’s core screenwriting session in Summer 2008. His short script Arthur won the 2008 Great American Screenplay contest and grabbed the attention of producer Chris Oliver, and director John Jacobsen. Since graduating, Josh has spent most of his time improving old scripts and implementing all of the information he had absorbed from TheFilmSchool’s instructors to hone his skill to craft quality stories.

He is currently writing a novel for adaptation in the future, and finishing the final revisions on his fantasy/drama script “Death’s Who’s Coming To Dinner”.


Greg Moga

Greg Moga – Executive Producer

Greg Moga is the Executive Producer of the Moga/Jacobsen Productions. Greg’s career is best described as multi-faceted. With a background in journalism and past experience as editor of a magazine in Chicago, his entrepreneurial energy has led Greg to simultaneously juggle such varied careers as law in Minneapolis, fertility in Europe and the US, farming in the Midwest, hospital IT - revenue cycle in Spokane, and patient advocacy with employees in 11 states, not to mention serving on three non-profit environmental boards. Greg is leading a full slate of projects at Moga/Jacobsen Productions.


Eliot Rockett

Eliot Rockett – Director of Photography

For over fifteen years Eliot has been shooting feature films, commercials, documentaries, and music videos. Along with The House Of The Devil his feature credits include: “Liberty Kid” directed by Ilya Chaiken, “Dirty” directed by Chris Fisher starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Clifton Collins, “The Specials” directed by Craig Maizin starring Rob Lowe, Thomas Hayden Church and Jamie Kennedy, “Around The Fire” directed by John Jacobsen starring Devon Smith and Tara Reid, “Late Last Night” directed by Steven Brill starring Emilio Esteves, and “My Tiny Universe” starring John Heard, Debra Mazarm and Leslie Ann Warren. Eliot was most recently hired to shoot an episode of the hit TV show CSI.


Charles-Henri Avelange

Charles-Henri Avelange - Composer

Charles-Henri Avelange is a French award-winning composer residing in the greater Seattle area. In Washington State, he is known for his first symphony, The Age of Heroes composed in honor of the Fire Fighters in America and the servicemen and women in Iraq.

Charles-Henri's most recent works include the official Seattle International Film Festival 2010 music theme. The 20 minute score in the Opening Night film for the Seattle International Film Festival 2009, directed by Rick Stevenson and starring Paul Allen, Tom Skerritt, Matt Hasselbeck, Howard Schultz and other Seattle luminaries. He scored a 20 min corporate video for MOWAT Construction Company and was recently commissioned to score 4 movie trailers as part of an upcoming 2010 ad campaign for Microsoft Corp. He is currently making his debut as an Executive Producer on the online game BattleCell, for which he is also scoring the full BattleCell soundtrack theme


Travis Sterner

Travis Sterner - Editor

Travis Sterner discovered computers, video games, and camcorders at a very early age. He fell deep into the world of technology and was assimilated as an Audio-Visual geek. He spent high school in a blur of 1's and 0's and was haunted by nightmares of insufficient memory and buffer underflow errors.

By entering the United States Army, Travis learned how to use advanced technology and received funding to attend college. Beginning with an exploratory course in digital video production, his path was defined and he never looked back. Travis's greatest goal is to continue the legacy passed on to him by his Mentors. He teaches editing to enterprising students, and continues to practice the art of video production, filmmaking and photography at every opportunity. He currently operates his production company, Sterner Studios in the heart of Bellevue.









© 2010 Moga | Jacobsen Productions. All right reserved