Expert Instructors

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BAVC faculty includes award-winning and industry-certified professionals, comprising of some of the most experienced and knowledgeable videomakers, editors, designers and artists in the field of video, new media and technology today. BAVC instructors offer a unique, hands-on training style that result consistently in a 95% satisfaction rate from students.

Avid Authorized Instructors:

Bryce Button brings years of experience as an award winning editor and writer. His work ranges from feature films to commercials, as well as documentary storytelling. He is an author of Nonlinear Editing: Aesthetics, Storytelling and Craft, a scriptwriter, and a columnist for DV magazine. Bryce has taught at editing schools and given lectures at conferences throughout the United States.

Jerry Cahill is an accomplished editor, director and screenwriter. A graduate of NYU film school, for over 30 years he has worked on commercials, trailers, TV promotional campaigns, short and feature films, music videos and TV shows. He has worked with CBS, NBC, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox, and is currently on staff at KPIX.

Ralph Dickinson is an artist and educator specializing in video and internet production. His work has been seen throughout the world. He holds a Masters in Instructional Technologies from San Francisco State University and he currently works as the Bluescreen Studio Specialist at Academy of Art College in San Francisco. His website is http://online.sfsu.edu/~ralph.

Matthew Levie is a film and video editor with over a decade of experience. He has edited the feature films "The Guatamala Incident", "Sleep Furiously" and "The Road From Erebus" as well as the documentary "97 Orchard Street." He has a master's degree in Media Studies from the New School for Social Research.

Joe MacQuarrie is a freelance Avid technician and editor. He started at Avid as a customer support representative, and now teaches a wide range of Avid courses, primarily at NYU and Moviola in LA. Joe is also an actor, writer and director working on a film project of his own. He earned a Master's Degree in communications at Emerson College.

Ingrid Schultz is a filmmaker and freelance editor with Avid editing experience in film and television. Her clients include PDI/Dreamworks, Cinecitta, PBS, and RAI International.

Kate Stilley is a freelance Avid editor whose recent work includes The Story of Mothers and Daughters, an ABC TV Primetime Documentary, Who's Rob Epstein?, a presentation video for the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, and End of a Legend; The Tragic Fate of the Last Tsar, a Primetime documentary by Cymru films.

Apple Certified Instructors:

Rick Rubin helped to establish CNN Post within the Turner Corporation, specializing in broadcast promotions and network design. He led the development of two post-production graphics companies, Deep Blue Sea and Tantra Productions in Miami, and worked on national and international broadcast and advertising clients, including Sony Entertainment, NBC, Telemundo, Nickelodeon, MTV and USA Networks. Over the years, Rick has won Emmys, Tellys, and Broadcast Design Association awards. He's brings years of experience in product / network branding, agency special effects to his students all with a deep understanding of the technology evolution. Rick manages the Post Production Laboratory and Bluescreen Studio in the Computer Graphics department at the Academy of Art College, San Francisco. Rick is either certified in or considered an expert on: Discreet Logic advanced systems compositing software (Flame), SGI hardware, Discreet's Combustion, Adobe's After Effects, and Apple's Shake.

Christine Steele edits picture and creates visual effects, titles, and animation for narrative films and documentaries. She has worked in feature film as a visual effects editor at Tippet Studios, and as an assistant editor at Pixar on "A Bug's Life", "Toy Story 2", and "Monsters, Inc.". She has worked on pictures for broadcast release at Frontline, Zoetrope, and Showtime, and was the film editor for Electronic Arts' The Lord of The Rings: The Two Towers video game. She was commissioned to make animated educational videos for Underwater World aquariums, and is currently creating documentaries for the educational market. Christine is an Apple Certified Editing Instructor at San Francisco's Bay Area Video Coalition and at Digital Film Tree in Los Angeles.

DigiDesign Certified Instructors:

Scott Hirsch is a musician, post production audio specialist and recording engineer. Recent projects include the audio mix for the PBS documentary Alcatraz Is Not an Island, intro sequences for ITVS's Independent Lens, editing and voiceover recording for BAVC's educational DVDs, and audio sweetening for artist Tony Discenza. Digidesign certified Instructor.

More amazing talent to learn from at BAVC:

Rose Barber is a Bay Area freelance Illustrator who enjoys a combination of computer, fine and video arts. She has been featured in a number of zines and has worked in the movie industry. Rose can also, proudly, set and reset a VCR.

Steve Bloom has been enchanted and bedeviled by the Avid since 1990. He has edited documentaries, features, and TV shows, with stints at ILM, PDI/Dreamworks, and currently Pixar. These days, he is cultivating a new love/ hate relationship with Final Cut Pro.

The Body at Work has developed a comprehensive ergonomics training curriculum to prevent computer-related injuries. Hilary Bryan and Claudio Singer are alumnae of Smith College with advanced degrees in Movement Analysis (LMA) from the Laban/ Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, New York, and the integrated Movement Studies Program at the University of Utah. Hilary is a performing artist and movement instructor, teaching movement analysis at California State University Hayward and modern dance at SF Dance Center. Claudia is a Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist, a Certified Massage Therapist, a trained Self-Healing Practioner/Educator, and a teacher of neuromuscular re-patterning.

Benj Gerdes is a San Francisco-based media artist who works with combinations of outmoded and contemporary materials and techniques to re-read the history of technology in relation to race. His works take the form of single-channel videos, performances, and installations, and show in various locations in the US and internationally.

Shirley Gutierrez began her Avid career in 1991 as an assistant on the HBO film Earth and the American Dream. In 2002, she received a Northern California Emmy for Community Programming for Homefront, a documentary about gentrification and displacement in San Francisco and Richmond. In 2003, her most recent film, Lonely Island: Hidden Alcatraz, received a Northern California Emmy for Educational Programming. Ms Gutierrez also works as an Avid Symphony online editor. Her credits include And Then One Night, the story of the San Francisco Opera's production of "Dead Man Walking." She also worked on Brother Outsider, The Life of Bayard Rustin, which received the audience award for best documentary at the 2003 International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in San Francisco.

Eric Henry is a San Francisco-based digital artist and teacher. He has been making experimental digital motion pictures independently since 1991. His accolades include awards and screenings at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London; Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City; Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago; Atlanta International Film and Video Festival; Cinematexas Film, Video & New Media Festival in Austin; and the San Francisco Film Festival.

Liz Hickok is a San Francisco-based artist working in photography, video, sculpture, installation, and currently, Jell-O. Hickok received her Masters in Fine Arts from Mills College in Oakland, California. Hickok’s artwork has been exhibited across the country and is included in international collections. Her photographs and video have been shown in many Bay Area venues, including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Jose Museum of Art, Southern Exposure, Works/San Jose, and the Kala Art Institute. Hickok’s San Francisco in Jell-O has become a popular subject of media coverage. Her work has been covered by The New York Times, Harper’s, San Francisco magazine, Gastronomica, 7X7 magazine, and has appeared on the cover of Artweek.

Brook Hinton makes movies, music, and other media-art related things, and helps others do the same.  During the past two decades he has run an experimental music label, worked as an editor and sound designer, served on Apple's editorial evaluation team during the development of Final Cut Pro, created numerous film, video and audio works that have been exhibited and broadcast world-wide,  chaired the San Francisco Art Institute's film department (where he designed the Ears XXI HD Lab and the first Digital Cinema courses in the curriculum), and developed a reputation as one of the bay area's best film and media arts educators. His recent work includes the online "found footage séance" series "Trace Garden" and the experimental documentary "A Trip Down Third Street", which premiered at the San Francisco Cinematheque in Spring 2007.  Hinton currently teaches at California College of the Arts and provides editorial consulting and finishing services through Brook Hinton Media Arts.

Lori Hope has produced more than twenty documentaries and hundreds of news and medical news reports for television, and has assisted in the production of several corporate and sales videos for major organizations. Her honors include a Houston International Film Festival Award, a CINE Golden Eagle, a National Society of Professional Journalists/Sigma Delta Chi Award, and two Emmy Awards.

Ann Humphrey has 20 years experience as a video director and writer. She has produced works for Zoetrope Studios, PBS, KPIX, music festivals, corporate, educational, nonprofit and other video projects. She has taught video for 15 years at CSU Hayward, Sonoma State University and others. Her work has received honors and awards.

Amy Hunter is a sound engineer for film and video production at Music Annex in San Francisco. Her experience also includes working at Skywalker Sound and Fantasy Films.

Jim Iacona is a Bay Area director of photography working in film and video. He has received recognition and numerous awards from the NY International Film and Video Festival, The Cindy's and the Ad Club. He currently freelances in commercial, marketing and documentary programming.

Jarid Johnson holds a degree in Broadcast Communication Arts from San Francisco State University. He has worked in media production since 1974, including previous studies and careers in photography, technical theater, radio, and television. Jarid currently works as a director of photography and camera operator with his company SFVisuals.

Marla Leech has been a broadcasting instructor at City College of San Francisco for 7 years. She received her MA in broadcasting at SFSU in 1993, and received a graduate certificate in Film at UCSC in 1987. In addition to teaching, Marla works freelance as a producer/ director and editor both producing her own work and for other indie productions.

Ril Kanzaki was involved in the video art scene in NYC in the 80s, went on to graduate school at UCSD, and has taught video production at Ithaca College, She says, " BAVC offers me an opportunity to educate and train a wider variety of individuals. My goal is to be the ripple of individual waves of self-expression."

Ryan Kleeman is a Bay area Recording Engineer, Sound Designer, and Sound Reinforcement Mixing Engineer.  Ryan currently freelances for American Conservatory Theatre, as well as for TheatreWorks.  Ryan also works as a recording, mix, and mastering Engineer at Sound Arts studios in the Mission District of San Francisco.  At The Bay Area Video Coalition, Ryan teaches Audio Software and Audio Production courses.



Mike Mages. For the last thirty years Mike Mages has been a Bay Area pioneer in the development of digital tools for creative professionals. He recently left Apple Computer where he managed the development of Final Cut Pro - the leading video editing tool available to creative artists today - and was one of the principal creators of Aperture - the first complete and most innovative post production tool available for serious digital photographers.

Siggi Matthiasson has been working in video production as a lighting DP and editor for the past eleven years. Starting as a cameraman and editor for TV2 Iceland, he moved to San Francisco in 1991. His work covers a vast range from documentaries, news, commercials, industrials and video art productions.

Katherin McInnis is a video artist and documentary maker.  Her work has screened in festivals (New York Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Slamdance) and at museums and galleries (Pompidou Center, SFMoMA, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.)  She has taught production at San Francisco State University and the Academy of Art University, and has an MFA from California College of the Arts.

Ken Merrylees has been working in the television/ postproduction industry for over 25 years. He started his career with TVOne in his native New Zealand, followed by five years in London with Visnews/Reuters, a film and video news agency. In the Bay Area since 1981, he was chief engineer at On Tape Productions. His company KAE is involved with systems integration, facility design and installation, and a full range of engineering services. Clients include Flipside Editorial, Western Images, Varitel, Macy's Broadcast, Levi Strauss & Co., and CNET.

Yoav Potash is a writer, director, producer and editor whose work has aired on KQED and has won the San Francisco International Film Festival's Golden Gala Award as well as IFFCON's EveoPitch Competition. His commercial clients include Apple Computer and Neutrogena.

Ross Reyman is a freelance web developer/graphic designer, specializing in typography, interface design and web standard compliant, XHTML/CSS sites. Ross's computer graphics experience includes an 11 year tenure at the California Institute for Biodiversity, where as the Art Director, he helped create educational software using a large array of authoring programs. Ross also has experience creating mobile phone interfaces, creating sites and custom interface applications for clients such as Universal music and major movie studios.

Michael Rhode has been a video editor for over fifteen years, working on a variety of award winning national video productions for clients inlcuding The Sharper Image, The Gap, McDonals's Corp., Dow Jones, and others. He has edited several statewide PSA campaigns and most recently finished several historical documentaries for national broadcast markets.

Jen Schradie has produced independent documentaries about social justice stories in collaboration with grassroots organizations since 1989. Working for the North Carolina Agency for Public Telecommunications, she has produced PSAs and training videos. She has independently produced the documentary called "The Golf War." Her accolades include the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Excellence in Communications, an International Television Association Silver Reels Award of Excellence, and is an honored 1999 Emerging Artist from the Durham Arts Council.

Adam Shaening-Pokrasso is a creative professional and educator working in sound, video, and new media installation. Specializing in motion graphics and music production, and with a background in conceptual fine art, Adam has worked in numerous creative mediums and genres, and collaborated with artists, filmmakers, and producers worldwide. In 2006, Shaening-Pokrasso partnered up with artist Brian Schmierer to develop and build Sound Arts, a professional new recording studio that strives to explore the experimental edge. After one very successful year, the studio continues to reinvent the paradigm of traditional audio production and facilitate exploration and experimentation with sound as a diverse and distinguished art form. For more information, visit: www.adamshaeningpokrasso.com  or www.soundarts.org.

Sarah Soward is an award winning artist and writer.  She does everything from print and web design to hand painted signs to fine art and illustration.  She nabbed a BFA from the California College of the Arts and has shown fine art across the country and abroad.  Most of her design work is focused for small business and non-profits (she is currently the art director for the Pagan Alliance).  She thinks everyone deserves to have good art and design in their lives, and she likes to help that happen.

Laura Splan has worked for BAVC in many capacities since 1996 as an assistant facility manager, a freelance video and graphics editor, MediaLink instructor, and workshops instructor. She is also a mixed media artist and has shown at several local art spaces including Cell, Southern Exposure, and Artist's Television Access. She is currently working on her MFA in Sculpture at Mills College in Oakland.

Bill Stefanacci has been providing sound services to producers in San Francisco for ten years. Bill has done remote location recording all over the world for documentaries, and hundreds of industrials, commercials, and art pieces here in the Bay Area. In addition to full location packages, Bill owns and operates an audio production studio and produces soundtracks.

Lise Swenson, filmmaker, artist and educator, has been deeply involved with media arts in the Bay Area since the early 1980s. As a media artist she creates documentaries, experimental documentaries, feature length fiction and short experimental video art works.  Swenson also creates multi-monitor and site specific video installation.  Much of her work is collaborative and all of her themes use the human condition as a starting point.  At this juncture of her art making and teaching career Swenson is convinced that storytelling and art are powerful tools for cultural shift and social change and sees her work as directly involved in forging new ways of seeing and believing.  In 1984 she co-founded ATA, (Artists’ Television Access), a non-profit media arts access and education facility.  She also served for many years on both the Film Arts Foundation board, the ATA board as President and was a member of the SF Art Institute Artists’ Committee.  In 1995, Swenson founded TILT (Teaching Intermedia Literacy Tools), a nonprofit that works within school programs and community organizations to teach the fundamentals of media literacy and moviemaking. Swenson’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and has received numerous awards and grants, including a San Francisco Bay Guardian Goldie Award for outstanding achievement in film and video in 1999. Swenson was also the recipient of a Creative Work Fund grant, which enabled her to seed production on her first feature length social justice film, “Mission Movie”, a fictional adaptation of true-life stories from the Mission District of San Francisco. Mission Movie has gone on to screen at 20 festivals internationally, winning five awards, two of them Best of Festival. In 2005 she became Filmmaker in Residence at San Francisco Arts Commission and was the inaugural Artist in Residency at the new de Young museum. In 2007 she completed production on “Strange Culture” as lead producer and assistant director,  which has subsequently launched its festival run with a premier at Sundance, followed by multiple screenings at numerous high-profile festivals.

Carl Weichert is an independent filmmaker and freelance Avid editor. His work has shown at film festivals worldwide. In addition to film, he works as an editor in a wide variety of formats, including industrial, educational and commercial video.

Tommi West is a web designer, filmmaker and graphic artist living in San Francisco. She studied acting and directing at the American Conservatory Theatre. Tommi became interested in filmmaking while working in the telecine department at Monaco Labs and Video. Her 16mm short film Amazona: The Last Dinosaur was shown in rotation on Bravo's Independent Film Channel. Prior to starting her own business in 2004, Tommi worked at Macromedia for six years as a technical editor and web producer.  Tommiland currently provides web design and technical writing services for Adobe Systems, Inc.

Christopher Willits is a musician and multimedia artist with an MFA from Mills College. He is a sound design instructor at Vista College. He performs live music using acoustic instrumentation and software of his own design. Releases include CDs with the labels Fallt and 12k. Excerpts of his music and a schedule of upcoming events can be found at http://www.visuallistening.com