04 Our Team
WRITER, DIRECTOR, LEAD ACTOR "VANESSA": DANIA DENISE
With 25+ years professional experience as an actor, model and voice-over artist, Dania always knew she was meant to be a storyteller both in front of and behind the camera.
Born on the Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines and raised in sunny Northern California, she graduated from San Francisco State University with a B.A. in Radio/TV with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism and a minor in Journalism, while continuing to book commercials, industrials, web series and other related work.
In 2021, she founded her award-winning indie film production company, Runaway Mill Productions LLC. She has directed several shorts, all of which have performed well on the film festival circuit. You Were Just Here is Dania's second feature-length screenplay
and serves as her feature directorial debut.
LEAD ACTOR "TJ": MITCH CAPTEIN
Raised on a dairy farm for 18 years, Mitch Captein always had goals of becoming an actor but detoured for a time to pursue sports. However, he eventually circled back to his original passion for acting.
Graduating from Folsom Lake College, where he majored in Communications & Radio Broadcasting with a specialization in Theater Arts, he immediately secured agency representation and began booking work in commercials and various short film projects.
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: STEFFAN SCHULZ
Steffan Schulz is an honors graduate from the television/film department at San Jose State University with 30+ years of experience in the television/film industry. As a producer/director, Steffan's work has been featured on PBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN and MTV. Working in a variety of media, he has produced and directed numerous television series, hundreds of industrial productions, documentaries, and commercials. Steffan is an Adobe Certified Expert in Adobe Premiere Pro, has his FAA Part 107 sUAS Drone License, and has completed the REDucation Course as a certified Red Digital Cinema Camera Operator. Steffan’s work has collected over 100 national and international awards, including a spot in A/V Video Multimedia Magazine’s "Top 100 Producers."
LEAD CAMERA OPERATOR: STEVE EWERTZ
Steve Ewertz brings 30+ years of production experience in corporate/industrials, documentaries, music videos, and short films. With over 20 industry awards (Telly, Communicator, Davey, and two regional Emmy Nominations), as well as numerous nominations and awards for short films (category winner - Dragon Con Film Festival), Steve has proven he is perfectly at home on set and behind the camera.
SOUND MIXER: DAVID L. MINARD
David L. Minard has been a professional sound mixer since graduating from Ex'pression College for Digital Arts with a bachelor's degree in Sound Engineering in 2010. Also an accomplished photographer and videographer, he's a multi-tool on set and has captured sound for companies including Google, Amazon, Samsung, and Apple, as well as several feature-length films and too many short films to keep track of. To see and hear more of his work, visit http://www.Z9media.com/
LINE PRODUCER: ALLISON VON HAUSEN
After spending time acting as a child, Allison was told to “grow up and do something realistic.”
So she did – spending nearly 10 years working for Apple in finance and project management. However, she never lost her passion for storytelling and film. During the pandemic she left Apple and completed her post-graduate producer’s certificate program at UCLAx. Since completing the program in 2021, she’s produced short films, commercials, and industrials. The first short film she produced has now been licensed for distribution by Universal-backed streamer CPics and will premiere with their launch in 2023. Allison now works professionally as a line producer, 1st AD, and actor across the Bay Area and Los Angeles.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: ISAIAH STURGE
Isaiah Sturge is a writer and director based out of Solano County in Northern California. He has a deep passion for storytelling, with his favorite mediums being animation and film. He’s produced two short films, both of which had successful film festival runs. He has also served as an efficient AD on several indie shorts. When he's not working behind the camera, Isaiah dedicates his energy into polishing scripts and planning his next projects.
MUSIC COMPOSER: MATTHEW DAVID WHEELER
Matthew David Wheeler is an Award-Winning Professional Composer, Arranger and Orchestrator. He holds a double Master of Arts Degree in Composition (CSU, Fresno) and Professional Composition and Orchestration for the Media Arts (University of Chichester). His reputation as a first-rate composer has allowed him to compose pieces for Disney Hall and Carnegie Hall. In 2013 he formed his studio Narrow Path Studios; named after the biblical verse Matthew 7:13-14. Matthew has composed music for several Short and Feature Films; and is currently an educator in the Central Valley of California.
COLORIST: MARK MCHENRY
Mark McHenry is an editor, colorist, and actor who has been working professionally for 10+ years. He is a graduate of San Francisco State University, where he majored in Theater & Film. In addition to his love for being an actor in front of the camera, he is just as skilled behind it as an editor and colorist. He is proficient in Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and Da Vinci Resolve. Much of Mark's work can be found via the Our Time Films production company.