Danny Ledonne adventurer, filmmaker, teacher

Recent Employment Experience:

Owner/Operator — Emberwilde Productions (2000 - present)

Experience includes shooting, editing short and feature-length productions for institutions, private businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals. Experienced shooting live multi-camera events such as graduations, art gallery openings, sports, and concerts as well as environmental subjects. Editing includes media transfer, color correction, and sound mixing services. Output includes DVD authoring/duplication as well as web streaming services. Additional work in technical consultation for academic institutions, businesses, and individuals. Clients have included Boys & Girls Clubs of the San Luis Valley, League of Conservation Voters, National Federation of Independent Business, and Endangered Species Coalition.

Lab Assistant Fellowship — American University’s New Media Center (2007 - present)

Assisted in multimedia training and assistance for students and faculty from all schools in the university. Worked with state of the art editing lab to provide technical support for all production and post production needs for video, audio, desktop publishing, and web design. Regularly taught seminars and workshop on specific aspects of multimedia production and editing. Assisted in the audio/visual needs of students and professors in the university's most advanced ultimedia classroom.

Executive Media Producer — Reel Video (2008 - present)

Oversaw the production and post production needs of a unique multimedia production company started by The Balman Group to cover high school sports in the Washington, DC area. Shot and edited football games and developed a style sheet and template for all future camera operators and editors. Output games to DVD for coaches to review during the season. Edited highlight reels of each player for college scholarship consideration. Developed a roster of camera operators in the DC area and coordinated the production and post production of these videos for The Balman Group.

Instructor — Fairfax Collegiate Summer Program (2008)

Instructed students from 4th - 9th grade in summer enrichment program. Using existing textbook materials and professional experience in the field, developed syllabus for the organization's first public speaking course. Taught public speaking courses to these grade levels and placed emphasis on various speaking styles, delivery methods, and confidence-building exercises. Additionally, taught digital video courses to these grade levels and supervised students through all the steps of film production including pitching, scriptwriting, location scouting, storyboarding, production using professional camera and sound equipment, as well as editing and effects work. Final films were output to DVD and screened for the entire summer program.

Assistant; Interim Coordinator — Intel Computer Clubhouse (2005 - 2007)

Developed programming for youth ages 8 - 18 with an emphasis on introducing multimedia technology in an underprivileged community. Ongoing self-education in various software applications to mentor youth in videogame creation, digital video/photo manipulation, programmable robotics, music production, as well as computer animation techniques. Training included alternative learning models and serving at risk youth effectively. Responsible for fiscal oversight and ongoing development of technology plan for host organization in addition to promotional materials and technological assistance.

Volunteer DJ — KRZA 88.7 FM (2005 - 2007)

Trained in use of studio's audio broadcasting equipment. Duties include selecting music for two hour show, maintaining a detailed playlist of all music broadcast, playing scheduled promos, and reading PSA announcements aloud on the air. Additionally, volunteered to pitch and promote station during semiannual fund drives.

Tae Kwon Do Instructor — Valley Health & Fitness (1999 - 2001; 2004 - 2006)

Earned black belt; taught martial arts to children and adults. Developed ongoing curriculum to facilitate the needs of the class as well as testing students and ordering sparring equipment.

Teacher — Kids on Campus Summer Enrichment Program (2005)

Developed curriculum for intensive two-week course for 5th-12th grade students. Worked with Adams State College to purchase equipment necessary for digital photography, audio, and video productions. Hosted presentation during the student showcase of twelve short films including narrative, stop motion animation, and documentary at the end of the program.

Technical Advisor — Alamosa High School (2004)

Regularly took equipment inventory and maintained digital editing workstations. Set up multiple analog editing suites for tape-to-tape editing and digital-to-analog transfer. Held workshops with students to teach the principals of media technology as well as advanced camera techniques and audio recording theory.

Film Equipment Assistant — Emerson College Equipment Distribution Center (2001 - 2004)

Responsibilities include vending and inspecting college’s equipment and making reservations for checkout. Readily assisted other students when questions arose.

President — Frames Per Second (2003 - 2004)

Supervised production of short films in 16mm and 35mm format including organization’s first music video. Organized weekly workshops and lectures from industry professionals including cinema curators, independent film producers, equipment rental managers, and two former 20th Century Fox CEOs. Awarded Organization of the Year by the Office of Student Life.

Intern — Boston Camera Rental Company (2003)

Working closely with cameras, lenses, heads, and accessories, developed detailed understanding of 16mm and 35mm motion picture cameras, also video and HD video cameras. Responsible for in-house inspections, rental deliveries, and basic camera/accessory maintenance.

Student Technician — Emerson College Film Equipment Shop (2003)

Assisted master technician in repair of various motion picture cameras and sound recorders. Updated database frequently to indicate items in repair/on shelf.

Recent Production Experience:

Producer, Director, Editor — Duck! (in production)

More to come soon...

Producer, Director — Moments (in post-production)

After the past, before the future, there are only the moments.

Cinematographer, Editor — Working with Fire (2008)

Filmed and edited an observational documentary of a prescribed burn. Let by a team of fire experts and field biologists in northwest Florida, conducted interview and gathered blistering footage as the fire burned through acres of land currently being restored to their natural origin. Shot in high definition video. Winner of the Best Environmental Film award at Visions 2008.

Producer, Director, Editor — Playing Columbine (2008)

In this feature-length documentary, produced, directed, and edited together fifty interviews with game industry leaders/theorists/developers, authors, filmmakers, journalists, elected officials, school shooting survivors, concerned citizens, festival organizers, media activists, free speech loyalists, and videogame players to examine the issues surrounding the future of videogames as an art form and how one game has touched upon the larger development of an emergent medium of artistic expression.

Premiered on HD projection at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, CA. Shown on college campuses as part of an examination of digital culture and the future of interactive media.

Director of Photography, Editor — Kenya Hidaya (2007)

Travelled to the east African country of Kenya and toured five major national parks. Shot and edited a short documentary in high definition video highlighting the landscape, wildlife, and indigenous Masai culture.

Director of Photography — Kis-ka-DEE (2007)

Worked with director Ryan Fitzgibbons on a short-subject documentary focusing on the lives and techniques of a group of blind birders in south Texas (who identify birds entirely by ear). Responsible for camera direction and sound recording using a variety of professional and prosumer video cameras over three separate shooting dates from April through July 2006. Extensive work with handheld cameras as well as standard interviews shot on a long lens. Included numerous outdoor locations and wildlife cinematography.

Editor — An Awakening Journey: Songs and Voices from the Earth (2006)

Assembled nearly seven hundred photographs into a feature length documentary project produced, directed, and composed by Eric Karlstrom. Photography from five continents was broken into nine sections with graphical maps and titles. Responsible for picture cutting, image movement keyframing, title design, additional sound mixing, and final DVD design and output. Additional post production work was undergone later for Dolby AC3 audio encoding.

Game Developer — Super Columbine Massacre RPG! (2005)

Researched and developed videogame focusing on the Columbine High School shooting of 1999 over the course of six months. Used game encoding software to create an interactive approach to understanding the motives behind the shooters' actions. Distributed via the Internet, the game gained immense popularity (over 600,000 downloads) and sparked international debate (in the form of television, online, and printed press) over the game's contribution to the medium as well as its potential social value. The only entry in the history of the Slamdance Film Festival to be accepted as a finalist and then pulled weeks before being screened due to mounting controversy. It has been called one of the worst games of all time as well as the most important artistic videogame.

Writer, Director, Editor — Wild Animals, Domesticated Humans: Zoos and Modern Society (2004)

As a senior thesis project for BA: Visual Media Arts (film production) from Emerson College, worked with faculty advisor Robert Todd to interview zookeepers, enthusiasts, and experts in the field of zoological parks. Footage was shot from five zoos in Colorado, New Mexico, Nebraska, and Massachusetts and cut into a documentary short. Screened at Emerson College, Wildscreen Film Festival 2004, Jackson Hole Film Festival 2005, several other international wildlife film festivals, and was a semifinalist in the Jack Ward Film Award at the 2005 Animal Behavior Society. Currently being distributed on DVD through the National Film Network.

 

Special Skills:

· Strong familiarity with American Sign Language and German

· Extensive training in classical, method, and eastern approaches to the acting craft

· American Heart Association Certified: Basic Life Support (CPR, AED), First Aid

· Experienced in wilderness survival, SCUBA diving

· Certification in extreme outdoor filmmaking by Learn to Return Survival Training Systems, Inc. and American University

· Technical proficiency with a wide variety of multimedia software applications (Mac and Windows)

· Experience with computer networking, diagnostics and hardware repair

 

Education:

American University — Washington, D.C. (2007 - present)

MFA: Film & Electronic Media — emphasis on natural history documentary

Presented on wildlife film production, pitching films; Cumulative GPA: 4.0

Emerson College — Boston, Massachusetts (2001 - 2004)

BA: Visual Media Arts — emphasis on film production (minor in hearing and deafness)

Graduated Magna Cum Laude, Cumulative GPA: 3.84 (Gold Key Honor Student)

 

 

References furnished upon request

back to main