Resume

Jesse Cowell

P R O F E S S I O N A L    A C H I E V E M E N T S

I am an affable, dependable self-starter who has achieved numerous awards for my technical and creative Film/Video/Online work. I perceive project and client needs and do what it takes to get the job done. As a leader, I contribute a high level of energy and consistently inspire others to attain the greater goal. I have a keen sense of story demonstrated from script to distribution, and the technical expertise to implement content across multiple mediums.

Accolades, Affiliations and Accomplishments:

• Associate member of the Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS)
• 2008 Webby award winner for online series ”Drawn by Pain”
• 2005 Best Comedy Feature film “Shades of Gray” Microcinema Fest
• Creative work analyzed on 22 pages of the film text “The Lean Forward Moment”
• Supervised the multi-million dollar interactive exhibit “The Danube Exodus”
• Expert Panelist for the New York Television Festival (‘08-09), IFP (‘08) and others
• Work has been featured on IFC, MSG, Sirus Radio and WOR Radio
• Creative Partnerships with Escapist Magazine, Blip.tv, Daily Motion, Vuze
• Founder of USC’s 100 machine AVID DV lab
• Recipient of two cine Eagle Awards, Student Emmy award
• Featured by 100s of sites across the web
• Movies.com Winner best for Directors site 2005
• Beta Tester for Adobe Premiere Pro and Rhozet’s Carbon Coder software
• USC Film graduate alumni, Bronx Science alumni
• World Oyama Karate Lightweight Champion
• Fanbase of millions of viewers

Professional Experience:

Jeskid Productions, New York, NY (May 2004-Present). Owner.

• 2005 – Creator of the online series turned feature film “Shades Of Gray”

Started a distribution system called “Play it Forward” where viewers get free copies of a DVD (evolved from the popular online series) provided they copy it 10 times and distribute to friends.  Hundreds of thousands of physical copies (and Bit-Torrent downloads) are currently being circulated. Winner Best Comedy Feature film, “Microcinema Fest” 2005

• 2006 – Creator of the web Reality show “Jeskid TV”

Pre-YouTube reality show encouraged fans to directly interact with the show’s creator. The series grew in popularity resulting in viewers financing and promoting five independent screenings of “Shades of Gray” across America and Canada.

• 2009 – Creator of the hit online series “Drawn by Pain”

Wrote, directed, edited and produced the mixed live action/animation HD series that has been featured on national radio, television and hundreds of websites. Winner of the 2008 Webby Award for “Best Use of Animation”.  Partnered with outlets such as Escapist Magazine, Blip.tv, Daily Motion, Vuze, Kazaam, Next2Friends, and many others for syndication and promotion of the series.

• Other Jeskid Production Clients Include:

Comedy Central (Short); Indy Mogul (Guest Director) ; The Feedroom (Corporate Promos) ; Uncensored Interview (Promo) ; For Your Imagination Studios (pitch videos and upfront presentation); Tremor Media (new media consulting) ; CBC (“Macs Vs PCs”); Next New Networks (Gamer); Iron Bound films (Cisco Systems, HP, Hollywood Fast track).

The Feedroom, NYC (February, 2003 – May 2007). Director of Encoding Operations.

• Responsible for encoding quality and workflow for all video streams (over 1 million per month). Managed editing environment for online and broadcast events, participated in think tank for new product development, client point person for all encoding issues and support, research and development for all new digital video products and recommendations, editor and supervising editor for multi-million dollar productions. On-location producer for live streaming events, beta tester for all incoming digital video products, responsible for bridging the gap between production, post-production and the online universe.

• Client include: Wal-Mart, GM, HP, Intel, Brystol-Myers Squibb, Sun Microsystems, Cisco Systems, ESPN, AT&T,  Business Week, the Pentagon, Direct TV, The New York Times, Chevron Texaco, Best Buy, Tyson Foods, Dell, Business Week, REUTERS, Coldwell Banker, IVillage, OH Oxygen Network, Edmunds, Pulte, etc.

The Labyrinth Project, Los Angeles, CA (August 2002– August 2003). Post Production Supervisor.

• Worked closely with Director Peter Forgas in bringing the new media project ”The Danube Exodus” in on time and within budget for installation in the Getty Museum. Touted as the most extensive installation ever launched for the museum, my position was to schedule the edit sessions, edit the film when needed, work with the after effects design team and help supervise the installation.

Zeal Pictures, Los Angeles CA (September 2001- December – 2002). Supervising Editor.

• Responsible for editing the million dollar hi-definition feature film “Robbers,” including all client reels. Worked closely with producers to deliver final product for broadcast using AVID Xpress on a Mac OS. Created multiple on-air segments for “Fredericks of Hollywood” campaign. Assisted on several in-house shoots. Worked closely on future production development.

The Three Minute Network, Los Angeles CA (September 2000- July – 2001).

• Created various short films for the web and researched business and creative implementation models in the early days of Internet video. Responsible for all technology decisions for production, post-production, and compression.

Robert Zemekis Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles (September 1998 – June 2000). Founder of USC’s first Digital Video Laboratory.

• Responsible for a staff of eight employees. Designed and maintained 100 workstations for editing use. Managed the workflow of hundreds of students every semester. The first student/facility manager in the history of the film school.

Education

• University of Southern California School of Cinema and Television,
  August 1996 – May 1999, MFA, Production (Graduate).

• Curriculum: Course work involved making multiple films of varying lengths, writing screenplays, editing, shooting and directing recorded and filmed events.

• New York University at Albany,
  August 1999 – May 2003 BA, Communications (Graduate Magna cum Laude with Honors).

• Curriculum: The study of interpersonal, social and group communication. Albany’s program encouraged a deep understanding of how efficiency in communication functioned and could be improved in the workplace.

Skills

Software:  Adobe: Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Encore, After Effects, Quick Time Pro, Flash Encoder.

Microsoft: Microsoft Office Professional, Windows Media Encoder.

Digital editing, animation, and photography: AVID Xpress Pro HD, Final Cut Pro 7, Sony ACID, Rhozet Carbon Coder, Anystream Agility, Cleaner XL, Canopus Procoder 2, Sorenson Squeeze, Flix and Flix Exporter, Real Producer, Divx Pro, FFMpeg, SUPER video encoder and many other tools.  A deep understanding of codecs and quality. Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Hardware:

Computer Platform: PC: Windows 3.1, XP, 2000, Vista. MAC: 8 – OSX

Broadcast and postproduction equipment: Panasonic HVX200HD, Canon 7d DSLR, DV-CAM, Beta/Beta SP VTRs, Scanners & color printers, WACOM Cintiq 21UX, Sound mixers & video routers.  Gadgets in general.

Online Contact, Demo Reel, References

LinkedIn: Jesse Cowell

http://www.linkedin.com/profile?viewProfile=&key=12602475&locale=en_US&trk=tab_pro

Twitter: Jeskid

http://www.twitter.com/Jeskid

Facebook: Jesse Cowell

http://www.facebook.com/jessecowell

Demo Reel, Press Kit, and Personal and Professional References available upon request

Work Availability: Immediate

Contact