(a)muse
By Steffan Schulz
Writers, Filmmakers, Artists, Cinematographers, Photographers, Painters, Musicians, et al.
(a)museSep 11, 2023
Ray Harryhausen - Animator & Special Effects Creator
Ray Harryhausen is a special effects pioneer and began his career in the 1940’s. His stop motion animation technique known as “dynamation” influenced generations of visual effects artists and filmmakers around the world.
In 1949, his work on Mighty Joe Young and his mentor Willis O’Brian captivated audiences and inspired future filmmakers. In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, Ray continued to produce films featuring his legendary stop motion work. His notable films include 7th Voyage of Sinbad, Jason and the Argonauts, One Million Years BC, and Clash of the Titans.
In November 2016 the British Film Institute compiled a list of those present-day filmmakers who claim to have been inspired by Harryhausen - They include Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson, Joe Dante, Tim Burton, James Cameron, and Guillermo del Toro.
Dennis Muren - Visual Effects Supervisor
Dennis Muren is the Senior Visual Effects Supervisor and Creative Director of Industrial Light & Magic. A recipient of nine Oscars for Best Achievement in Visual Effects and a Technical Achievement Academy Award®, Muren is actively involved in the evolution of the company, as well as the design and development of new techniques and equipment. In June 1999, Muren became the first visual effects artist to be honored with a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In February 2007, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Visual Effects Society.
Scott Ross - Digital Media Executive
Scott Ross (born November 20, 1951) is an American digital media executive with a career spanning three decades. In the 1980s he led George Lucas' companies and in 1993 he founded, along with James Cameron and Stan Winston, Digital Domain, Inc.,
In the 1980s Ross was general manager of Lucasfilm's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) and under his leadership, ILM won five Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects (Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Innerspace, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Abyss, Death Becomes Her). The company re-organized in 1991 and Ross was named senior vice president of the LucasArts Entertainment Company, which comprised Skywalker Sound, LucasArts Commercial Productions, LucasArts Attractions, EditDroid/SoundDroid and ILM.
Under Ross' direction, from 1993 to 2006, Digital Domain garnered two Academy Awards and three nominations, receiving its first Oscar in 1997 for the ground-breaking visual effects in Titanic. That was followed by a second Oscar for What Dreams May Come. Digital Domain received additional nominations for True Lies, Apollo 13 and I, Robot and won three Scientific and Technical Academy Awards for its proprietary software.
Today, Dr. Ross sits on several boards, consults with international companies and lectures on Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and was one of the early adopters of Mixed Reality technologies. Dr. Ross was an early advisor to Magic Leap (an AR hardware and software startup that eventually raised over $2B), is a board member to Eyellusion (one of the world's leading hologram company which brings back deceased rock stars) and was a founding partner, along with Brett Leonard, the director of LAWNMOWER MAN in VR production company, Virtuosity. Dr. Ross has presented keynote speeches addressing new technologies such as AR/VR to SIGGRAPH in Shenzhen, BOAO in Hong Kong as well as to the Beijing Film Academy.
Hoyt Yeatman - Visual Effects Artist and Supervisor
Hoyt Yeatman (born January 23, 1955, in San Francisco, California) is an American visual effects artist and supervisor. He has worked with Jerry Bruckheimer on a number of films, including Armageddon, Con Air, and The Rock. He made his directorial debut with the film G-Force.
Yeatman is an alumnus of the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.
In 1979 Yeatman, Scott Squires, Rocco Gioffre, Fred Iguchi, Tom Hollister and Bob Hollister co-founded Dream Quest Images, a groundbreaking visual effects house, winning the Academy Award for Visual Effects in 1989 for the motion control and underwater effects in James Cameron's The Abyss. In 1996 Dream Quest was purchased by The Walt Disney Company, which became Disney's "The Secret Lab" in 1999.
He received an Academy Award for Technical Achievement in 1999.
Ken Ralston - Visual Effects Supervisor
Ken Ralston (born 1954) is an American visual effects artist, currently the Visual Effect Supervisor and Creative Head at Sony Pictures Imageworks. Ralston began his career at the commercial animation and visual effects company, Cascade Pictures in Hollywood, where he worked on over 150 advertising campaigns in the early 1970s. In 1976, he was hired at Industrial Light & Magic by Dennis Muren to help George Lucas create the effects for Star Wars. He remained at ILM for 20 years before joining Sony Pictures Imageworks as president. Ralston is best known for his work in the films of Robert Zemeckis.
Ralston has won five Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, including a Special Achievement Oscar for the visual effects in Return of the Jedi (1983), and regular awards for his work on Cocoon (1985), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), Death Becomes Her (1992) and Forrest Gump (1994). He was nominated three more times for Dragonslayer (1981), Back to the Future Part II (1989) and Alice in Wonderland (2010).
Stephanie Phillips - Writer & Graphic Novelist
Stephanie Phillips is an American writer known for comics and graphic novels such as HARLEY QUINN, BATMAN: LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT, SENSATIONAL WONDER WOMAN, SUPERMAN, TAARNA, and THE BUTCHER OF PARIS. Her stories and comics have appeared with DC Comics, AfterShock Comics, Dark Horse, Oni Press, Top Cow/Image Comics, Heavy Metal, Black Mask Studios, A Wave Blue World, and more. Stephanie is currently the writer for the ongoing Harley Quinn series at DC Comics with artist Riley Rossmo.
Stephanie also holds a PhD in rhetoric and composition and an MA in English from the University of South Florida. She has taught writing and communication courses at the University at Buffalo, the University of South Florida, and the University of Tampa.
Links:
Stephanie Phillips Official Website - https://www.stephaniecomics.com/
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - https://zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Jeff Jensen - Entertainment Journalist, Screenwriter & Graphic Novelist
Jeff Jensen worked for Entertainment Weekly from 1998 until September 2017 in a variety of positions, most recently as the publication's television critic. He helped conceive the story (with producer Damon Lindelof and director Brad Bird) for The Walt Disney Company film Tomorrowland starring George Clooney and Hugh Laurie. Jeff also served as an executive producer on the movie, which Disney released on May 22, 2015. In 2017, Jensen joined the writing staff of HBO's Watchmen and served as a story editor during the show's first season.
Links:
Jeff Jensen Twitter - https://twitter.com/EWDocJensen
IMDB Link - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2701804/
Entertainment Weekly - https://ew.com/author/jeff-jensen/
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - https://zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Tony Fleecs - Artist & Writer
...from Tacos to My Little Pony. Tony Fleecs is the writer and artist of In My Lifetime, an autobiographical comic book. First published in 2006, ‘Lifetime was an immediate critical success, featured twice in Wizard Magazine, in the Comic Buyer’s Guide and on the Ain’t-It-Cool-News.
Tony has since been a contributor to anthologies including; Postcards: True Stories that Never Happened (nominated for the 2008 Eisner and Harvey awards for best anthology), Boom Studios’ Pulp Tales and C.B. Cebulski’s Wonderlost.
His company Fleecs Design (who’s talent roster includes only himself) has a client list that features Disney, 20th Century Fox, Bongo Comics, Marvel/Rittenhouse, The Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinatti Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, Monster Garage, Taco John’s, major hospitals, insurance providers and banks.
Links:
Tony Fleecs Official Website - https://www.tonyfleecs.com/
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - https://zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Mark Waid - Comic Book Editor & Writer
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer, known for his work on titles for DC Comics such as The Flash, Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and for his work on Captain America, Fantastic Four, and Daredevil for Marvel Comics. From August 2007 to December 2010, Mark served as Editor-in-Chief, and later, Chief Creative Officer of Boom! Studios, where he wrote titles such as Irredeemable, Incorruptible, and The Traveler.
Links:
Mark Waid Official Website - http://www.markwaid.com
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - https://zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Robert Venditti - Writer, Graphic Novelist
New York Times bestselling author Robert Venditti broke into comics the old-fashioned way—by starting out in the mailroom. He began working for publisher Top Shelf Productions in 2002, and within a few months sold them the script for The Surrogates, his first comic book series. The story was later adapted into a feature film starring Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames. Venditti went on to write the original graphic novel The Homeland Directive, as well as the graphic novel adaptations of Rick Riordan's bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians novels. In 2012, he helped relaunch Valiant Entertainment’s comic book universe by writing their flagship title, X-O Manowar.
Venditti currently writes GREEN LANTERN for DC Comics. He lives in Atlanta.
Links:
Robert Venditti Official Website - http://www.robertvenditti.com/works/
Top Shelf Comix - https://www.topshelfcomix.com/catalog/robert-venditti
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - https://zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Gene Ha - Comic Artist & Writer
NY Times best selling comic book artist Gene Ha is best known for his work with writer Alan Moore on Top 10 and its prequel The Forty-Niners. He has won 4 Eisners, the highest award in American comics, and an Inkpot Award. He was also awarded the 1994 Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award. Born and raised in the US Midwest, Gene currently resides outside of Chicago.
Links:
Gene Ha Official Website - https://www.geneha.com/
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - https://zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Steven Schwankert - Underwater History
Steven Schwankert is an award winning American writer and investigative journalist based in Beijing, China. His love of scuba diving, history and exploration has focused his work on shipwrecks and unique dive destinations around the world, including the Great Wall of China, & the ancient underwater ruins of Lion City. His recent books and documentaries include: Poseidon: China’s Secret Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine, and The Six which covers the Chinese passengers aboard the RMS Titanic. The Six is executive produced by filmmaker James Cameron.
Links:
The Six - Official Website
Poseidon: China’s Secret Salvage of Britain’s Lost Submarine - Amazon
Jiangya: China's Titanic - Amazon
Episode Sponsors:
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Steve Johnson - Filmmaker, Director, Director of Photography
British filmmaker Steve Johnson is based in Glasgow, Scotland. He is a course director for REDucation and an award-winning director. His feature film Convergence has played dozens of international film festivals and gathered numerous awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Actor and Best Actress. In this episode, we discuss the importance of on-going education, navigating the film festival circuit and we'll take a deep dive into his feature film including scripting, casting and a whole lot more.
Links:
Convergence Official Website - http://www.convergencefilm.co.uk/
IMDB link - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8811620/
Episode Sponsors:
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Christa Faust - Crime Fiction
Christa Faust grew up in New York City, in the Bronx and Hell’s Kitchen. She’s been making stuff up her whole life, and spent most of her teen years on endless subway rides, cutting school and scribbling stories. After High School finally had enough of her, she worked in the Times Square peep booths and later as a fetish model and professional Dominatrix. She sold her first short story when she moved to Los Angeles in the early 90s. After nearly 20 years in her beloved adopted city, she still considers herself an expat rather than a native. She’s an avid reader and collector of vintage paperbacks, a Film Noir enthusiast and a Tattooed Lady. She writes primarily Hardboiled crime fiction, but also does work-for-hire media tie in novels.
Links:
Christa Faust Official Website - http://christafaust.com/
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - https://zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson - Writer, Musician, Soldier
Links:
Phillip Kennedy Johnson Official Website - www.phillipkennedyjohnson.com/
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - zeppelincomics.com/
Strange Media - www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Howard Jones - Synthpop Icon
British singer/songwriter Howard Jones is one of the defining musicians of 80's synth pop. His career spans 35 years with 13 studio albums, 15 top 40 hit singles, more than 2 dozen music videos, and thousands of concert, radio and television appearances around the globe. On this special episode (uncovered in our archives) Howard discusses the advantages of performing & writing in solo, his appearances in music videos, and the perception & reception of various audiences around the globe.
Links:
Howard Jones Official Website - http://howardjones.com/
The Prisoner - Official Music Video - http://www.howardjones.com/videos/theprisoner.html
Episode Sponsors:
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Ram V - Black Mumba, Grafity's Wall, Paradiso
Ram V was born in Mumbai, India, educated as a chemical engineer in the United States and currently resides in London, England.
Ram V is an award winning author and creator of comics & graphic novels such as Paradiso, These Savage Shores, Grafity’s Wall & Ruin of Thieves. His most recent work Includes Batman: Secret Files for DC Comics.
Don Handfield - Producer, Writer, Director
Episode Links:
Motor - motorcontent.com
Episode Sponsors
Zeppelin Comics - zeppelincomics.com
Strange Media - www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer / director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Josh Trujillo - Writer, Editor, Game Designer
Josh Trujillo is a writer, editor, and game designer based in Los Angeles. He has worked with clients including Marvel, HBO, Google, Boom! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, Shanken Creative Group, Oni Press, Telltale Games, Zynga, and DC Comics, among others.
Links:
Josh Trujillo Official Site - http://www.joshtrujillo.com/
Episode Sponsors
Zeppelin Comics - http://zeppelincomics.com
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/ director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Remembering Ralph McQuarrie
Academy Award winning concept artist Ralph McQuarrie was instrumental in shaping the Star Wars universe. Ralph’s work and influence can be seen in many other well-loved films including Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Joining the conversation are Paul Bateman (Art Director and regular guest on Rebel Force Radio) and Steve Ewertz (Producer / Director of the documentary Ralph McQuarrie - Tribute to a Master. We also feature quotes from Ralph himself taken from the interview DVD - Ralph McQuarrie - Illustrator (See purchase link below).
Show Notes:
Ralph McQuarrie: Tribute to a Master - Featured on StarWars.com.
Free viewing on YouTube. https://youtu.be/HlcjTqxzWEk
Ralph McQuarrie - Illustrator - https://www.strangemedia.com/mcquarrie.html
Interview DVD in Standard Definition. Main Program - 1 hour 20 minutes. $14.50 plus shipping.
Episode Sponsors:
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer / director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Rodney Barnes - Award Winning Writer & Producer
Rodney Barnes is an award winning writer and producer. Rodney’s body of work includes Chris Rock’s Everybody Hates Chris, the animated series Boondocks and Hulu’s dramatic series Wu-Tang: An American Saga.
On this episode, Rodney discusses his childhood interest in horror and super hero comics, his early production work on Blade and the Green Mile, and meeting his hero Stephen King.
Links:
Rodney Barnes Official Website - http://rodneybarnes.com/
Episode Sponsors:
Zeppelin Comics - http://zeppelincomics.com
Strange Media - http://www.strangemedia.com
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazine's Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.
What is (a)muse?
This brief episode describes the muse concept, its mythos and impact on art and artists alike. In this series, we'll explore the amazing world of creativity, artists of all disciplines, their influences and how they navigate the creative process.
About the host:
Steffan Schulz is a producer/director located in the San Francisco Bay Area. His professional career as a filmmaker spans 30 years. His work has been honored with over 100 awards including a spot in A/V Magazines Top 100 Producers. Steffan is an Adobe Premiere Certified Expert, FAA licensed commercial drone pilot, underwater cinematographer, as well as a published author, presenter, instructor and university lecturer. He is the owner of Strange Media, a full service media production company located in the San Francisco Bay Area.