Our Team
Erik Weaver - Executive Producer
Erik Weaver is a specialist focused on the intersection of cloud and the M&E industry and is currently running special projects for the Entertainment Technology Center@the University of Southern California (ETC). Recently, he led Global M&E Strategy for Western Digital. Prior work at ETC includes spearheading the Production in the Cloud project, which encompassed many aspects of the cloud, including transport, security, metadata, long-term storage, and the creation of an agnostic framework that unites key vendors and studios. Weaver served as executive producer of the short film, The Suitcase, which utilized HDR, cloud-based workflows and live 360 and earned the CAA People Choice Award at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. He was also the executive producer of Wonder Buffalo which employed volumetric capture, photogrammetry, ambonisic sound and interactivity, and screened in competition at SXSW Interactive Film Festival. Erik also served as Chairman of NAB’s Next Generation Media Technologies / Tomorrow’s Tech Conference 2014-2020, as well as of the vNAB conference (2015 to 2017) and its successor, the vETC conference (2018 to present). He is a member of the SMPTE C4 MR30 Standards Group.
Greg Ciaccio - Executive Producer & Head of Post and Production Technologies
Greg Ciaccio, creative technologist, is passionate about finding new technology and workflow solutions for the Motion Picture and Television industry.
Greg has served in executive operations management positions for Creative Service divisions at Sim, Ascent, Technicolor and Deluxe, and helped introduce leading-edge products including Technicolor's DP Lights and Deluxe's Mobilabs near-set dailies solutions. In 2014, Ciaccio, along with key members of the ASC Technology Committee’s DI Subcommittee, won an HPA Judges Award for the creation of the ASC/CDL, now a commonly used format for the exchange of basic primary color grading information.
Ciaccio serves as Chair of the ASC Motion Imaging Technology Council’s Workflow Committee, which includes the ACES and Advanced Data Management Subcommittees.
Additionally, he is an ASC Associate Member, Board Member of the SMPTE Hollywood Section and a founding member of the Digital Cinema Society.
Kathryn Brillhart -
Executive Producer & Director of Virtual Production
Kathryn Brillhart is an award winning Cinematographer and Producer who leverages volumetric capture, visualization techniques, and supervising visual effects to enhance projects. For the past decade, she has helped to redefine best practices and standards in virtual production and has advocated for diversity in the film industry through her role on the Global Board of Directors for the Visual Effects Society. Kathryn is a member of the Virtual Production Committee and the Advanced Data Management Committee within the ASC Motion Imaging and Technology Council. Her most recent projects include: The Mandalorian, Call of the Wild, The One and Only Ivan, and Dr. Dolittle.
Jamie McNeill - Producer
Jamie McNeill is a freelance producer and production strategist dedicated to supporting ambitious creators and interesting worlds in order to emotionally connect people across the globe so that together, we can create a more empathetic future.
With a background in music and film, and a passion for management and leadership, Jamie has had the opportunity to lead successful short projects to play at major US and International film festivals, notably including SIFF (US), Fantasia (Canada), and Sitges (Spain). His focus is on fostering creativity and creating meaningful, impactful, and compelling content rooted in inspiring themes and breathtaking visuals.
He graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in May 2020 with a BFA in Film and Television Production, and is looking forward to helping revolutionize this ever-changing industry.
Brendan Bennett - Producer
Brendan Bennett is a filmmaker raised on Bainbridge Island, Washington. His early exposure to theatre and the performing arts led him to fall in love with visual storytelling. Passionate about the entire process, from development to post, Brendan loves taking on projects and seeing them through every step of the process. His work has screened at prestigious festivals in the US, Ireland, the UK, Spain, Brazil, France, Denmark, Greece, and have been viewed by over 4 million people online.
After working at Lionsgate and NBCUniversal last year, Brendan discovered a passion for television- an area which is now his main focus. Brendan graduated from USC School of Cinematic Arts in December 2019 and is working as a producer and writer: building worlds and telling poignant, dramatic stories with a dash of dark humor.
Damon Laguna - Producer
Damon Laguna is an award-winning filmmaker based in Los Angeles who aspires to create character-driven, humanistic content that features diverse characters from underrepresented backgrounds. His work has screened at prestigious festivals around the world including the Austin Film Festival, Outfest, Frameline, and more. Before discovering his love for storytelling, Damon spent most of his time flipping through the air as a gymnast, eventually competing for UC Berkeley where he earned a degree in Business Administration. Damon recently graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ MFA Film & Television Production program as a George Lucas Scholar, where his thesis film, HEADLOCK, was nominated for a Student Academy Award.
Hannah Bang - Writer/Director
HANNAH BANG is a South Korean writer/director/cinematographer with a love of mixing the beautiful and macabre in her storytelling. After receiving her B.F.A. at The Cooper Union, Hannah worked at a fine art photography studio, handling the works of clients such as Cindy Sherman and Nan Goldin. During her time in New York, Hannah also assisted directors such as Jem Cohen (Museum Hours) and Andrew Neel (King Kelly, Goat) on their projects. Gradually, Hannah’s two worlds of fine art and narrative filmmaking melded together. Hannah recently graduated from the M.F.A. film production program at USC. In the last year, Hannah has directed a full-length ensemble play Prodigy, co-directed a feature film Voodoo Macbeth, and directed her thesis film Soak.
Margo E Sawaya - Writer/Director
Originally from Michigan by way of Chicago, MARGO SAWAYA’s love for storytelling began at a young age when she would write poetry, song lyrics and short plays. In 2009, her one-act play won the Young Playwrights Festival at Michigan State University Theatre Department. After she saw her words come to life on stage, she realized how impactful just one story could be in bringing people together. Since then, she has directed a number of short films, from her time as president of the MSU Filmmakers Club through earning her M.F.A. at USC School of Cinematic Arts. Most recently, she directed a short film called Tuesday which is in the festival circuit and co-wrote a feature drama Phantom which is in pre-production. She’s fascinated with stories that center around the evolving human condition, mental health and painfully dark humor.
Sabina Vajraca - Writer
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, SABINA VAJRAČA immigrated to the U.S. as a war refugee, and started her professional career in NYC theatre. Her feature documentary Back to Bosnia (2005 AFI Fest / Director’s Choice, 2006 Crossroads) is featured in the top 100 of the greatest films directed by women by BBC and available on Amazon. Most recently she co-directed a feature drama Voodoo Macbeth, and wrote/directed a short drama Variables, which won the DGA Student Film Awards Grand Prize and Alfred P. Sloan grant, and was nominated for the Student Oscars, Student BAFTA, and HUMANITAS Prize. Sabina is an alumna of Ryan Murphy Half Directing Mentorship, the Nantucket Screenwriters Colony, and the Stowe Story Labs, where she won the Tangerine Fellowship. She holds an M.F.A. from USC School of Cinematic Arts and is repped by Industry Entertainment.
Rainer Gombos - Virtual Production Supervisor
Rainer Gombos is an Emmy®-winning Visual Effects Supervisor and Creative Director. He most recently lead the VFX teams on Director Ridley Scott’s “Raised By Wolves”, Ron Moore’s “For All Mankind” and Roland Emmerich’s “Midway” as the VFX Supervisor. He also produced, directed and supervised cutting edge volumetric real-time content creation for REALTRA, a production company he co-founded. Before that he opened and managed the production studio of the New Zealand based Virtual Reality startup 8i. Prior to this he was responsible for the visual effects on COSMOS: A Space Time Odyssey, for which he received an Emmy® nomination. He won an Emmy® Award for Best Visual Effects for his work as VFX Supervisor on the season two finale of HBO’s acclaimed series, Game of Thrones. The German visual effects veteran boasts a diverse background in blockbuster features including Fast Five, Sucker Punch, 2012, Beautiful Creatures and Sin City, commercial work for Snickers, Saturn and Total to name a few, as well as many music videos and video games. Rainer comes from a fine arts background, bringing passion and precision to every project he works on.
Rachel Joy Victor - Creative Liasion
Rachel is a strategist and designer, using world building and information design to craft narrative experiences and guide product innovations that utilize emerging technologies. She brings together system and user perspectives to design for the breadth of the emergent content life cycle: from identity, tools, and networks to experiences, beings, and spaces. She draws from a degree in computational neuroscience and a background in media research and strategy for companies like Disney and HBO. Rachel works independently as a consultant, and runs The Apollo, a story and design studio.
Catherine Shin - COVID Safety Officer
Catherine is a licensed occupational therapist based in California who has trained with the world’s premier professionals in the field of occupational therapy at USC Chan, were she is currently pursuing her clinical doctorate. She is a minority woman who grew up all over the world including South Korea, Hong Kong and the United States and has a background in business management and entertainment. Her dedication to improving quality of life and work for the global population has inspired her highly recognized work in the field of occupational science, with a focus on health promotion and wellness. In addition to Ms. Shin’s professional and academic accomplishments, she continues to give back to the community through her volunteer work with older adults and multi-cultural youth populations.
David Brillhart - Director of Photography
David Brillhart is a cinematographer and director based in Sacramento, California. He is best known for his documentary work spanning three and a half decades in 85+ countries and was one of the first cinematographers to bring images of the Ethiopian famine to light in 1983. His works have ranged from comedy, drama, to documentary and verité-style programs. In addition to David’s work as DP in ETC@USC’s “Ripple Effect,” he also lensed D’Artagnan Entertainment’s independent features “Hell and Mr. Fudge” and “Miracle at Gate 213.” David is currently directing and writing the holiday special “Glory” to be released nationwide on ABC affiliates Christmas eve. He is Director of Special Media projects at Maranatha Volunteers International.
Ursula Bowling - Production Designer
Ursula Bowling is a production designer and filmmaker from New York City and suburban London who recently graduated from the USC School of Cinematic Arts. Prior to entering the film industry, Ursula was a practicing artist who studied at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the well known, conservatory high school, Fiorello H. LaGuardia. During her time there, her work was exhibited at the Manhattan Borough Arts Festival and the International Center of Photography. Four years ago, Ursula moved to Los Angeles where she has been working in positions across the art department on short films, commercials, and print work. Ripple Effect was her first venture into the virtual production world and has inspired her to continue exploring the future of the medium.
Catherine Deptuch - 1st Assistant Director
Catherine Deptuch is a recent graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts with a BFA in Film and TV Production. A Polish-American filmmaker based in Los Angeles, CA and originally from New Jersey, Catherine has always enjoyed bringing her writing passions together with her love of cinema, both foreign and domestic. Catherine has worked on various USC undergraduate and graduate theses as well as independent projects as a 1st Assistant Director, working in all genres and crew sizes. She is also a writer/director/producer, with her most recent directing feit, Candles, already being selected to screen around the world in various festivals (Prague, Kosice, Venice, Montreal, etc.). Furthermore, Catherine has also been an intern at various film companies in the industry (HBO, Indian Paintbrush, Writ Large, Jim Henson Company, Voltage Pictures). She is also an avid musician, having played solo piano and flute in Carnegie Hall, NY, and is a language lover, fluently speaking English, Polish, and French.