Instructors

StoryCasting will be led by faculty from the Creative Media Institute at NMSU.

Edward Bakshi, 2D Animation

After graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, Eddie Bakshi worked for Nickelodeon in as a digital scanner on the “Rugrats” and as a painter on the Wild Thornberrys (2002) and Rugrats Go Wild (2003) features. More recent credits include The Spongebob Squarepants Movie (2004) and Head Technical Director on Ralph Bakshi’s project, Last Days Of Coney Island, where he worked with color models and overall production design as well as editing and assembly of the film.

Derek Fisher, 3D Animation, Previsualization

Derek has a Master’s degree in Architecture with a focus on computational design from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2000, he landed his first film job on Panic Room in Hollywood. Since then he has worked on over 20 feature films, including Minority Report, Zathura, and Superman Returns. Derek also created finished CG shots for films such as Sky Captain and The World Of Tomorrow. Derek’s skills include pre-visualization, 3D animation, visual effects, technical planning, and concept development.

Mitch Fowler, Cinematography

Mitch has a BA in Telecommunication and Film from the University of Alabama, where he played football for the Crimson Tide. Mitch’s credits include the Academy-Award nominated documentary Murderball. He has an MFA in film production from Florida State University, and he recently returned to Birmingham to try out for Steeldogs arena football. Mitch plans to begin a career writing, directing, and photographing films.

Jess Gorell, Animation

Jess Gorell is a photographer and multi-media artist from Arlington, Massachusetts. A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, she was Education Program Director for The Artists’ Association of Nantucket for seven years. Jess did pre-production and location research for Aids Walk Boston and on other films.

Amy Lanasa, Screenwriter and StoryCasting Director

Ms. Lanasa ran summer drama camps for K-12 students at the University of Oklahoma and taught as a graduate student at Florida State University. There, she also ran Project Playwright, an after school camp for K-12 students. She teaches acting and screenwriting at NMSU.

Sherwin Lau, Sound Designer

Mr. Lau received his Master's degree in Film Production from the Florida State University Film School. He has worked on over a hundred short films on-set and in post-production. He has also written, directed, and produced three short films. He is currently an editor and sound designer for an independent feature film shooting in Los Angeles. He teaches Sound Design at CMI.

Mark Medoff, Screenwriting

Mark is a playwright, screenwriter, and film and theater director. He received a Tony Award for Children of A Lesser God as well as London’s Society of West End Theatres Award for Best Play. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the film script of Children and for a Cable ACE Award for his HBO Premiere movie Apology. He received an OBIE Award for When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder.

Mark was a co-founder of the American Southwest Theatre Company and Head of the Department of Theatre Arts for 9 years. He is currently the Reynolds Eminent Scholar in the School of Theatre at Florida State University. He was also named Senior Fellow in the Creative Media Institute at New Mexico State University, where he has taught for 27 years. Some of Mark’s other projects include the documentary Who Fly On Angels’ Wings, about a mobile pediatric unit in southern New Mexico; the feature film Children On Their Birthdays, based on the story by Truman Capote; the student short film 100 MPG, which was invited to a number of film festivals; and Boom, a training film for the military. Later this year, he’s scheduled to direct the feature film Simonne in Romania.

Rajeev Nirmalakhandan, Editor

Mr. Nirmalakhandan is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) film school. As a student, he trained other students and faculty on multimedia production. He has written, directed, and edited feature films, documentaries, short films, and commercials. He is the head of post-production at CMI.

Story Coaches

CMI students will coach participants in writing and serve as resident assistants and mentors for StoryCasting students.