Michael Samstag

Current

• Executive Producer at Samstag Productions

Past

• Producer/Director, iPIX Movies at IPIX
• Manager of Media Deveoplment at Ruby Tuesday

Education

• Hampshire College

Recommended

8 people have recommended Michael

Connections

185 connections

Industry

Motion Pictures and Film

Websites

• Samstag Productions
• Knoxville Films
• War & Truth

Michael Samstag’s Summary

Documentary films.
TV Production.
Interactive Media.
Freelance Producer/Director/Camera Operator.

I have recently begun to produce short, focused mini-documentaries for non-profit groups. These videos focus on fund raising and volunteer recruitment while telling a moving story and the vision of the organization. It's rewarding to see how far we can stretch a small budget to create meaningful fiscal and emotional results.

I'm the President and Founder of KnoxvilleFilms.com which is a cutting edge organization specializing in promoting the collaborative film arts in East Tennessee. Through our new partnership with the Scripps Howard owned Metro Pulse, we are also creating almost a dozen new episodic shows for the web. Details on www.knoxvillefilms.com.

Michael Samstag’s Specialties:

Producing
Directing
SD and HD Camera Operator
Steadicam Operator
On-line and Off-line Editing
DVD Authoring and Encoding
Photography

Michael Samstag’s Experience

• Executive Producer

  Samstag Productions

  (Privately Held; Myself Only; Motion Pictures and Film industry)

  February 1999 — Present (10 years 6 months)

  Documentary films. Special Features. Broadcast television. Video for the web.
  
  Best known for his work directing and producing special features for the first three Harry Potter DVDs and the Van Helsing DVD, Samstags' work on Van Helsing was featured in an article by American Cinematographer Magazine and the making of WAR & TRUTH was recently featured in the Metro Pulse.
  
  His documentary feature film, WAR & TRUTH, won Best Documentary at the Annapolis Film Festival in November 2005 and the Director's Choice Award at the Secret City Film Festival in 2007. In 2005, he directed 30 shows for the Telly Award winning Backyard Habitat series for Discovery Network ‘s Animal Planet Channel. Samstags' second documentary, BOMBS OVER BEN HAI is currently in pre-production.
  
  A 1989 graduate of Hampshire College, Samstag has worked with blockbuster budgets but also prides himself with making the most of smaller budgets for non-profit organizations.

• Producer/Director, iPIX Movies

  IPIX

  (Public Company; 51-200 employees; IPIX; Computer Software industry)

  June 2000 — September 2001 (1 year 4 months)

  Responsible for producing and directing all iPIX Movies, utilizing both 180 and 360 capture systems. Production experience shooting on 35mm film using the AATON 35 III, High Definition video using the SONY HDW-F900, and various DV cameras. Post-production experience includes extensive After Effects, iPIX proprietary software and Non-Linear High Def editing and streaming video for the Internet. Additional responsibilities include producing demo projects from script to post-production as well as managing all aspects of the iPIX Movies process.

• Manager of Media Deveoplment

  Ruby Tuesday

  (Public Company; 10,001 or more employees; Restaurants industry)

  January 1993 — February 2000 (7 years 2 months)

  Creator of RTI-TV, an in-house digital video production department specializing in training and marketing videos. Production responsibilities include creating scripts, casting, directing, and editing videos for over 450 restaurants. Additional duties included writing and creating the management training program for three restaurant concepts.

Michael Samstag’s Education

• Hampshire College

  1985 — 1989

Additional Information

Michael Samstag’s Websites:

• Samstag Productions
• Knoxville Films
• War & Truth

Michael Samstag’s Groups:

President, Knoxville Films, 2005 - present
Board Member, Association for the Future of Film & Television/Tennessee, 2007 - present
Advisory Board, Tennessee Independent Production/Talent Organization East, 2007 - 2008
Knoxville Chapter President, ITVA, 1998-1999

•    Showbizjobs.com
•    ThoseinMedia
•    Visual Effects, Film and Games Professionals (www.vfx-recruit.com)
•    True Artist: living the art
•    Film TV Professionals
•    Hampshire College Alumni Network
•    Five Colleges Alumni
•    Producers Network
•    Film Financing 101
•    Independent Film Producers
•    Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund

Michael Samstag’s Honors:

Dancing in Miracles
Audience Awards, GnG Southern Film Festival 2009
Best East TN Film, GnG Southern Film Festival 2009

War & Truth
Best Documentary, Annapolis Film Festival 2005
Official Selection, Atlanta Film Festival, 2006
Director's Choice, Secret City Film Festival, 2007

Backyard Habitat
Telly Award, 2006

Pantyhose Killer
Audience Award, Knoxville 10-Hour Film Festival, 2007

Michael Samstag’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• new ventures
• expertise requests
• reference requests
• getting back in touch