Every production company can brag – “He’s an award-winning director of photography… Oh, she’s got two dozen TELLY awards for editing…
He’s got 10 Emmy nominations for producing…”
blah, blah, blah…
At KO-MAR Productions, Inc. we have 13 full-time professionals who make their living doing video production. We have directors of photography, directors, producers, editors and a batch of freelancers who are second to none. Awards are nice and we have shelves of them but in the end, we have experienced professionals who show up on time, know their jobs, do fantastic work and give our clients something to be proud of. As for awards and trophies… 30 years of loyal clients are all we really need.
President and Founder (the “KO” in KO-MAR) - Our Firefighter
Q : How do you describe your job?
A : I get to see things that most people don’t ever get to see. We get paid to learn about people, places and things. Then we write a script, produce a video so other people can get to see what we did first!
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : There’s no percentage in being nasty.” My uncle told me that my dad practiced that. He told me that at my father’s funeral.
Q : Where have you called home?
A : Stamford, Connecticut, New Orleans (college) West Palm Beach (adulthood)
Q : When did you realize video production was your calling?
A : I went to Loyola University and graduated with a degree in Broadcast Communications. I loved TV and sports as a kid and I made it my career. Pretty lucky!!!
Q : When I’m not at work, I’m obsessed with…
A : I like food. It’s that simple although my obsession may be extreme.
Q : What cause are you passionate about?
A : Adult Literacy. I tutor two adults. It’s amazing that people are born in an English-speaking country and they can’t read or write.
Vice President and COO - Our Head Coach
Q : What was your first job?
A : A paper route. I delivered papers door-to-door for the Palm Beach Post. Helped me buy my first car!
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : You miss every shot you don’t take.
Q : What’s your alma mater and and when did you realize video production was your calling?
A : Loyola University in New Orleans (Roommate Todd Kolich!). I graduated with a Degree in Television and Communications. I grew up around TV. My father was the Sports Director at WPEC-TV for 25 years and I always knew I wanted to follow in his footsteps.
Q : What cause are you passionate about?
A : I’m on the board of the West Palm Beach Urban League and our mission is to secure economic self-reliance through education, housing and employment. Also my father was on the board and when he passed away I took his spot, so it’s my way of honoring my father’s work in the community also.
Q : If you could be an Olympian, what would be your sport?
A : I always loved the decathlon. I ran sprints, did the high jump and pole vaulting in high school. So, I had a few of the skills, just not enough! I actually tried out for the U.S. Olympic Handball team. I was a football player in H.S. and made it to the Florida State H.S. State Championship as a sprinter so that was a good skill set, but trying to pick up a brand-new sport in a couple of days didn’t go too well.
Q : Why are people often asking, "Have we met before?"
A : That’s because I spent 20 years of my life in front of the camera. I did sideline reporting for the NFL on Fox and I was the Sports Director in New Orleans for 15 years. These days I spend a lot of time coaching other people on camera. It helps to have done it and to know how to help them get their best performance.
Production Director, Senior Editor - Our Samurai
Q : How do you describe your job in a social scene?
A : I take lots of stuff, usually video, and select the best bits and trash the rest. I add music, graphics and animations and tweak until everyone’s happy. I do this over and over until I have a final product.
Q : Describe yourself in three words:
A : Intuitive. Hardheaded. Creative.
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : Always listen to yourself. It is better to be wrong than simply to follow convention. If you are wrong, no matter, you have learned something and you will grow stronger. If you are right, you have taken another step towards a fulfilling life.
Q : What’s your alma mater and what field did you graduate in?
A : Auburn, Radio/TV/Film
Q : When I’m not at work, I’m obsessed with…
A : Movies
Director of Photography - Our Artist
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : When you’re done, you’re not done and you’ve only just begun.
Q : What places have you called home?
A : Massachusetts, New York City, Florida
Q : What has been your favorite KO-MAR moment?
A : 2001 – Meeting Muhammad Ali by chance at Miami International Airport, returning from an HBO boxing shoot in Puerto Rico with boxer Felix Trinidad. Having the camera on me, I rolled on what he thought of Trinidad and he did the whole Ali bit, saying he was “gonna get back in shape and get in the ring with him.” He was funny and gracious during our quick two minutes together.
Q : When did you realize video production was your calling?
A : My first video production class was in 6th grade and that lead to making Super 8mm home movies. I always knew. As a teen filmmaker, I recreated a scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” by dragging my little brother using a bullwhip attached to a moped in the grass. Not a good idea. Then, I graduated from the School of Visual Arts, NYC with Bachelor of Fine Arts, Film/Cinema degree.
Q : When I’m not at work, I’m obsessed with…
A : Drawing Chris. (ask him to show you)
Director of Post Production - Our Conductor
Q : Describe yourself in three words:
A : Fastidious. Earnest. Pragmatic.
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : Never stop learning. This business is constantly evolving and constantly advancing. Don’t be afraid of change; embrace it by continuing your own intellectual attainment. The moment you feel you know enough or think you’ve learned all there is to know, you’ve become irrelevant. The same goes for life.
Q : Where have you called home?
A : Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida
Q : What is your favorite project while working at KO-MAR so far?
A : Documentary features for our CBS shows – BY FAR my favorite was: “Sunrise to Sunset: A PGA Professional’s Life” (2011) feature on Ann Finke. This was the best opportunity to go beyond editing and convey emotion with my craft.
Q : What field did you graduate in and when did you realize video production was your calling?
A : Penn State University, B.A. Telecommunications. My high school was very small and didn’t offer a video production curriculum. In English class, I was assigned to script a 30-second PSA that was to be considered for production as part of a local “CBS Cares” campaign. I was third runner up and was awarded a basket of sponsored gifts and a tour of the local CBS station along with the other awarded students. Everyone was amazed to see the “celebrity” news anchors and where they were seated, but I was more in awe of the studio cameras and more interested in the ‘how’ than the ‘who’.
Videographer/Audio Engineer/Lighting Specialist - Our Resident MacGyver
Q : Describe yourself in three words:
A : Creative. Unique. Comedic.
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : I’m the best in the world at what I do, and the really scary part is how much better I’m going to get.
Q : What has been your favorite project you’ve done while working at KO-MAR?
A : Pratt & Whitney in Japan
Q : When did you realize video production was your calling?
A : While studying television production at South Tech Academy. When I was 15 years old, I knew.
Q : When I’m not at work, I’m obsessed with…
A : My daughter
Executive Producer and Editor - Our Magician
Q : How do you describe your job in a social scene?
A : I’m lucky enough to get paid to tell stories and play pretend. Painting with light and embellishing reality are pretty great ways to spend the workday.
Q : What are three words that describe you?
A : Stubbornly creative storyteller and rule-breaker
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : – To be great, you need to have the courage to be terrible. Try everything. Throw all your creative ideas against the wall. Live in the space just beyond what you know how to do. If it’s bad, you’ll learn how to do it better. If it’s great, you’ll learn how to do it again. – Never compromise your style.
Q : Where have you called home?
A : Los Angeles, Washington DC, South Florida
Q : What has been your most inspiring project while working at KO-MAR?
A : A longtime client came to me with a concept that was pretty tough to pull off: he wanted to tell a story about the effects of abusive nursing home practices. We brainstormed for a little while then he told me to run with it. We took over the entire third floor of a hospital and dressed it as a dark, gloomy nursing home. The story was told from the emotional perspective of an elderly patient. We used lighting, coloring, and visual effects to put the audience in the same fearful emotional state as the focus of our story.
Q : When I’m not at work, I’m obsessed with ....
A : My family. My wife and I have two young kids and our adventures fuel my creativity and ambition.
Senior Producer - Our General
Q : What’s your hidden talent?
A : One little-known fact: I used to play drums in rock bands. In my late teens and early 20s, I looked the part of a typical rock star, with long hair down to my shoulders. I was the drummer in a few different bands. At 25, I gave up playing, moved from Miami to Louisville, Kentucky and my father ended up selling my drum kit.
Q : When did you realize video production was your calling?
A : A graduate of the University of Miami, I parlayed my love of sports (including horse racing) to a career that has spanned more than 35 years in network television.
Producer/Editor - Our Chef
Q : How do you describe your job in a social scene?
A : It’s complicated.
Q : Describe yourself in three words:
A : I work hard
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : Do what makes you happy
Q : What’s your alma mater and what field did you graduate In?
A : Duquesne University, Integrated Marketing & Psychology
Q : What is your hidden talent?
A : I recognize any face from any movie, especially extras
Manager Library Services
Q : How do you describe your job in the social scene?
A : I manage the PGA of America’s video library. (Calling myself a librarian just doesn’t feel right.) I also brag that I get to watch golf at work for “research and development”. 😉
Q : What are three words to describe you?
A : Adventurous, Athletic, Intelligent.
Q : What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
A : My mom always reminded me to reach for a higher consciousness. When we are striving to be our best possible self, it is easier to appreciate the goodness in others and the things around us.
Q : When I’m not at work, I’m obsessed with...
A : Golf (Aside from my loving fiancé, of course!) and my dog.
Q : What is your hidden talent?
A : I can juggle while riding a unicycle and walk on my hands for quite some time. I must’ve been some sort of low-budget clown in a past life.
People make the tools, not the other way around. At KO-MAR Productions, our crew of directors, DPs, editors, designers and videographers bring a special eye to every project.
Because they are good, we are busy and that keeps us sharp. Did you ever go into a restaurant with an empty parking lot? Case closed.
The tools help and we’ve got ‘em — a collection of SONY, ARRI and RED cameras that make some of the most beautiful images imaginable. From single camera film-style shoots to multi camera live, switched programming in our own 6000sq.ft. studio, KO-MAR brings the thunder and we’ll do it without padding your tab with stuff you don’t need.