Film Camp Speaker Bios « « Crystal Creek Media Crystal Creek Media

Daniel Knudsen

Daniel Knudsen is an American born director, actor, film producer, and artist. With stage acting beginning in elementary school, from a very young age Daniel knew he wanted to direct movies. No stranger to film production, Daniel has actively worked on sets around the country since 2005. His film directing debut came with the family comedy Late For Church, winner of a Jury Award in San Francisco, CA at the 7th Annual WYSIWYG Film Festival, Fall 2006. In the spring of 2007 he directed a promotional video for the Titan Sentry 5000, a disaster relief unit that was marketed to the Department of Homeland Security.

In 2009, Daniel wrapped up production on his second film, Ultimatum: Destiny is Eternal, a dramatic multimedia presentation of the epic story of the Bible. Daniel observed, “The Bible is literature’s greatest masterpiece. Not only has it shaped society but it has defined storytelling for us.” Recently requested to be subtitled in Polish, Ultimatum has been received well, particularly overseas.

Filmed summer 2010 and currently in post-production, Creed of Gold was Daniel’s first feature film as director. He particularly enjoyed working with homeschool author and speaker Dr. Jay Wile as a supporting actor. Creed of Gold already has distributor interest from as far away as Australia.

A homeschool graduate himself, Daniel is excited to work with the homeschool community. In Daniel’s own words, “I have enjoyed teaching the art of filmmaking this past year to homeschool students. Film Camp will be an amazing opportunity to do what I love: teach students to have a passion for Jesus and apply that to multimedia. ”

Kathleen Knudsen

As a homeschool graduate herself, Kathleen has a heart for homeschool families. Throughout high school, she actively coordinated and coached a homeschool speech & debate club. At age 18, she pursued a short stint in politics where she ran for local office. Despite losing by 5 votes, the experience was one to be fondly remembered.

In 2006, a short two years later, Kathleen completed her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Thomas Edison State College through accelerated learning. After college, she worked with several businesses and organizations, gaining valuable experience as well as providing creative ideas particularly in development. The last four years she was employed by Verity Institute, an innovative college program that assists young people in gaining an accredited college degree from a Biblical perspective in under two years through non-traditional approaches (such as CLEP). One of her favorite projects was writing a college prep curriculum for homeschool students.

In December 2009 Kathleen began working with Crystal Creek Media as Producer/Director of Operations for the forthcoming movie Creed of Gold. From recruiting cast and crew to coaching the press team, Kathleen helped to provide the tactical support necessary to ensure the successful completion of the film. Creed of Gold is currently finishing up post-production.

Throughout the last four years she has traveled across the U.S. to numerous homeschool conferences and spoken on a variety of subjects related to high school, college, and media.

Philip Bolzman

Philip Bolzman launched his career in filmmaking at the age of 19 working as a Production Assistant on Advent Film Group’s first project Come What May, currently being distributed nationally by Provident Films. After working as a Production Assistant, Philip went on to receive a degree in Broadcasting from Delta Community College in Saginaw, MI and in 2009, graduate from Compass Film Academy in Grand Rapids, MI. While at Compass, Philip worked in various film departments and got hands-on training in writing, directing, and producing films.

Upon graduation, Philip immediately headed to Winston-Salem, NC to work as the Best Boy Grip for Advent’s second feature film, a baseball story about fathers and sons called Hero. The following spring, Philip worked with Grooters Productions in Charlevoix, MI. Once again, Philip worked as a grip in the lighting and electrical department, this time expanding his skills and expertise the larger lights and more responsibilities. Filmed during the frigid winter months in northern Michigan, Frontier Boys enjoyed a limited theatrical release on February 18, 2011.

Shortly thereafter, Philip joined forces with Golden Vision Films, a small Christian film company based in Kalamazoo, MI. Before long the feature film Beyond Acceptance was actively being worked on, this time with Philip serving as the screenwriter, Director of Photography, principle editor, and colorist. It was here that Philip’s primary expertise and experience in the grip and electric departments, pre-production planning, cinematography, and editing were fully put to use. Recently released, Beyond Acceptance is now going to national DVD distribution. Taking a brief break from Beyond Acceptance, Philip headed south to Roanoke, VA where he worked as an electrician on the set of Alone Yet Not Alone by Mission City Productions.

Philip is excited about the opportunity to instruct and train teens who are just as excited about the film industry as he was at their age and hopes that others can learn from his experiences.

Andrew Bolzman

An adventurous dreamer, Andrew Bolzman has always loved movies as a world of imagination where anything was possible. Working as a Production Assistant on Come What May with Advent Film Group gave him the opportunity to experience a variety of departments including Camera, Sound, Grip & Electric, Art, and even a small acting role. For Andrew, it was the beginnings of a dream come true. Completely captivated by the film industry, Andrew attended Compass Film Academy (now Compass College of Cinematic Arts) and graduated along with his brother in 2009.

Just a few short weeks out of film school, Andrew traveled to Winston-Salem, NC to begin work on his second feature film with Advent Film Group, Hero. This time he worked with the camera department, gaining valuable experience with a professional crew. From there he headed back to his home state of Michigan to work as the 2^nd Assistant Camera under a respected Director of Photography on The Frontier Boys. While a small budget production, this film has won numerous awards at international film festivals.

Throughout this time Andrew joined a small Christian film company Golden Vision Films and had started serious preproduction on a feature film that began principle photography in August of 2010. Acting as producer, Andrew oversaw the entire production process of Beyond Acceptance including setting up the business, searching out donors, organizing cast and crew and much more. Beyond Acceptance is a feature film telling a touching story of love and adoption, the movie premiered on August 4, 2011 and is now being released for distribution.

Between production and distribution of Beyond Acceptance, Andrew had the opportunity to rejoin the camera department on the historical epic Alone Yet Not Alone. With a multimillion dollar budget and shot in breathtaking locations across the hills of Virginia, Williamsburg, VA, and Fort Laoudoun, TN, Alone Yet Not Alone is based on a dramatic, true story of the French and Indian War.

With Film Camp, Andrew is thrilled to pass along lessons that he has learned as a homeschool graduate in multimedia.