Recommendations

Mark Eifert, Director of Photography, Bent Image Lab (colleague)

fisheye102756@yahoo.com

“Working with Mark as my producer. I was able to stay ahead of the "eight" ball - this made delivering the the goods to the Director and Clients a far less harrowing experience than it would have been without him at the helm.” October 21, 2011

Eric Stolberg, Sound Designer and President, Digital One (business partner)
eric@digone.com

“I’ve known Mark for a couple of years now and I value getting to work with him. Simply put: Mark makes my job easy. Creating spots can be (is) a very chaotic process, but Mark is able to pull together the flotsam of creative ideas coming from every direction and deliver them to me in a concise way. He’s always been respectful to me and my staff, he’s had my back when things were going less than smoothly and he’s always been straight forward and honest with time and financial matters.” September 22, 2008

Tarn Fox, VFX supervisor, Bent Image Lab (colleague)
tarnfox@mac.com

“Mark has put his heart and soul into everything we've worked on together. He works as hard as any producer that I've worked with and brings his best game to the job no matter how large or small.” December 10, 2008

Lucas Haley, Animator, Bent Image Lab (colleague)
lucashaley@yahoo.com

 “Mark is a rarity in the world of producers -- he manages to be an advocate for both the client and his production team. He is able to both guide his client to the best possible product, and drive his team to produce the best they can.” October 22, 2010

Paul Harrod, Director, Bent Image Lab (colleague)

stickyfilm@gmail.com

“Mark has acted as producer on the majority of projects that I have directed at Bent Image Lab, and I can honestly say that there are few people with whom I would rather step in to battle. Mark has typically foreseen most of my needs before I even needed to express them, and his broad based knowledge of art department, stage, CG and post production has contributed to the smooth running of all of the projects that we have done together. Mark has also done an exceptional job of managing clients by instilling a strong sense of confidence that all of their needs will be met, and that the experience of working with us will be an enjoyable one. In short, I have to credit Mark as representing one of the key factors in making my time with Bent both creatively rewarding and enjoyable.” February 7, 2011

Craig Hermann, IT Administrator, Bent Image Lab (colleague)

craig@nwtiki.com
“Mark was the model of a line producer to work with. He knew exactly what resources he needed, when he needed them, and how best to ask for them. His productions preceded without delay, as I was able to supply him his IT resources without worry of mis-alocation. I would recommend Mark Axton heartily for any position where ownership, direction, and deft leadership is required.” September 8, 2008

Joel Brinkerhoff, Animator, Bent Image Labs (colleague)

joelbrink2003@yahoo.com

“I’ve know Mark from the old Will Vinton Studios days. He had proven himself before coming on board with some high profile credentials and was a straight shooter right from the start. Years later I’ve had the pleasure of reconnecting with Mark and working under his prowess as Producer on several occasions. He knows his stuff and does his best to facilitate the work in a gracious manner making a great environment that is fun and lighthearted. I appreciate the times I’ve spent working with him.” September 8, 2008

Chad Essley, Owner, CartoonMonkey Studio (colleague)

chad-mail@cartoonmonkey.com

“Mark is one of those rare producers that has a great eye for artistic design, and can easily balance a production from beginning to completion. I've worked with and known Mark for years, and he's one of the most component, friendly, and nice people in the film & animation business.” September 8, 2008

Dave Manuel, Photoshop Guru / Concept Artist, Bent Image Lab (colleague)
fashmir@gmail.com

“Working with Mark is something I always look forward to. He is an excellent bridge of communication between clients and creative teams. He knows when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em and always moves projects toward that sweet spot where clients are happy and creatives are fulfilled. I highly recommend Mark Axton.” September 9, 2008

Shilpa Sunthankar, Production Coordinator, Bent Image Lab (colleague)
shilpa@fashionbuddha.com

“Mark has a great way of finding and managing a streamlined process for his jobs, no matter what the job. He also somehow has the ability to communicate that process easily to his teams while also being rather fun to work with. It's great to work with Mark: the job always gets done, and done well.” September 9, 2008

Amy Hassler, Coordinating Producer, Will Vinton Studios (colleague)

ameez@comcast.net

“I had the distinct pleasure of working with Mark Axton at Will Vinton Studios where he had the responsibility of producing high end commercial television spots for Fortune 500 clients. Production can get intense, but Mark is a pleasure to work with: a highly skilled producer, graceful under pressure, and a real professional.” September 10, 2008

My Resume

Mark Axton
9717 North Smith Street • Portland, Oregon 97203 • 971-506-2540 (Cell) • pure.maxton@gmail.com

Summary of Qualifications
With a quarter of a century’s worth of media experience, I offer a wealth of real-world production knowledge in a wide variety of media and techniques, along with the kind of wisdom that comes with maturity. A hands-on manager, I lead from the middle, demanding no more dedication from my team than I’m willing to put forth myself. I believe in Total Project Immersion - understanding the needs of the client from the ground up – and I always work to provide the smoothest client interface possible.

Core Competencies
Bidding, budgeting, scheduling, staffing, live-action, motion graphics and animation production management, post production and world-class client management for television commercials, feature film effects and shorts. Proficient in Adobe Premiere, Adobe Photoshop, Audacity, Microsoft Word, Excel & Project.

Work Experience

6/2010 – Present
Senior Producer – Funnelbox Motion Picture Studios, Oregon City, OR
Key Responsibilities: Produce live-action video, graphics and visual effects for commercials, corporate videos and short films for local, regional and national accounts. Supervise all aspects of pitches, bidding, pre-production, casting, set construction, Data transfer, compositing, effects, sound design, scoring,  post production and wrap. Breakdown and bid incoming projects based on agency storyboards. Consult and advise on company operations, strategy, human resources and growth.

5/2004 – 6/2010
Producer - Bent Image Lab, Portland, OR
Key Responsibilities: Produce live-action, stop-motion and computer animated commercials, visual effects and short films for national and international accounts. Supervise all aspects of pitches, bidding, pre-production, casting, set construction, prop and puppet fabrication, principal photography, film processing, video transfer, compositing, effects, sound design, scoring,  post production and wrap. Breakdown and bid incoming projects based on agency storyboards. Advised on company operations, strategy, human resources and growth. Instrumental in the growth of the company from a small startup to an internationally recognized commercial house. Major clients include Kellogg, Gillette, Airwick, Cartoon Network.Awards for work include Telly, Chicago International Television Award, Clio, Oregon Media Production Association Award of Excellence.
Helped establish company-wide procedures and guidelines for staffing, budgeting and production pipeline.

8/2002 - 5/2004
Producer/Production Consultant - Happy Trails Animation, Portland, OR
Key Responsibilities: Assisted small animation company in the design and implementation of professional, industry-standard production methodologies, bidding techniques, production accounting and public relations material. Lead and supervised all aspects of animation production from pitches to initial bids through production, post production, scoring and delivery. Primary client liaison for all phases of bidding and production.
Designed and implemented new procedures for accounting, bidding, budgeting and production.

9/2000 - 7/2002
Producer - Will Vinton Studios, Portland, OR
Key Responsibilities: Bid, scheduled, supervised and tracked all aspects of commercial animation production for national and international accounts. Supervised numerous direct reports, including directors, technical directors, animators, production coordinators and production assistants. Spots produced include M&Ms and Pillsbury Doughboy, as well
as internal short films and R&D projects. Client liaison for all projects. Responsible for all aspects of bid and budget, including tracking actual costs and optimizing profit margins. Advise on departmental and company restructuring. Developed sales force, collateral marketing materials, demo reel, press kits and web site for new motion graphics department. Prepared and conducted sales pitch meetings. Interim IT Department Manager and Interim CG Production Manager as needed while positions were being recruited. Actively recruited for permanent replacements in these positions.

4/1999 - 9/2000
Producer - Xaos, Inc., San Francisco, CA
Key Responsibilities: Bid, scheduled, supervised and tracked all aspects of CG animation and post-production with 19 direct reports, including technical department, creative directors and animators. Supervised production of graphics and animation elements for large-format feature films, television promos, special venue video presentations and large-format ridefilms. Client liaison for all projects; Supervised invoicing and collections of all client payables. Creative and production staff performance reviews. Supervised and approved all recruiting and hiring of animators and technical directors. Set up and maintained intranet production pages for sharing of internal production –related information.
Established large-format production pipeline. Researched and obtained full-scale ridefilm motion-base platform for development of original ride content.

10/1998 - 4/1999
Production Supervisor - Pacific Data Images, Palo Alto, CA
Key Responsibilities: Scheduled, supervised and tracked work of 15-person lighting and effects team for computer animated feature film, “Shrek”.

9/1997 - 9/1998
Technical Department Manager - Pixar Animation Studios, Richmond, CA
Key Responsibilities: Scheduled, Supervised and tracked all work for thirty-person Technical Dept. –- including modeling, lighting, shading and rendering – for computer animated feature film, “Toy Story 2”. Conducted all Technical Department performance reviews.

12/1995 - 7/1997
Digital Department Manager - Boss Film Studios, Marina del Rey, CA
Managed sixty-person digital department, including project scheduling, management and tracking, plant management, employee salary & performance reviews, technical management and liaison with model shop and motion-control departments. Feature film credits included “Multiplicity”, “Desperate Measures”, “Air Force One”, Turbulence” and “Starship Troopers”.

6/1993 - 9/1995
Production Manager - DreamQuest Images, Simi Valley, CA
Scheduled, managed and tracked all traditional and computer animated work and visual effects for several feature motions pictures, and television projects. Liaison between stop-motion department and CG department.
Credits include “The Crow”, “The Mask” and “Crimson Tide”and television programs including “Earth 2” and “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.”

Education
8/1992 
American Film Institute, Hollywood, CA - Certification - Production Management Master Class

6/1984
Lane College, Eugene, OR - Associate Degree - Visual Design and Production - Film, video, audio, editing,
television, communications

References
Available Upon Request

My live action reel

I'm working on a reel of my more recent work, which is mostly live-action. Hoping to get that posted in the next few days.

My animation reel