John's role with Movies by Kids can best be described as producer and editor. As producer, John recognizes the potential in a movie making program that would feature, among many things, talented and experienced instructors, combined with state-of-the-art computer editing systems, and a full curriculum of movie-making instruction.

"As a kid, I've always been fascinated by Hollywood and the movie-making process... special effects in particular."

As an editor, John has been working on Macintosh based non-linear editing systems for many years. His experience is not just in the actual editing but in the pre-production phase as well where John stresses that the key to making good movies is proper instruction and preparation.

"I remember, as a kid, I used to borrow my parents Super 8 movie camera, assemble a small cast of friends and head out into the neighborhood to scout for locations to shoot. I always wanted to jump in and start shooting right away... looking back now, I realize that the more time I took to prepare, the better the outcome was."

With a specific interest in Hollywood special effects, John challenges kids to be creative and come up with new and original ideas that are sometimes difficult to shoot. Although special effects are expensive and commonplace in Hollywood, here the emphasis is on simplicity and problem solving. John also says that movie making today is just as fun as he remembers it as a kid and really enjoys sharing his experiences with aspiring young film makers