COMPANY MOVE

Episode 10: Putting Family First with Jason Dinges

Jason Dinges grew up in Winchester, VA just like Patsy Cline.  He got an Associates degree from the local community College before transferring to The (now defunct) College of Santa Fe, where he barely earned a  BA in the Moving Image Arts.  He moved to Portland, OR for no reason whatsoever in 2003. He ended up  playing music, touring as much as possible & then eventually finding his way onto film sets in 2009.  He's been turning heads as "the most handsome grip" in the industry ever since.
Because of his handsomeness, he then became a Father in 2018 . That's when he decided to get a "real" job. He drives for UPS now. He has since been voted "Most Handsome UPS driver ever" by a lot of people.
 
Jason's podcasts:
Lost Rhetoric: Lostrhetoric.com
 
Dr. Donut & The Dingus: https://open.spotify.com/show/1SQlTJeP9DzrThYiRsAVFf?si=0bc2241b00ae410a
 
 

Episode 9: Gaining More with Less with Eliza Plumlee

Eliza is a former Portland based camera assistant, currently living in Arizona. After deciding to leave the industry in 2015 she spent two years traveling extensively in Central and South America. During that time she reembraced her life long love of drawing and painting. In the years following her travels she has dedicated countless hours to her craft, taken classes and workshops throughout the US, and developed bonds with other artists across the globe. 
She now resides in Tucson, Arizona in order to be close to family, and has a painting studio in the warehouse arts district where she works daily. She is also employed part time at an arts based non-profit. 
Her work can be seen on Instagram @elizaplumleeart, or at elizaplumlee.com. 

Episode 8: Building What You Know with Steve Vitolo

Steve Vitolo is the Emmy® Award winning founder of Scriptation and is the company’s CEO. Steven leads overall strategic initiatives and has over a decade of film and television production experience. He has written for the acclaimed series Black-ish, as well as Hot in Cleveland and Crowded. He also co-wrote and executive produced the Universal Pictures romantic comedy, The List. He has been a Script Coordinator for scripted series at ABC, CBS, NBC, and Showtime, and has worked in production at Fox, FX, Disney Channel, Comedy Central, The CW, MTV, VH1, and the 79th and 80th Academy Awards. Steven is a graduate of the Boston University College of Communication and lives in Los Angeles.
 
Learn more about Steve and Scriptation here:
https://scriptation.com

Episode 7: An Artful Pivot with Emma Zbiral-Teller

Emma received her BA from Hampshire College with a focus in experimental film and is a recent graduate from Adler University with a Masters Degree in Counseling and Art Therapy. Her in-depth experiences working with youth in public school systems has offered her insight into the strengths and needs of the communities she serves. She utilizes that knowledge to support youth, families and communities directly where they're at by using person-centered approaches that create encouraging, honest, trauma-informed and culturally-aware spaces. This approach fosters creative thinking, cognitive growth, mindfulness, social emotional learning and kinesthetic and sensory processing. She enjoys entomology, plant care, animals and dystopian sci-fi narratives.
 
https://www.openstudioproject.org/
https://www.emmazt.com/

Episode 6: Hollywood, Put the White Gloves Away! with Kathryn Brunet

Kathryn Brunet worked as a camera assistant in Los Angeles from 2012 to 2018. She now lives in London, working as a reference librarian at The British Library Special Collections. She also teaches workshops on western palaeography, medieval manuscript production, and printed book history. She completed a master's degree in Library and Information Science from UCLA in 2020 and a master's degree in medieval studies from University College London in 2023. She has many hobbies, including visiting historical sites around the UK, pub trivia, learning French, playing tennis, historical dancing, and recently learning to crochet. 

Episode 5: The Long and Winding Road to Stability with Matt Vaessen

The life of Matt Vaessen is a winding path of exploration and reinvention. Originally from Green Bay, WI, Matt began his journey with the U.S. Army, where he developed skills in security management before transitioning to the world of film and media. His work in production and locations departments spans numerous documentaries, films, commercials, and TV shows.
Matt’s career took a new direction when he moved to Chicago and joined a then-small start-up called GrubHub, where he led a data management team. His professional journey also included stints in Central Illinois, Door County, WI, Chautauqua, NY, and San Diego, CA before returning to Chicago. Most recently, Matt joined Brighside Benefits, focusing on financial health and crisis support as a Customer Support Associate on the Community Resource and Research Team.
Outside of work, Matt is happily married to Adina, and together they share their home with two beloved cats, Ellie and Rowan. Matt enjoys life in Chicago’s Albany Park neighborhood, where he continues to embrace new challenges and adventures.
https://www.gobrightside.com/
 

Episode 4: In Pursuit of a Slow Culture with Kyle Glenn

Kyle is a musician and filmmaker who believes in the unequivocal power of story to connect people to themselves, and each other. He received his BFA in Digital Media Production from The Art Institute of Portland in 2008 and currently works as a freelance video instructor and producer - crafting socially responsible stories and teaching digital storytelling.
 
Kyle has spent countless hours on productions ranging from on-the-fly reality shows to full-scale theatrical films in a variety of roles, mainly as an AD and PA.  He worked on the productions ‘Grimm,’ ‘Portlandia,’ ‘Leverage,’ ‘Little People Big World,’ and ‘Gone,’ among others.  When not building community through story, Kyle likes to spend his time in nature, cooking with friends, and creating moments of mindfulness in pursuit of a slow culture.
Kyle is also a prolific singer/songwriter. You can see him perform his original music several nights a month around the Pacific Northwest and you can hear him anytime on Spotify and learn about his tours, merch and such at kyleglennmusic.com.  He is working on his first full-length album coming out in September 2024.
 
website: kyleglennmusic.com
IG: @kyleglennmusic
Kickstarter: Donate to Kyle's Kickstarter!
Evidence of the Sasquatch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srlJdaMO86g

Episode 3: Hunting for Stability with JR Huntington

Eldridge “JR” Huntington and his wife, Gina, moved to Portland, OR from Chicago in 2009. Nearly a decade later, he considers himself a champion of the city.
His background in film production and design - including work on local projects like Grimm and the Librarians - has found a harmonious balance with his career as a real estate agent and creator of House Hunter PDX. The creativity, multi-tasking, and analytical approach required of both are what help him best serve his wonderful clients and tell the story of Portland.​
IG: @househunterpdx
www.househunterpdx.co

Episode 2: Acts of Service with Aaron Ward

Aaron Ward has always enjoyed taking care of people and really listening to what they need to feel comfortable at work and in their interactions with him.  This has been a common theme with all of his jobs-from taking care of children, managing a family owned pizza place, to his work in film as craft service and now  his new career in paratransit. He’s always enjoyed working and providing a service to the community in which he resides.
Aaron is the Father of an 11 year old boy, Leifur, and loves going to concerts, playing disc golf and enjoying the moments of breath and calm that he can find. 
 
https://oldschoolcraft.com/
https://transdevna.jobs/
 

Episode 1: Finding What You Love with Laura DiFiglio

Laura currently is a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual. She has been in the financial services industry for three years now and is a board certified financial planner (CFP®) and a chartered financial consultant (ChFC®). Previous to this she worked in the camera department on films and television shows for the better part of a decade. She currently is based in Los Angeles, CA and has a wealth management practice that is tailored towards those in the entertainment industry.IG: @laura_difiglioemail: laura.difiglio@nm.comwebsite: https://www.northwesternmutual.com/financial/advisor/laura-difiglio