DIRECTORS STATEMENT

I met Rae Ripple on the set of an advertising shoot. While we were in the throws of delivering something for the commercial world, there was the undeniable sense that something more meaningful was at play with this incredibly dynamic individual we had cast. She had a soulfulness, a bit of pain behind her eyes, a heart that, while bold and robust, had a few bandages holding it together - as well as a rare sense of humor and astonishing creativity. 

I knew that I had to come back and visit with Rae, tell her story outside of the mandates of an advertisement, and try to show the world what I had discovered. People like Rae are so important because they stand as landmarks to overcoming adversity. She gave me strength to confront my own obstacles, not least of which was having the courage to make something meaningful to me and, in turn, to Rae and all those involved.

Our goal in telling Rae’s story was to share her journey and highlight the resilience and determination of those facing similar obstacles. It's easy to get lost in the struggles of life and succumb to negative thoughts, but Rae's story shows us that it's possible to persevere and create the life we want. As we worked together to bring this story to life, I found the experience immensely therapeutic and healing. While our paths may differ, I learned much from Rae's unwavering strength and determination.

Jason Haymond / Producer + Executive Producer

Jason Haymond is a New York-based producer with over 20 years of experience collaborating with award-winning directors, cinematographers, production companies and clients.  Jason's portfolio includes work in the US and internationally on commercials, music videos, short films, and digital campaigns. With a strong creative eye, Jason partners with filmmakers to bring narratives to life and take projects to the next level. 

Daniel Stewart / Director of Photography

Daniel Stewart is a New York-based filmmaker born and raised in Queens, NY. Growing up in a diverse cultural environment enabled him to see the world from a completely unique perspective. Later on in life, cinematography became one tool that he chose to help express himself and his experiences and communicate his vision and truth to the rest of the world. His passion for filmmaking and learning about other cultures and people has dramatically impacted his work. Daniel's passion, talent, and eye have led him to work on several successful films, commercials, and documentaries. The ability to influence others emotionally through visuals and storytelling is what he finds most inspiring.

Nick Crane / Composer

Nick Crane founded Racket Club in 2019. Since then, he's curated a team of top industry talent, designed two state-of-the-art studios, and expanded the company from New York to Los Angeles and Atlanta. Along the way, he's written hundreds of tracks for brands like Nike, Volvo, Johnson & Johnson, and Ford and scored several critically acclaimed short films. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Jen, daughter Margot, and dog Darlene.

Becky Mathai / Music Clearance

Becky Mathai is our Associate Producer/Music Supervisor and resident "music nerd". A Philadelphia native, she got her start as an intern studying under the engineers at Milkboy the Studio. During her senior year of college, under mentorship from Converse, she helped launch Outer Voice Records, a South Asian American label. Her passion for music supervision and A&R work led her to Racket Club, starting out as our production intern. Becky is committed to opening up more doors for underrepresented composers and hopes to provide more sync education for BIPOC artists.

Jay Zaretsky / Writer - Executive Producer

Jay Zaretsky is a native of New York City who splits his time between Venice Beach and Joshua Tree. Jay first began writing his first feature film, Asher, when he was fifteen riding the A train to class at the prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts where he studied fine art and drama. Asher premiered in 2019 starring Ron Perlman, Famke Jansen, Richard Dreyfus, and Peter Facinelli. In New York, Jay pursued journalism, interning at The New Yorker, writing music reviews for several notable publications, and programming the Tribeca Talks series at the Tribeca Film Festival. Upon moving to California Jay contributed creatively to the first two seasons of FX's Justified. Jay was the staff writer at Prettybird for a year and half and then went on to freelance, writing copy, developing concepts, and treatment writing for dozens of different outfits and directors: Apple, Beats X Dre, Cierto Tequila, Furlined, Daniels, Speck + Gordon, Anthony Mandler, Alma Har’el, Darren Aronofsky, MJZ, RSA, Tool, Smuggler, Psyop, Chromista, Stink, Farm League, The Mill, Anonymous Content, Framestore, the list goes on. His most recent works include the biopic of Teddy Pendergrass for Tyrese Gibson, the western, Marauder for XYZ Films, A Different Beyond directed by Matthew Libatique and produced by Darren Aronofsky, and Executive Producer of Joe Mensch’s Caviar. Piano Man, Jay’s first outing as writer/director, was selected for the 2023, 27th LA Shorts International Film Festival. When he’s not writing Jay can be found camped out in the corral with his horse Willow, but he’s rarely not writing

Nikolay Antonov / Sound Design and Mix

Nikolay Antonov is a sound designer and music supervisor based in Berlin. Creating emotional sound narratives through a balance between minimalism and hyperrealism, between music and sounds, between what we hear and not, he works with documentaries, fiction and hybrid films, animation, music videos, and commercials. Nikolay started his career in 2013 with a multi-award-winning animated short film “Other Shores“ by Vasilly Chirkov, which premiered at Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The 7-minute piece was his first story told with sound. In 2015-2016 he created sound for an almost no-dialogue 16 mm short film “Douggy“ by Matvey Fiks screened at Locarno Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and many others.

Since 2014 Nikolay has worked in commercials, where his first breakthrough was a 2018 Webby Award-winning short film “Daniel Arnold | Odds and Ends“. Music edit, sound design and mix — all of the sonic elements became ‘sound’ as a whole, driving the film through the streets of New York. In 2019-2020 Nikolay worked on his first feature film “Babai“, where sound plays an essential part in the exploration of childhood trauma. The film was a part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam Bright Future Competition and IndieLisboa Official Competition.

In 2019 Nikolay started an ongoing collaboration with OAMC by Luke Meier (Jil Sander, Supreme) and Arnaud Faeh (Carhartt WIP), creating the audio-visual identity of the brand through a series of works.

In 2021 Nikolay worked on a Grammy 2021 CBS Promo campaign: he stepped in on the early stages of pre-production and edited music & sound before the videos were actually shot. The editing team was following Nikolay’s lead, working in a sound-driven workflow. Nikolay’s creative vision set the tone and pace of the campaign.

In 2023, Nikolay teamed up with sound designer Andrew Siedenburg to work on Lucy Kerr’s debut feature film Family Portrait, which premiered at 76º Locarno Film Festival — Concorso Cineasti del presente and won Boccalino d’Oro Locarno 2023 — Best Director. The film got numerous positive reviews.

Jackson Morton / Executive Producer

As the only child of commercial directors Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel, advertising was always a part of Jackson’s world, and he’s been captivated by broader aspects of the creative media industry since before he can remember. It’s led him from studying film at New York University and photography at Parsons School of Design to co-founding his own production company for the next generation of directors, artists, and influencers. Jackson is focused on the purest form of creativity whether it’s a small, unique online video or a big-budget commercial campaign. Jackson’s destiny was clear from his first breath, but it’s been his choice to follow it.

Joe Care / Executive Producer

Joe Care creates a business environment where risks are seen as commonplace and innovation is seen as normal. A connoisseur of advertising, media, and technology, he grew up in Los Angeles, surrounded by film and television and everything that it has to offer. Influenced by his father who is a commercial director, fulfilling a creative legacy is important to Joe. He studied film production at Chapman University and began a career in production, freelancing for many top tier commercial companies. For Joe, the big picture is taking something from concept to design in the most intuitive way possible.

Pedro de Oliveira / Executive Producer

Pedro began his career in Rio de Janeiro when he was a teenager. In 1995, he moved to California where he took a deep dive into every aspect of production and has since taken part in a multitude of projects across 7 continents. With more than 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, he's collaborated on critically acclaimed commercials, music videos, films, and television series. He’s worked with a plethora of celebrities, outstanding production houses, and a-list brands throughout his illustrious career, including Apple, Coke, VW, Nike, Mercedes, Beats by Dre, Johnnie Walker, Delta Airlines, BMW, AT&T, Verizon, Samsung, Lexus, Google, Cadillac, American Express, GEICO, Budweiser, Honda, and Heineken