My Story
I have been drawing since I was able to pick up a writing implement. My drawing talents excelled in school where I won many awards at art shows. In my days at Baldwin High School, I took up Graphic Arts to expand my talents. In parallel to my interest in art, I began acting in summer theater and would later appear in TV commercials and land extra rolls in feature films. Being inspired early on by TV shows like The Monkees and The Partridge Family, I took up learning the drums at the age of 5 and later bass guitar at 15. Music soon took over as my main passion as I got a taste for playing in local bands and began to compose original songs. By the time I was 19, I was playing in front of large crowds and opening for national acts.
As a young adult, I decided to put my acting to use by combining my improvisational skills with my natural ability to mimic famous voices, such as Bullwinkle, and began making regular appearances on the Scott Paulsen Radio Show on Pittsburgh's WDVE. I also got my first taste at producing music as I entered the studio to co-produce a charity song to which I penned the lyrics. Dream Makers was a local "We Are The World" type effort where I gathered musicians of all types from around the Pittsburgh area to take part in singing and playing on the song that would get notable air play as well as a Rockumentary that would air on TV; thus, I came to discover yet another talent of mine - team building. I believed in the "We are the Dream Project" and got others to see my vision for it, and talked every one of the artists into donating their time and efforts to make the project successful. Five years later, I was at it again - only this time, I decided to produce a full-length CD of local bands performing classic rock hits. The Power-hitters Tribute to Classic Rock was recorded and released to raise money for the United Cerebral Palsy Foundation.
A year later, I fell in love with the Internet and the abilities that the home computer could deliver. I started teaching myself how to build Web sites. My vision was to start building sites for the bands that I would produce and incorporate this talent into my music production company. To further my advancement on my design capabilities, I decided to attend Duquesne University in Pittsburgh to obtain a degree in Multimedia Technologies. It was here that I gravitated towards everything related to Multimedia Design - including computer animation.
Atlas Design Group was formed in December of 2001, and by 2005 I had built the division up with two other employees, four freelancers and a book of business. I was then offered the opportunity to buy the company for no more than work-on-trade. I and my new business partner, Tim Gerwing, would look to take Atlas Design Group to the next level as our own company in 2006.
In 2009, I formed the division that was to become Zoetifex Entertainment to focus more on visual effects and animation for TV and Film. A few years later, an opportunity arose for me to put together a demonstration of Zoetifex' animation capabilities, for a gentleman in New York who was looking for a company to produce a new animated TV Series based on vintage radio and TV audio. I came up with the idea of taking the audio from Alfred Hitchcock's five-minute long trailer for his movie "The Birds." I edited the audio down to a minute and began coming up with unique visuals that put a twist on the actual audio. I then had to put my team-building skills to use to round up some of the most talented animators that were available for work. Zoetifex was coming to life, and my vision was to build the studio from the ground up - with the key ingredient being the talent. The team I was able to build had experience working with such companies as Disney, Blue Sky, Digital Domain, Imagi, Electronic Arts and more. The end result was even better than I had hoped for. The client instantly fell in love with the piece - and so have tens of thousands of viewers on the Internet.
I have been leading, creating and entertaining for most of my life. From my background in music, to acting and voice-overs, to my artistic skills and award-winning designs. I have unique, creative ideas and possess an ability to round up the most talented people available on a moments notice. I believe, and what's more - I have been able to get others to believe in what I'm doing.
Services
Below is a short list of some of the services I provide to my clients.
Digital Media
From Web Design to Interactive Applications and Internet Advertising, I have over 15 years of experience to make your project look clean and professional.
Video Production
I have over 25 years of experience in the Film Industry. From Corporate Videos to TV and Web Commercials, I work with some of the best in the industry to deliver a top-notch production.
Animation
I work with animators that have worked for Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, Blue Sky and more. I have experience to deliver both 2D and CG (3D) high quality animation productions.
Graphic Design
I can deliver all forms of digital artwork for advertising, internal corporate use, web sites, business cards and stationary. I also specialize in new logo designs and re-designs.
Accolades
Winner of Platinum Award Level MarCom Awards - 2021 for This Video produced for Apple Box Studios.
Winner of a Silver Telly Award for Tourism Marketing for This Video produced for Apple Box Studios and Visit Pittsburgh.
Giving advice and guiding curriculum for Pittsburgh Technical College as a member of their Advisory Board since 2001.
Technical Advisor and Board of Directors for Shekinah Ranch Camp since 2007.
Senior Judge for Annual Web Awards (www.webaward.org) since 2001.
Member of Pixel Corps since 2003
Winner: Best Visual Effects (Honorable Mention) - 2007 48 Hour Film Project - Pittsburgh
Winner: Best Costumes (Honorable Mention) - 2007 48 Hour Film Project - Pittsburgh
3rd Place: Audience Favorite - 2008 48 Hour Film Project - Pittsburgh
My Talent
SOFTWARE AND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE
Producing
Directing
Writing
Client Relationships
Staff Training
Public Speaking
Photoshop
Illustrator
InDesign
After Effects
Premiere
Audition
Dreamweaver
Acrobat
Maya
Modo
Cinema 4D
HTML & DHTML
JavaScript
PHP
ActionScript
MySQL
UI/UX
and more...

Career Objective
To serve as creative director/producer for companies that will allow me to utilize my creative, communication, leadership and management skills, and to benefit those who are focused on continued improvement of their creative product, organizational growth and the success of their clients.
Career Highlights
• 18 ✚ years experience as creative director art director
• Served as Producer/Director/Creative Director for dozens of VFX projects and 2D & 3D animated films/projects
• Solely responsible for all marketing collateral for the #1 Broker/Dealer in Pittsburgh (per Pittsburgh Business Times)
• Assembled a leadership team to purchase Atlas Design Group from BlueVase Securities
• Serving as featured judge for the Web Awards since 2001
• Branded, ID’d and helped develop UI/UX for new social media mobile app
• Providing expert advice and helping shape the curriculum of Pittsburgh Technical College as a member of their Board of Advisors since 2001
• Grew Atlas Design Group to over 100 clients, both locally and nationally, in more than a dozen markets within 6 years
• Conceived and lead production of Piece of the Pride (flash-based on-line application) for CalU and Nationally
• Conceptualized and created animated intro to CalU Football games for their stadium’s new Jumbotron
• Conceptualized and Produced an animated short that has appeared in several film festivals world-wide
• Created Motion Graphics Animation for VisitPittsburgh that won the 2013 Silver Telly Award
• Public Speaker to students entering into the field of animation and other creative design fields and to other business owners in the industry
• A career of helping companies from start-up to Fortune 500 realize a vision and/or new direction for their Brand
Career History
Education
Duquesne University: Pittsburgh, PA 15282
Bachelors Degree Multimedia Technology
Courses in Multimedia Technology including: computer graphics and computer animation.
Baldwin High School: Pittsburgh, PA 15236
Courses included 3 years of Graphic Arts and 3 years of Spanish.
Community Service
Eucharistic Minister – St. Elizabeth Church – Baldwin, PA
Volunteer design work for Shekinah Ranch, Passionists Overseas Missions and Diana Irey – Washington County Commissioner and others
Unpaid Public Speaking engagements at schools such as California University of PA (CalU) to help guide those entering their college education
Testimonial
Enlivenhealth - Opioid Awareness Video
Video Production
Jinzgo App Promo Video
Video Production
Ansys - Discovery Workflow Video
Video Production
Ansys - Medini for Cyber Security Video
Video Production
Apple Box Studios Infographics Promo
Video Production
Teletracking: Knowledge Bridge Video
Video Production
3 Rivers Studios - Creative Development
Creative Development
Pittsburgh Quarterly - Website
Web Development
Seton Hill University - Centennial Celebration
TV Commercial
Apple Box Studios - Poordezynosis
Animation and Video
Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI)
Animation and Video
Northwood Realty Services
Animation and Video
United Refractories, Co.
Brochure Design
United Refractories, Co.
Brochure Design
qMail Logo
Logo Designs
UPMC - Big Data
Animation and Video
ANSYS 17 - 10x
Animation and Video, Logo Design
North of Mason Dixon (NOMaD)
CD Design and Packaging
John Hachey, LLC
Brochure Design
Amsax Technologies
Web Development
Mother of all Sportswear
Logo Designs, Marketing Collateral
Paul G. Benedum Jr. Foundation
Web Development, Logo Design
Jim Beam Tailgate Commercial
Animation and Video
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Birds
Animation and Video
CalU Vulcan Football Intro
Animation and Video
Parkinson Foundation of Western PA
Web Development
Barney's Visit to Pittsburgh
Animation and Video
ALCOA: Sequential Alloy Casting
Animation and Video
Laura Baron
Web Development, Logo Design
Bon Journey
Logo Designs, Marketing Collateral
Beyond These Walls
Animation and Video
Demo Reel
This is my working production demo reel - updated May 2019.
My updated Demo Reel that is a diverse display of my career's work. A lot of my career is in here. Freelance work, Atlas Design Group, zoetifex Studios, Apple Box Studios and The Chronicles of Christ. All are represented in the minute and a half reel. For a better look at some of these projects, I invite you to check out my Animation and Video Portfolio.
If you have any questions about my work, or you have a video project that you need my help with, please feel free to Contact Me.
My Video Demo Reel
Updated May 2019
My apologies as the Demo Reels are experiencing issues with being embedded.
Please view this Demo Reel Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqc7-SBKb3I
Manny Moe Demo Reel
Combined work of myself and Thad Ciechanowski
My apologies as the Demo Reels are experiencing issues with being embedded.
Please view this Demo Reel Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh7jeMZ6SpU
Contact Michael
I am currently available for freelancing.
You can contact me using the form below, or at the information below:
My Freelance rates are negotiable and vary from project to project depending on type and scope of project. I can also work on a flat scale if you have a fixed budget for the project you need help with.