Film Academy Instructors

Tri-C Film Academy courses are led by film industry leaders and are meant to guide students in this transition to our new normal. Learn more about each instructor below and what course they teach.

Stephen R. Campanella is an Emmy award winning producer whose vision, perseverance and integrity have made him sought-after by television and film productions alike. He has brought his unique leadership to hundreds of episodes of nationally televised programs, network specials, feature films and commercials.

Campanella has distinct gifts for inspiring others and assembling dynamic teams. His solid management principles, tenacity and ability to forge a concept into reality have brought life to countless productions for more than twenty years.

He is a member of the Producers Guild of America and currently is involve in the development of several feature films as he continues to produce and freelance through his company BELLTOWER Productions, Inc. Campanella currently teaches ZFLM-1044: Becoming a Producer.

BELLTOWER Website
Stephen Campanella on IMDB

Rebecca DeNoewer graduated with a BFA in Motion Picture Production and a minor in Business from Wright State University. She has been working in the film industry for nine years on over 35 film projects.

DeNoewer started as a Costume Intern on the film, Lilith, a low-budget project shot in Cleveland. She quickly worked her way up to Costume Supervisor, responsible for managing and budgeting the entire costume department. Some of the projects she’s worked on as Costume Supervisor are: Fox’s TV series Empire and Hulu’s TV series Freakish, plus many local films including All the Bright Places, Little Evil, My Friend Dahmer, The Bye Bye Man and My Blind Brother. Other films she’s worked on are The Avengers and Fast and Furious 8 in the position of Background Costumer.

She has also worked as a Principal Costumer, responsible for working directly with the on-screen talent such as actors Tom Hardy, Nick Offerman, Katherine Heigel, Milo Ventimiglia and Linda Cardellini. DeNoewer currently teaches ZFLM-1042: Costuming in Film.

Rebecca DeNoewer on IMDB

Mark Andrew Hamer is an Emmy and Gold Telly winning filmmaker in Cleveland, Ohio. He specializes as an editor, colorist and visual effects artist, and is currently the Vice President and Creative Director at Garage Creative Studios in Brecksville. His work can be seen on features like GFunk, Madtown and I See You. He is currently working on features that will be released in 2020 that include Enormity of Life and State of the Unity.

In addition to his feature work, Hamer has won numerous Addy awards for his work in the commercial industry. He has been a production and post specialist for national TV spots for companies like Marathon Petroleum, Sherwin-Williams and General Electric.

When Hamer is not working on films he is an avid writer. His latest book titled “Growing Up Irish” is in bookstores now. He is an advisor to the media arts department of the West Shore Career - Technical District. Hamer is also actively engaged in the Cleveland advertising and marketing community and serves on the board of the American Advertising Federation (AAF). He is a Cleveland AAF Rising Star 4 under 40 award winner, a Crain's Cleveland Business 40 under 40 award winner and was named Cleveland's Best Director by Cleveland Scene Magazine. Hamer currently teaches ZFLM-1040: Narrative Post-Production Workflow.

Mark Hamer on IMDB

Richard Maurer has dedicated his career spanning 30 years in the music and recording arts industry. He is an award-winning sound designer, audio recording engineer, re-recording mixer, foley artist, musician, composer, voice talent and educator. He is the Associate Creative Director, Sound Designer at Garage Creative Studios.

Maurer’s sound design work and music compositions have been featured in documentaries, feature films, short films, TV commercials, radio spots, Internet ads, and corporate and non-profit videos. His sound design has been featured on an Emmy award-winning project and his work has garnered 4 Emmy nominations, 1 Grammy nomination, and numerous Addy and Telly awards.

His work has been broadcast across the networks with local and nationally branded clients such as the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers, Cleveland Browns, McDonalds, General Electric, Kay Jewelers, Vail Resorts, Goodyear, Meineke, Sherwin-Williams, Marathon, among many others. His recent feature film work includes The Enormity of Life, G Funk, and CAF, Rise Above: WASP which travels the country in a fully immersive mobile movie theater.

His dedication to the community includes ongoing projects with his alma mater, The University of Akron and its Music and Steel Drum programs. He has mentored interns and has been a guest speaker at Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), Cuyahoga Valley Career Center (CVCC), Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), and the National High School Institute (NHSI) at Northwestern University. He currently teaches ZFLM-1047: Audio/Sound Design Post-Production Techniques.

Richard Maurer on IMDB

Charles C. Moore began his filmmaking career as a Production Assistant in his hometown of Cleveland, OH on such films as Welcome to Collinwood, Antwone Fisher and American Spendor. Recently he wrote, directed and produced the award-winning feature film Madtown starring Emmy-nominated actor Milo Ventimiglia (NBC Drama Series, This Is Us) which received a 2018 US theatrical & digital distribution release from SP/Sony Pictures.

Moore also produced the documentary Anatomy of a Film, and in-depth study of Stanley Kubrick’s early anti-war masterpiece Paths of Glory (starring Kirk Douglas), and produced & directed the documentary Catching Salinger, about the reclusive life of author J.D. Salinger.

In 2019, he wrote and directed the short film The Simple Path (produced by the Tri-C Film Academy) which is currently doing a film festival run with over 10 official selections, three nominations and two category wins to-date.

An alum of Second City, Moore has performed and written with an assortment of sketch and improvisational troupes over the years, and has appeared in various national commercials, feature and short films.

As a writer, his first screenplay The Pitchman was selected for Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope Writers Workshop in Belize.

Moore is currently developing, co-directing and producing a 10-part documentary series Live at the Agora, a tribute to the incredible rock venues that have earned their spot in rock-n-roll mythology. He teaches ZFLM-1041: Screenwriting Fundamentals.

Charles Moore on IMDB

Adam White, a graduate of the film program from Wright State University, has won multiple regional Emmy Awards for his films The Restorers, Red Tail Reborn and The Restorers: They Were All Volunteers. White produced the film Beyond the Powderwhich, which is currently airing on PBS. He has also received an Emmy Award for cinematography for his work capturing beautiful imagery for the PBS program Generations: Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

White and his company Hemlock Films were a part of the rare “Special Achievement” award from the International Council of Airshows in 2011 for the film Rise Above. Along with the seven aviation documentaries he’s created with Hemlock Films, he produced the new film Rise Above: WASP. His documentary series The Restorers can be seen internationally in six countries including the U.S. White recently won the Best Documentary Emmy for Hemlock’s film Space Chase USA for PBS.

With over 20 years of experience, White has worked on most every type of media in various roles. The majority of his time is spent working as a director/cinematographer with a specialty in SteadiCam working on big budget Hollywood films, TV shows, award winning documentaries and commercials. He is a licensed pilot and makes a pretty good bowl of chili. White currently teaches ZFLM-1048: Cinematography 101 and Beyond.

Hemlock Films Website
Adam White on IMDB

Kara White is a producer, director, writer and the co-owner of Cleveland-based Hemlock Films. Her most recent film is Rise Above: WASP, produced for the Commemorative Air Force as part of a traveling educational exhibit about the women pilots in WWII. In 2019, she co-produced the Emmy winning Space Chase USA for WUCF about the Space Coast and the Apollo program airing nationally on PBS.

She made her directorial debut with the documentary Beyond the Powder for PBS, about the first women’s cross-country air race and those that continue to fly the race today. It continues to air nationally on PBS. She has also produced the Emmy award-winning aviation documentary series titled The Restorers airing on PBS, a documentary web series for the Texas Flying Legends narrated by Mike Rowe, and the film Rise Above: Tuskegee Airmen for the CAF Red Tail Squadron’s traveling educational exhibit. White also is a co-host and producer of Warbird Radio’s Air Raid Radio, a show about women in aviation; which was included in the 2016 Edward R. Murrow Award for overall excellence. White currently teaches ZFLM-1046: Making a Documentary .

Hemlock Films Website
Kara White on IMDB

Sarah Willgrube has been working as a script supervisor in the film and television industry for the past 10 years. She attended Savannah College of Art and Design where she studied video and film and where she first learned what a script supervisor does. She has honed her craft while working all over the country including NYC, Los Angeles and, of course, Cleveland.

Recently, she worked with the Russo Brothers on their most recent movie filmed in Cleveland, Cherry. She also traveled to South Africa while working with Bear Grylls on the choose your adventure show You vs. Wild.

You can also find her name in the credits on Adam Ruins Everything, Happy Death Day, The Bye Bye Man, Kings of Summer and numerous Hallmark and Syfy movies.

Willgrube is an avid blogger, artist and stand up paddle boarder. She loves the outdoors and has aspirations of climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro on her next big birthday. Willgrube currently teaches ZFLM-1043: What Does a Script Supervisor Do?.