Cat Chapman Smith Email & Phone Number

P/T back office pro for Sparkypants, Mohawk and UX is Fine. I manage HR and Operations for small businesses and am also a consultant for start-ups.

Code in the Schools is a non-profit dedicated to providing computer science instruction to under-served and under-represented youth in Baltimore. www.codeintheschools.org

Originally joined Bully! in an EP role to help grow the capabilities of a small, extremely creative studio. Leveraged my own work experience founding a studio to help define work flow and business processes, overseeing all aspects of production and operations.As Director of Production I worked with the CEO evolving the company to handle global growth as the studio broadened its staff and capabilities to include game development, mobile applications and innovative emerging tech production.

Co-created artsee smartsee, an award winning baby DVD. Responsible for all sales, marketing and PR (product won 10 national awards including Parenting Magazine Mom-Tested! DVD of the Year & Creative Child Magazine DVD of the Year); exhibited at the 2009 NYC Toy Fair and attained a national distribution deal; wrote all press materials including releases, one-sheets, postcards, website copy, product copy, etc; negotiated and reviewed all legal contracts (distribution, copyright, trademark, product and music licensing); satisfied all corporate responsibilities (set up 2nd S corp) and bookkeeping (experienced QuickBooks user, submitted monthly and quarterly payroll, city and state taxes and forms).

Estimated, negotiated and scheduled hundreds of jobs for ALP’s print department; established and maintained excellent relationships with crew, clients, vendors and freelance personnel (graphic designers, copywriters). Produced print material for magazines, newspapers, billboards, press kits, media packaging, POP, in-store signage, bus wrap, direct mail collateral, and network upfronts. Clients included: Fine Living, American Movie Classics, Hallmark Channel, MTV, VH1, Country Music Television, The Food Network and more.

Worked with the development team to pitch, budget and schedule two original animated television series; also hired to bid complex visual effects sequences for a New Line Cinema feature film.

Producer of Hope, a professional live action short feature film (~25 minutes) directed by Ron Brinkmann and shot on 35mm film. Responsible for making this movie on a shoestring budget; hired a 50+ person cast (SAG) and accomplished crew (many donating time & expertise); negotiated favorable deals with top industry vendors and convinced the following companies to donate to our production: 35mm cameras from Panavision, lighting package from Hollywood Rentals, 35mm raw film stock from Kodak, all telecine transfers from Hollywood Digital, and more; moved company to 5 different locations in a 9-day shoot schedule (which included 4 exterior night shoots). Oversaw 70+ visual effects shots created by top animators/artists, the sound effects design and mix. Final output to 35mm film with SDDS sound. Polished project submitted to film festivals and industry executives.

One of the 3 founding partners of Blur Studio, a computer animation, design and visual effects company specializing in creating quality digital imagery for feature films, television (series, commercials, movies) and games. With a $20K loan, we grew a multi-million dollar company, hired ~25 talented employees in the first three years, and established a successful business.• Responsible for all aspects of PRODUCTION:Head of sales, established & maintained strong relationships with top industry producers, executives, creatives, & production personnel.- Estimated projects, negotiated contracts & authorized all jobs; producer and executive produced 100+ projects- Scheduled & oversaw all production teams (c.g. supervisors, designers, animators, producers, coordinators and production personnel) for the entire facility.- Head of development of in-house content—packaged and pitched film & tv series projects; optioned book.• Responsible for all aspects of BUSINESS AFFAIRS:- Chairman, officer & member of the board of directors; satisfied corporate formalities.- Increased revenue from zero to over $5 million within 3 years.- Administrator of all financial matters including preparing & managing all budgets; prepared financial projections; interacted with vendors and suppliers.- Liaison to all accounting & legal professionals.- Negotiated financing for operating capital; interacted with lenders.- Created strategic relationships with Microsoft, Intel, Intergraph and Kinetix.• Responsible for all aspects of HUMAN RESOURCES:- Hiring, supervision, compensation, performance reviews & dismissals.- Set up & maintained comprehensive benefits package.- Motivated & counseled employees; coordinated successful employee recognition program.• Responsible for all aspects of MARKETING and PR:- Numerous article placements in the trades & top magazine publications; wrote press releases; prominently placed Blur at trade shows (SIGGRAPH, NAB, etc.)

Oversaw all productions in the multimedia department; budgeted projects; coordinated all jobs including title sequences for Speed and Imax Wings of Courage and CGI sequences for feature film, Johnny Mnemonic; liaison to other departments; office manager; scheduled creative staff; client contact. Previously executive assistant to Sr. VP Creative and Technical Affairs.

I started at Big City as an intern, but was soon thereafter hired as a Production Coordinator. Eventually I was promoted to Producer and then, Executive Producer. In this role, I was administrator of all studio functions for the professional photography studio. Responsibilities included: estimation, negotiation and authorization of all jobs and projects; supervision of staff, all photo shoots, and the schedules of five professional photographers; management of building operations and maintenance (5 floors, 4 stages also rented to freelance photographers when available); personnel hiring/firing; approval of all studio and job purchase orders, time sheets and invoices.