Production Team

  • John McDonald

    Producer/Director

    John McDonaldA USC Film School alumnus, John has been a filmmaker for the past 35 years. A member of the Directors Guild of America and the International Documentary Association, he has made several award-winning documentaries, including Cotton Eyed Joe, The Ghost Mountain Experiment, and On The Day. He is currently filming Mule: Living on the Outside, a feature-length documentary that takes an intimate look at an intriguing, but controversial character. John is also an avid piper and a founding member of the Pasadena Scottish Pipes & Drums.

  • Jim Allan

    Producer/Sound Designer

    Jim AllanThe co-owner and chief engineer of Post Haste Sound and Post Haste Digital, Jim has over 30 years of experience as a motion picture and television sound engineer in many areas of the performing arts. He has worked professionally at the highest levels not only as a musician, sound mixer, and stage manager, but also as a technical engineer and filmmaker, providing post production sound and video services for major studio clients and independents. A former surfer and skateboarder from Venice, California, Jim still performs regularly as a blues musician and bagpiper.

  • Stuart Asbjornsen

    Director of Photography

    Stuart Asbjornsen

    Stuart has extensive experience in both documentary and episodic television productions. He has worked in many parts of the world, including China, Nigeria, Chile, Tierra del Fuego and Afghanistan. His projects have aired on PBS, Discovery, National Geographic and The Learning Channel. Stuart has worked with John McDonald on a number of films over the years, including On The Day.

  • Sergio Palermo

    Editor

    Sergio PalermoA graduate of Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, Sergio has worked on a range of projects from music videos and commercials to corporate videos, documentaries and feature films. Besides his involvement with On The Day, his documentary work includes Los Zafiros: Music from the Edge of Time and End Game: Ethics and Values in America. Stuart also worked on the Millennium Machine for the Museum of Tolerance in LA and the Holocaust Project in NYC, both permanent installations utilizing multiple streams of video on several screens.

  • Janet Hollander

    Production Coordinator

    Janet HollanderJanet became involved in “all things Scottish” when her daughter began taking Scottish Highland Dance lessons. She served on the Mastery of Scottish Arts Board of Directors, an organization, which brought together the world’s best bagpipers, drummers and dancers for a Winter School and Concert on the Olympic Peninsula in Seabeck, Washington. She ended up running Winter School for three years before it was taken over by the Celtic Arts Foundation, under which it thrives to this day. She started playing the pipes while involved with MSA, and continues to play for her own enjoyment.

  • Ian Asbjornsen

    Assistant Camera/Sound Recordist

    Ian AsbjornsenIan has worked as a camera operator and directed music videos for national and international television and online. A graduate of the USC Film School, he was camera operator on 20 episodes of SAF3, an international television series starring Dolph Lundgren and J.R. Martinez shot in Cape Town, South Africa.  His short film Love Song won Best Student Film at the 2013 Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival.  He currently edits and shoots for the urban design documentary series City Walk.

Controlled Chaos Design