MARIA SARACEN - Creative Director
Having missed her opportunity to become a cowgirl (so she could ride horses all day), Maria enrolled at Rhodes University in South Africa, where she graduated among the top of her class with a B.A., majoring in journalism and linguistics. For a while it seemed that she was destined to become a news reporter, but following several incidents involving bullets and the growing realization that she wanted more creative freedom, Maria went on to earn a postgraduate diploma in copywriting and marketing. In Cape Town, she worked for Publicis International with clients such as IMAX, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, and many other national and international brands. Since 2000, Maria has held the position of promotions producer at Rhode Island PBS. In this capacity, she is responsible for the scripting, graphic design and editing of on-air promotional content. She has also produced several community involvement programs and assists directors in a variety of production roles. In 2002, Maria and Scott founded 3rd Story Productions to produce documentary and educational films. Their first film, Ghost & Vampire legends of Rhode Island, won a 2004 first-place national Telly award, and was nominated for a 2003 New England Emmy award. The company has since grown to produce more documentary films, corporate videos, commercials and independent films. In her spare time, Maria loves to travel (22 countries and counting), write, and take on all kinds of "I-must-be-crazy-to-have-started-this" home improvement projects. |
SCOTT SARACEN - Director, Editor
In a 1992 TV news interview, Scott proclaimed "soccer is my life". Soon after, he realized that he needed to get a new life - so he earned a B.A. in communications from Rhode Island College and began his career in television. For the past eleven years, Scott has worked at Rhode Island PBS, where he is currently a senior editor and technician. He has honed his editing skills on Avid's Media Composer, Symphony Nitris, DS Nitris and Avid Xpress Pro while working on national programs such as Ciao Italia with Mary Ann Esposito, Mimi's Art Studio and Addictions in the Workplace: The Price We All Pay. Besides editing, Scott handles studio and EFP productions for the station as director of photography, lighting director/technician, audio engineer and video engineer. At RI PBS, he has been fortunate enough to play...er...work with some of the latest and greatest digital and high definition equipment to grace studios today. Like Maria, Scott has been nominated for two New England Emmy awards and is the recipient of a national Telly Award. He has also won awards for best directing, edting and sound design in the 48 Hour Film Project. Today, when Scott isn't filming or editing a project, he is probably talking about filming or editing a project. In fact, he may even grudgingly confess that now, "production is my life".