Director - Blake Cortright
Blake’s passion for telling stories through film began while watching “The Ten Commandments” at age five. Impressed by the grand, sweeping cinematography, it still influences his work today. A talented and aspiring filmmaker, Blake is currently a student at Regent University studying Film and Television.
His love for the outdoors was also kindled early on. Since childhood, Blake has spent a week every summer at Silver Bay, New York State’s premier YMCA camp, located on the shores of Lake George in the southern Adirondacks. It was here Blake did his first simple hikes, which stirred his love for the mountains. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout at age 14.
In 2010, while still in high school, Blake produced The First Encampment, a feature-length documentary on the first Boy Scout camp in America, located at Silver Bay. It aired on PBS television stations across upstate New York and was released on DVD, receiving much acclaim from scouts and outdoor enthusiasts of all ages. Blake went on to intern at a PBS-affiliated station where he was a crew member for several other documentaries.
Working on “The 46ers” has given Blake the opportunity to hike a number of the Adirondack high peaks himself, and he is well on his way to joining the ranks of the 46ers.
In 2012, Blake founded Arche Productions LLC, a professional videography company specializing in “bringing your vision to life through high-quality video productions”. When not making movies, he can be found watching them, hiking, or camping, or shooting still photography and weddings for his valued clients.
Executive Producer - Daniel Swinton
Daniel attended the Rochester Institute of Technology with an emphasis on Documentary Production and Cinematography. As a student he won a “Kodak Emerging Filmmaker” award for his senior thesis. After graduating with honors in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in Film and Television Production, Daniel moved to the Albany, NY area where he was hired by WMHT, the PBS affiliate for the Capital District to launch their Production Services division and provide corporate clients with high-quality commercial video. He won a NETA award for Best Promo, Local Campaign in 2008 and he produced his first documentary for the station in 2009, entitled “Get Off Your Knees: The John Robinson Story”. The film profiled the life of a man who overcame serious physical obstacles to obtain a secondary education, career and family. The film was distributed by APT to over 100 PBS stations and has been distributed internationally to China, Israel, Thailand, Australia and Japan. After the release of the film Daniel transitioned into producing documentaries full time. In 2011 he produced, directed, edited and wrote “The New York Capitol Fire” a local history documentary that was honored with two silver Telly Awards, and Emmy nomination and was distributed across New York State. He recently completed “William Kennedy’s Prohibition Story”, which received a New York Broadcasters Award and garnered statewide distribution. He was recently honored with a fellowship at the CPB/PBS Producers Academy, one of only 25 applicants accepted nation-wide.
Currently Daniel serves as the Director of Production & Content at Mountain Lake PBS in Plattsburgh NY. He oversees the production team in all aspects of content creation and serves as the Executive Producer on special projects. He recently Executive Produced the films “Lake Defenders”, “Songs to Keep” and is collaborating with Lukas Augustin on his film “Unforgiven:Rwanda”.
Director of Photography - Matthew Elton
Matthew Elton is a filmmaker passionate about the convergence of art and technology that cinematography provides. He’s come a long way from shooting amateur Star Wars fan films in high school, when his love for cinematography began.
Since then, he’s gone on to shoot short films, commercials, music videos, and documentaries. He is a certified Steadicam operator and has experience working with both 16mm film and HD video.
He holds a bachelor's degree in Film and Media Arts from Messiah College, and also studied photography and cinematography at Temple University in Philadelphia. He currently works as a freelance cinematographer/videographer in upstate New York.
2nd Unit Director of Photography - Daniel McCullum
Daniel McCullum is an upstate New York-based filmmaker and graduate of Regent University’s cinema/television program. His cinematography work has spanned both documentary and narrative films, and is driven by a desire to explore beauty and truth through a variety of storytelling mediums.
He currently serves as the lead cinematographer and video editor at Mountain Lake PBS, where he contributes his visual and editorial expertise to a diverse array of programming, including an award-winning local television series and multiple feature documentaries.
His passion for imaging also includes a love of photography. His portfolio features both dynamic portraiture and Adirondack wilderness landscapes, as well as a growing collection of urban cityscapes.
First Assistant Camera - Allison Zdunczyk
Allison Zdunczyk is an aspiring documentary filmmaker with a passion for the outdoors and making a difference through the mode of documentary.
Allison Zdunczyk is a student at Ithaca College in the Documentary Studies & Production program. She will be graduating in May of 2016 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Even though it is early in her career she can not wait to get involved in more film making. She believes documentaries are a great way to bring attention to important issues and display things that she is passionate about, like hiking the 46ers in the Adirondacks.
Allison got involved with the documentary at an Outdoor Expo in Saratoga Springs. New York. She had seen the promotions for the project and immediately was interested in helping out. She got in contact with the director, Blake Cortright, and the rest of the crew as soon as she got the opportunity.
Second Assistant Camera - Grant Sponable
Grant is an aspiring filmmaker currently studying film at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. Born in Albany, Grant has grown up with the outdoors and the Adirondacks. Although he is based in New York City, Grant still manages to balance the hectic city life of New York along with the peace and serenity of the Adirondacks. He is also a filmmaker for the outdoors group Primitive Condition, which is largely based in the Adirondacks. Grant enjoys making films in his current home in Brooklyn, but still loves to make art in the outdoors.
Audio Supervisor - Thom Riley
Thom began his sound journey at the turn of the century and has been mixing it up ever since. He applies his soundness as a volunteer audio engineer with Living Hope International Ministries in Latham, NY and with the Arche crew. Thom enjoys photography and technology, passions that he utilizes professionally, personally, and on some of the Arche production shoots.
Composer - Justin Michael Brittain
Justin began his musical journey at a young age. He picked up his first instrument at the age of five and then went on to teach himself how to play a multitude of instruments, including guitar, keyboard, and the drums. Throughout the years, music has always been a part of him; however, his fascination with the film industry could not go unattended. Only one thing could balance both worlds: scoring films. Now twenty-five, Justin resides in Buffalo, NY, where he works from home writing and arranging musical scores for film and television. He is a huge fan of James Horner, Hans Zimmer, and John Williams (in that order).