Jonathan Bird

President

Oceanic Research Group

Statement of Purpose

I have now served two terms on the GSCA board of directors and it has been a pleasure and an honor to do my part in helping to make the GSCA as helpful to other filmmakers as it has been for me.  I would like to continue that role and serve another term on the board.

It is only natural for the GSCA to focus on its core membership of theaters.  The GSCA will always be valuable for giving theater directors a chance to see new films.  But the industry starts with great films.  The GSCA is a valuable resource for filmmakers.  Filmmakers will never make a film if they can’t find funding or a distributor.  And they won’t make a second film if the first one can’t make any money.  Giving independent filmmakers the opportunity to learn the technical and aesthetic standards of giant screen films, meet the distributors, and learn the business is a key part of GSCA’s role in sustaining the giant screen industry.   Independent filmmakers need representation on the board, and over my past two term of service, I have made it my priority to look out for the needs of independent filmmakers within the GSCA.

It is unlikely that I would be a giant screen filmmaker without the GSCA.  The connections and knowledge that came from the GSCA were absolutely critical in my success.  It would be an honor to serve a second term on the board of directors to keep this fine organization moving forward providing those resources to others.

Bio

Jonathan Bird is a filmmaker specializing in natural history documentaries, with a particular interest in underwater cinematography.  He has won eight Emmy Awards for his television work.  He is the host and producer of the successful family-friendly underwater science/adventure series Jonathan Bird’s Blue World, which originally aired on PBS for 4 seasons.   It is currently airing on over 20 television networks around the world , and on YouTube, with well over a million subscribers.  It is the most widely-viewed underwater-themed program in the world, and used in thousands of classrooms (with free accompanying teacher study guides and lesson plans) to teach marine science and ESL.

Jonathan has directed three giant screen films (Space School, Ancient Caves, Astronaut: Ocean to Orbit) and co-directed Secrets of the Sea, with giant screen legends Howard and Michele Hall.  He is currently in production on Call of the Dolphins for release in February, 2025.

Jonathan is recognized within the giant screen industry as an expert on production for dome screens.  He is the principal at Resolution Post, a post facility in the Boston area, specializing in giant screen post production.  Resolution Post has worked on Into America’s Wild, Ireland, the 25 year anniversary release of Everest , the re-release of Grand Canyon Adventure, Cities of the Future, Superhuman Body, Legends of the Enchanted Reef and of course Secrets of the Sea.  Jonathan has been a member of the GSCA Innovations Committee for 7 years, and has created a number of entertaining and educational videos for the GSCA including such scintillating classics as Giant Screen Aspect Ratios, What is D.I.?, and Shooting for the Giant Screen.

Jonathan is a 2019 inductee of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, and a member of the Wyland Ocean Artist Society.  He has a BS in Electrical Engineering, an MS in Ocean Engineering, and taught television production as an adjunct professor at Art Institute of Massachusetts for five years.  Before that he was RF engineer for Raytheon, designing missile-defense radar systems.  He is married to an adorable and brilliant doctor and has two children in college.