CHERYL MCKEEVER
Producer, Business Manager, Engine Room
 |
| Cheryl McKeever is a producer and manager of Engine Room in Boston, MA.
Photo courtesy of Engine Room. |
Cheryl
McKeever is one of Boston’s postproduction mavens.
In her present position as producer and manager of the
newly opened Engine Room, Cheryl holds what is
enviably one of the best positions in Boston, running
a brand new post production house on Boylston Street
in Boston. It’s her task to be sure everything runs
right every day, that all the elements are present and
accounted for, and that scheduling and client services
are prompt and well managed
“I’ve
worked with Don Packer and Scott Knowlton for nearly
seven years now.
When they resigned from Finish to start their
own company, you could have knocked me over with a
feather. I couldn’t see myself being not working
with them, even if they hadn’t offered me a job
yet,” Cheryl told IMAGINE.
Resigning
her job without a guarantee of future employment is
the way Cheryl works even with or without the consent
of husband Brian, one of Soundtracks top mixers. She
makes a move, it’s for a reason and a good one.
Intuitively knowing that Scott and Don (it didn’t
take much discussion) would ask her to join them at
Engine Room. She hasn’t missed a beat since she
joined the company in mid September.
“I
saw the space early, and frankly, I couldn’t grasp
it. Scott and Don had a vision and in the end it was
one that I couldn’t be happier about participating
in (that included painting on the weekends and not her
usual artistic style). Still, the outcome is
especially pleasing.
Starting
her career at Soundtrack, Cheryl built a background in
accounting before moving to scheduling. From
Soundtrack she jumped to Finish after a short break
and has never looked back.
Today
she is not only responsible for running the entire
office and making the clients happy, but also making
Don and Scott happy, which she says is actually pretty
easy. From doing bids to doing the actuals for
accounting, Cheryl has always had a firm grasp on what
was being done. You can pretty much be assured that
nothing slips by her.
“When
I hear Cheryl on the phone saying ‘no problem’ I
know we’re going to be able to handle it. She’s
very good at her job,” says new boss Scott Knowlton. “And she never lets me forget to turn in the job sheet with
a well placed ‘You like getting paid?’” adds Don
Packer.
In
fact, she’s so good that when the duo announced they
were leaving, many wanted to know where she was going
and why wasn’t she going with them. But the real
compliment came when quite a few clients called to
tell her that no matter where she went they’d
follow. That’s quite a tribute to someone who
doesn’t edit or shoot. But that’s Cheryl. She
pleases all the clients all the time, and clients know
what she says is golden.
“We
couldn’t have done this without her. She’s like a
sister and a mother rolled into one. Scott and I are
very proud that she chose us under the circumstances
and agreed to take the risk. It meant a lot,” Packer
said. “It
always will.”
MIRIAM MARCUS
Producer, Moody Independent
 |
| Miriam Marcus is a producer for Moody Independent, a division of Moody Street Pictures in Waltham, MA.
Photo courtesy of Moody Street Pictures. |
Miriam
has 10 years of experience in business and production
of both traditional and new media.
In addition to her role as Producer, Miriam
oversees project development and financial operations
for Moody Independent, the independent film arm of
Waltham-based Moody Street Pictures. Miriam has been
part of the producing team on the recent films BLACK
IRISH (2005) starring Brendan Gleeson and Michael
Angarano, DISAPPEARANCES (2005) starring Kris
Kristofferson and Genevieve Bujold, THE LEGEND OF LUCY
KEYES (2004) starring Julie Delpy and Justin Theroux,
and AT LAST (2004) starring Martin Donovan and Kelly
Lynch.
Because
Miriam found her way to the film business through
non-traditional channels, she brings a unique
perspective to her projects. At Williams College
Miriam studied both art and science with equal
enthusiasm. Interest in the pursuit of medicine gave
way to more creative endeavors as a producer of
multimedia software titles, which then led to a
Columbia Business School MBA.
Business
school gave Miriam the foundation to move into a film
producing role. She discovered that each movie project
is its own start-up business needing financing and
management. She generates business plans for Moody
Independent’s film projects in order to secure
investors. Miriam is equally attracted to the creative
side of the filmmaking process from story selection
and script development to physical production,
marketing and sales.
Miriam’s
goal as a producer is to discover compelling stories
that attract meaningful actors and can be made for
modest budgets. She hopes that she can help Moody
Independent’s films entertain audiences and find
their place in the market.
