(917) 776-7139 · betsy@rustleworks.com · https://vimeo.com/betsynagler/videos
Accomplished filmmaker with extensive experience in producing, directing, editing, cinematography, and location sound.
Technical skills: picture, sound, and graphics editing work with Adobe Creative Suite; experience with sourcing from and compression, export and upload to online platforms including social media; proficiency with a variety of camera, lighting and sound equipment, including DSLR and mobile filmmaking gear.
EXPERIENCE: CREATIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR
Cobble Hill Health Center Is A Home (2022) Director, Editor.
Conducted interviews, filmed b-roll, and edited a fundraising piece for the annual gala and website of a local nursing home.
Mobilize Podcast (2017-present) Episode Producer, Sound Recordist, Editor. Audio.
Conducted, recorded and edited audio interviews about progressive activists seeking to create positive change in the U.S.
Rustle Works LLC (2014-present) Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Editor.
Create documentaries (The Halloween House), game trailers (A Numbers Game) and videos for hire (Code Liberation Foundation) as part of studio partnership with developer Damon Holzborn. Conduct interviews, live action filming and iPhone screen capture, edit in Adobe Premiere. Conducted lighting, filming, sound recording, and interviewing of subjects; edited finished piece and created graphics in Adobe Premiere; sound edit and color-correction.
Alessandra Biaggi for State Senate (2018) Producer, Co-Director, Video Editor. 4K/HD, distributed on social media.
Three videos for a successful state senate campaign, made in conjunction with non-profit Creative Resistance. Conducted interviews, filmed b-roll, animated still images, titles and graphics, combining all with music to reach final cut.
Flat Daddy (2011) Co-Director, Producer, Sound Mixer, Editor. DV/HD, 82 min.
Independent feature documentary exploring the impact of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq on military families across the U.S. Selected for 2008 IFP Independent Film Week Spotlight on Documentaries Program. Awarded 2008 Individual Artist Grant by the New York State Council on the Arts. Official Selection of the DOC NYC, Atlanta, Montclair, Oceanside, Fallbrook, California Independent and Maine International Film Festivals, 2011-2012. Winner, Best Educational Film at the 2012 Las Vegas Film Festival. Broadcast on PBS America, 2014-2016. Represented for distribution by FilmBuff. Researched and developed concept; identified subjects and conducted pre-interviews; planned shoots, hired contractors, and co-organized all aspects of production; conducted and recorded sound on all interviews; collaborated on visualization with co-director/cinematographer of all live-action and b-roll; edited rough-cuts, assimilated feedback to reach final cut, and prepared for sound edit and online in FCP 7; supervised sound and online edits with co-producers.
Bring Them Home (2006) Producer, Director, work for hire. DV, 2 min.
Anti-war video commissioned for the website of the Working Families Party, a growing third party in New York State. Strategized with clients; created and refined budgets for approval; hired freelance crew; directed non-actors and two-camera crew; collaborated with editor to refine cuts to client specs and deliver completed project.
The WFP: Making Things Happen (2005) Co-Director, Producer, Co-Editor, Location Sound, work for hire. DV, 12 min.
Fundraising and educational piece commissioned by the Working Families Party to explain its workings and history. Strategized and developed concept with clients; created and refined budgets for approval; conducted all interviews; refined cuts to client satisfaction in FCP 7 and delivered completed assets to client.
’do (2005) Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Co-Editor. Hi-8 & DV, 46 min.
Independent documentary following five New Yorkers through five years and 14 hairstyles to explore the connection between appearance and identity. Received completion funding from the New York State Council on the Arts via the Brooklyn Arts Council 2004 Community Arts Regrant Program. Screened at Shades of Femininity art exhibition, Local Project gallery, Long Island City. Received Honorable Mention at the 2005 Bronx Independent Film Festival. Interviewed subjects; captured b-roll and verité footage; edited rough cut in FCP 7, and collaborated on edit of final cut.
Blue’s Clues Video Letters (1998-1999) Writer, Director, work for hire. Betacam, 30 sec each.
Short narrative stand-alone segments starring young children, aired as part of educational television show for ages 2-5. Produced by Cataland Films for Nickelodeon/Viacom Networks. Developed ideas, created scripts and storyboards; cast child actors; directed performances and supervised crew; collaborated with editor on finished pieces.
Fear of Dogs (1995) Writer, Director, Producer, Editor. 16 mm, 22 min.
Narrative thesis film at NYU Graduate Film Program. Winner, Student Film Silver Plaque, 1995 Chicago Film Festival. Starring Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls, Bad Santa) and Mary Birdsong (Reno 911, The Descendants).
Dinosaurs are Different (1993) Writer, Director, Producer, Editor. 16 mm, 13 min.
Narrative second year film at NYU. Official Selection, 1993 Seattle International and Philadelphia Film Festivals.
EXPERIENCE: FREELANCE FILM/VIDEO PRODUCTION & POST-PRODUCTION
VIDEO EDITOR, New York, NY (2005-present)
Work as editor for hire in Final Cut Pro, Adobe Premiere, and After Effects including
- Dir. Jennifer Dworkin. Videos for the Perception Institute educating lawyers about racial bias; fundraising trailers for documentaries on New York State gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout and the Epic Theater Company, which works with adults on the autism spectrum (2017-present).
- Collective Agency. Scripted and doc-style social video, combining archival images/video, interview and b-roll footage, music and graphics for Brick Education, Family Equality, the NYU Law School Center for Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging, #CheckYourBiasAmerica, Swing Left, Reform Austin, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, NYC Makes PPE, and the New York Women’s Foundation (2018-2022).
- Voter Empowerment Project/AAA Fund-GA. Voter education and GOTV videos for 2020 election and GA runoff (2020-2021).
- Wake Up & Vote Consortium/AIPAVote_Michigan. Videos in support of campaign to GOTV and count all votes in the 2020 election (2020).
- Local 52 IATSE. Doc-style videos showcasing new sound and video technology at the NAB Conference (2017).
- Eyeview Digital Advertising. Videos for in-house consumption (2014).
- Dir. Kristina Borjesson/Lions Gate/EPIX. Fundraising trailer & additional editing for feature documentary TWA Flight 800 (2011-2012).
- Topiary Productions/Weill Music Institute. Doc-style pieces for Carnegie Hall LinkUP! Series online curriculum (2010).
- SEIU/BerlinRosen PR. SHAME, satirical piece featuring members of the comedy group Billionaires for Bush (2007).
- Driving for Surviving. Promotional piece for nonprofit that teaches pony driving to child cancer survivors (2005).
LOCATION SOUND TECHNICIAN, New York, NY (1994-present)
List of credits as sound mixer, boom operator and utility at imdb.com, includes
- Feature Films: If Beale Street Could Talk, Oh Hello on Broadway, Sisters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 & 2, The Day-Trippers, Walking and Talking, Before Night Falls, Happiness, Family Name.
- TV shows: Mr. Robot, Pose, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Billions, Power, Sneaky Pete, The Blacklist, The Good Wife, Elementary, Gossip Girl, The Following, Law & Order, The Sopranos.
- Commercials: TD Bank, Capital One, Apple, Google, Samsung, Bud Light, Stella Artois, Optimum, Verizon, ESPN, Match.com, Cadillac, Expedia, L’Oreal, Maybelline, Nike, Starbucks, E*Trade.
EXPERIENCE: TEACHING FILM AND VIDEO
ADJUNCT ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, Brooklyn College CUNY, Dept of Undergraduate Film, Brooklyn, NY
Documentary Film (Spring/Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Spring 2009).
Taught course instructing intermediate and advanced undergraduates in documentary film history, production, and editing.
Location Sound (Spring/Fall 2016, Spring 2015, Spring/Fall 2008, Fall 2006, Spring 2005). Taught course instructing undergraduates in how to record sound and integrate it into post-production.
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR, New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Dept of Undergraduate Film & TV, New York, NY
Production Sound (Fall 1997, Spring/Fall 1998). Taught course in recording sound and integrating it into post-production.
EDUCATION
New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Department of Graduate Film, New York, NY.
M.F.A., Film Production.
Stanford University, Stanford, CA.
B.A., Political Science.