The Team Behind "The Man"
Andy Moorer Composer
Dr. James A. (Andy) Moorer is a Florida native and internationally known figure in digital audio and computer music, winner of an Emmy Award and an Academy Award® "for his pioneering work in the design of digital signal processing and its application to audio editing for film.” He is also the creator of the THX “Deep Note" sound—THX’s sonic logo, heard in thousands of movie theaters around the world.
"The Man in the Mangrove Counts to Sleep" builds on Moorer's pioneering work in computer music and more specifically in the use of computer speech synthesis for music. As an MIT and Stanford-trained engineer, Moorer's innovations include advances in the technology used for these compositional purposes. Many of these advances have become routine today in the world of electronic music.
Find out more about how Andy used speech synthesis techniques to create this work here.
Donna Decker Poet
Dr. Donna Decker is an award-winning English Professor from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and a former faculty member of Florida State University. She now lives in Tallahassee. Ms. Decker has published dozens of essays and poems in literary works, including the Between Two Rivers Anthology: From the Red Hills to the Gulf and Tallahassee's The Apalachee Review; given over 100 readings and performances in conferences and venues throughout the U.S.
She is the author of the poetry book, Under the Influence of Paradise: Voices of Key West, which has been taught at universities, now in its fourth reprint. Decker is also the creator, writer, and producer of the collaborative spoken word album, Petty Secret, which includes the music of native Floridian, James A. Moorer and was recorded at Gator Bone Lake, Florida.
Learn more about how Donna was inspired to write her poem, "The Man in the Mangroves Counts to Sleep" here.
Caitlin Hargarten & Sam Blake Thompson Animators
Sam and Caitlin make up SQUAWK - a small animation and design studio. They create visuals for films, commercials, art installations and everything in-between. Squawk's aesthetic relishes in using things like paper cutouts, felt textures and any other real-world elements to create memorable and tangible visual experiences.
In 2019 Squawk animated vignettes for the short film, Lure of the North which premiered at the Great Northern Festival and won the First Place Video/Multimedia Award for PDN 2019 Photo Annual.
Learn more about Squawk and their work here.
Frank Lindamood Narrator
Frank Lindamood lives in the booger woods near Sopchoppy, Florida, in a cabin called "rustic" by charitable and tolerant friends. Unlike The Man in the Mangroves, he is not homeless. Nor is he particularly good at math. But like the "Man", he is retired--- after nearly fifty years in the workforce as a carpenter and theatre technician, he saw first hand the futility of honest work.
He has rightfully been accused of "playing the banjo before decent folk with no warning". He can be reached by wire through the Bradwell Bay office.
Ralph Guggenheim Producer
Ralph was a co-founder of Lucasfilm’s computer research group, where he and Andy Moorer first met. Part of that team spun off to found Pixar in 1986 where, he produced computer animated short films and TV commercials. The group’s long-term vision was realized in 1995 when Pixar delivered Toy Story, the first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, which he produced.
Subsequently, Ralph was an Executive Producer at video game developer Electronic Arts before co-founding Alligator Planet, a San-Francisco animation studio where he oversees production of feature films, television series and educational media.
Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts & Culture
In partnership with the Tallahassee Writers Association