Lauren J. Rivera- CEO
Lauren J. Rivera has always been good at two things: writing and being way too organized for her own good. In 2009, she decided to mesh her talents and become CEO of Side Job Productions LLC. Having acted as co-creator, writer, producer, director and lead actress in the sci-fi/thriller web series “Linked,” (finalist in the 2009 NATPE NextTV Competition) Lauren became privy to the responsibility of wearing many hats during a production. The series was so well received, Sony (the multimedia and electronics company) created a web commercial showcasing Lauren’s work with the show. Following “Linked” she went on to executive produce a comedy web series called “The Work Jerks,” a mini-web series called “The Other One,” and several short films. Along with her Presidents of Development, Jaime Fernandez and Jonathan Aldebot, Lauren plans to bring comedy, thrill, drama and horror in ample supply to the web in 2010.
Jaime Fernandez – President, Development
Jaime Fernandez’s writing career began during his early stand-up comedy days while he was still searching for his comedic voice. He finally reached a point where he learned how to not only write comedy for an audience, but to write the type of comedy that best suited his comedic persona. When Jaime co-created the comedy sketch group Room 28, he not only penned material, he began overseeing script submissions, while directing and starring in recurring sketches for the stage and screen. His writing credits include co-writing the official 2008 HBO New York International Latino Film Festival commercial in which he also starred. He also co-wrote and starred in the comedy web-series “PB&J”. He joined Side Job Productions LLC in 2009 and immediately went to work developing the comedy web series “The Work Jerks” alongside Lauren J. Rivera, and penned the series with comedic ease. Jaime thinks it incorporates the style of humor he has been perfecting since the first day he stepped onto a comedy stage. “I like to write stupid comedy for smart people. As for the stupid people…well, they think anything is funny.”
Jonathan Aldebot- President, Development
Growing up in Washington Heights New York City, Jonathan Aldebot found a love for filmmaking at an early age. When he was eleven, he picked up his father’s bulky VHS video camera and began making shorts, small skits and music videos with friends and family. Never being one to participate in front of the camera, Jonathan was always keen to placing his eye into a viewfinder and watching the action unfold before his lens. He found inspiration in the works of filmmakers like John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino and many more. Beginning at Fordham University, Jonathan took his collegiate career to University of Buffalo where he would later receive a B.A. of Media Studies. Besides continuing his education in film, Jonathan also took up photography and writing both short stories and screenplays. While working on the web series “Linked” Jonathan acted as director of photography and was introduced to Lauren J. Rivera. Upon completion of “Linked,” Jonathan joined Lauren and Jaime Fernandez at Side Job Productions LLC, penning several short film scripts and the web mini-series “The Other One.” He may have an affinity for horror and thrill writing but with comedy shorts like “The Idea” and “Everything Must Go!” it’s clear Jonathan’s talent range is widespread.
Paul Natale- Cinematographer (The Work Jerks)
For over 15 years Natale has worked steadily in the film and television industry while studying film production in the USA and France, and acquiring a European Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in directing from EICAR: The International Film School of Paris. His short films have screened and won awards in festivals around the world, and he is currently developing several feature and short scripts while working as a Production Manager for a commercial production company and shooting personal projects on his spare time. Natale currently resides in New York City. See Paul’s reel here: http://vimeo.com/1954732
Jason Morrison- Cinematographer (The Work Jerks)
Jason Morrison is a New York native, born in the Bronx and raised in Westchester. His desire for film started in high school where he took a couple of television production classes and he followed that desire into college at the New York Institute of Technology. Four years later he graduated with a BA in Communication Arts. Since graduating from college, he’s been using his talent to work his way up the ladder and become a successful director and editor. Working with comedy sketch groups as an editor & cameraman helped develop his skills on and off the set. Jason’s main aspirations is to become a great music video director. Working with unsigned talent over the past couple of years he has taken some steps toward that goal. Even though directing music videos is the goal, he doesn’t want to limit his talent in that field and would love the chance to work on all the different types of genres in the industry. See Jason’s reel here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJYU-4gCapE
Jose Irizarry and Kana Philip -Animation team (The Work Jerks)
The animation team that created the Side Job Productions logo and animation. You can view their animation on the main page of our website. www.SideJobProductions.com
Steve Rosolio- Animator (various)
Steve Rosolio is also an award winning animator who has provided animation for the National Lampoon Splog! and has created background animation for a number of live theatrical performances. He has also helped within the art department of the feature films Star Trek and Inception. Check out his reel here: www.stevemahn.com/reel.mov