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MIKE SULLIVAN

editor   writer

post-production specialist

617-750-3000

mike@sullivanedit.com

I’m a storyteller.

With pictures. With sounds. With words. Sometimes all three.

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    BENEATH THE PLAINS-SELECTS

    BENEATH THE PLAINS-SELECTS

    My first official Directed By credit and it has won three awards: Special Jury REMI, WorldFest Houston 2019 1st Place Multi-Media, Mountains and Plains Museum Association 2019 1st Place Documentary, National Association of Interpretation 2019 "Beneath the Plains" tells the story of the creation of the Minuteman Missile program i the United States. We used archival footage and documents, re-enactments, and interviews to tell this complex story. The interviewees include a Historian, retired Missileers and Military Police, and Sergei Khrushchev - son of Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. I haven't included the entire show here, just some selects that shine a light on all the different cinematic story-telling techniques.
    SEALS AND SEA-LIONS: SCOUNDRELS OR SCAPEGOATS? SELECTS

    SEALS AND SEA-LIONS: SCOUNDRELS OR SCAPEGOATS? SELECTS

    Many fishermen blame seals and sea-lions for the collapse of fish populations in our oceans. They would like to see increase culling of these pinnipeds to try and bring back the fish. This film was produced by Harpseals.org to educate people on the real reasons there are less fish out there and why culling marine mammals is not the answer. I directed, co-wrote, and edited the movie which can be seen in it's entirety here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQhhZbKLAx0
    MEET THE MISSILEERS

    MEET THE MISSILEERS

    There are dozens of Minuteman III missiles — ready to launch at a moment’s notice — in silos underneath the upper plains of the United States. This award-winning film is about the small crews that man, maintain, and guard these weapons 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
    MARGARET FULLER SELECT

    MARGARET FULLER SELECT

    One of the more fun aspects of documentary filmmaking is learning about subjects you might not have heard of before. Such was the case with this doc. I had never heard of Margaret Fuller until I came on board this project. The film was directed by Boston filmmaker Jonathan Schwartz and I was one of three editors on the project. (I also did the opening animation.) Margaret Fuller was an incredibly interesting woman. She was a writer, journalist, editor, and woman's rights advocate. You've heard of Susan B. Anthony? Well, there would be no Susan B. Anthony without Margaret Fuller. She was America's first feminist icon as well as the country's first war correspondent. As Pulitzer-Prize winning author Megan Marshall says in the film, "Margaret Fuller had a very dramatic life. She defied every convention possible in her romantic life and her intellectual life. And she died young in this dramatic shipwreck. What more could you want?"
    NYPA SELECTS

    NYPA SELECTS

    NYPA stands for the New York Power Authority. These are some selects from the Orientation Film I cut for NYPA's Niagara Power Vista Visitor Center. The venue is five miles from Niagara Falls and sits atop the Robert Moses Dam. The film is about electricity and power. Specifically, the way NYPA uses Niagara Falls to create clean energy for millions of customers. You may notice how long and thin the video appears. That is because it is actually three HD projections, seamlessly stitched together in the venue's theater, to appear as one very wide screen. So I had to do my editing with that in mind. I used multiple images and 4K footage to stretch across the three HD screens.
    THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

    THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS

    This film is just one part of a large exhibit produced by RhodesWorks and BPI for the University of Illinois. The trickiest part of the project was making sure the movie hit all three of the target audiences we were aiming for: Alumni, current students, and potential students visiting the school.
    PAC WAR ORIENTATION

    PAC WAR ORIENTATION

    WWII EUROPE STEREO

    WWII EUROPE STEREO

    MONMOUTH

    MONMOUTH

    FLANDERS FIELD

    FLANDERS FIELD

    My work has travelled across the Atlantic Ocean. Part of two exhibits done for The American Battle Monument Commission, Flanders Field is a documentary about the only American WWI cemetery in Belgium.
    THE MEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY

    THE MEUSE-ARGONNE AMERICAN CEMETERY

    My work can be seen in Europe. One of two exhibits BPI did for the American Battlefield Monuments Commission. The Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery is the final resting place for over 14,000 American servicemen and women who fought in WWI.
    HOLLYWOOD AND THE MOB

    HOLLYWOOD AND THE MOB

    Another fun project I cut for the Mob Museum in Las Vegas. It’s basically Nicholas Pileggi talking about the ways Hollywood influenced the Mob and the ways the Mob continues to influence Hollywood. Pileggi knows of what he speaks. He wrote the non-fiction books Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family and Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas as well as the screenplays for their film adaptations: Goodfellas and Casino. He’s also a very nice guy.
    THE CHICAGO FED: WHAT WE DO

    THE CHICAGO FED: WHAT WE DO

    Over the years I’ve cut documentaries for many branches of the United States' Federal Reserve System. Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, and Kansas City. This is a sample from the Chicago piece. If you want to see more let me know. There’s nothing more visually stimulating than Monetary Policy!
    A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH: AN SSI INVESTIGATION

    A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH: AN SSI INVESTIGATION

    This video was a part of the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibit Dig It! The Secrets Of Soil. It is a, shall we say, “homage” to the CSI detective shows that were all the rage at the time, specifically CSI: Miami. A prize pumpkin has been murdered and SSI (Soil Science Investigations) detectives need the help of a couple of young students to solve this dastardly crime. Using clues found inside the fascinating and mysterious world of soils will the SSI team find justice for Linus the Pumpkin? Aimed at a young audience, this was a fun video to cut. I had to maintain just the right balance between the mystery narrative, the science, and the humor to create a show that’s both entertaining and educational.
    TARAWA

    TARAWA

    PELELIU

    PELELIU

    MAP TABLE: IWO JIMA

    MAP TABLE: IWO JIMA

    Part of a much larger project Exhibit Concepts, DG Studios, and BPI created for The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX. The Map Tables are a different way to present historic material. It looks odd in your browser window because in the venue the large monitor is set up as a table. The visitors stand and look down upon the show. Since they can be on any side of the table we needed to have duplicate graphics and text on both sides. There are five Map Tables in the museum covering the major WWII battles in the Pacific Theater, including Guadalcanal, Leyte, and Okinawa. Design by DG Studios and the map animations were done by Sputnik Animation.
    The U.S. Naval Academy Museum: Honoring the Past - Embracing the Future

    The U.S. Naval Academy Museum: Honoring the Past - Embracing the Future