NORMAN KLEIN--Director

Norman Klein is Executive Producer of CornerTree Productions, LLC in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Producer/Director for Airborne Cine, LLC, an aerial cinematography company serving the motion picture and television industries.  He has served as Vice President of Production and Program Development for Oak Media, a broadcast television pay subscription service, where he was responsible for the development and production of several programs including Dodger and Lakers home games, comedy and entertainment specials, talk shows, documentaries, children’s programming, and television’s first home shopping show.  Klein has also served as producer and/or director for a number of commercials, television shows, and feature films including Touched by An Angel, the BBC’s Savage Planet, and programs for the Lifetime Cable Network, Paramount Television Pictures, and ABC Television/Universal Pictures.

ANGELA E. SOPER—Co-Executive Producer

Angela Soper has over 25 years’ experience as an on-air host, writer, and producer in radio, television and film.  Her work has won numerous awards in the industrial film industry.  She has written for Pax Television, The Washington Post, People magazine, and The Salt Lake Tribune.  Her first book (co-authored with Nadine A. Thompson), Values Sell:  Transforming Purpose into Profit Through Creative Sales and Distribution Strategies, was published in April, 2007 by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco.  She currently works as a freelance writer and media consultant, and prior to striking out on her own served for nine years as Creative Director/Screenwriter for the Visual Productions Department of Nu Skin Enterprises in Provo, Utah.  Soper has interviewed several well known individuals including former Vice President Dan Quayle, singer Harry Chapin, and actor Hal Holbrook.  She has also written material for celebrities Sir Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Dick Clark, actor Robert Urich, and former Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca. 

LARRY FRANCER—Co-Executive Producer

Businessman, actor, and cantor, Larry Francer has parlayed years of creative work in theater, film, and television into leadership roles for his adopted hometown of Farmland, Indiana and for his synagogue.  As an actor, he had feature roles in the film Ernest Saves Christmas and the television series, Superboy.  With his partner, Jerome Herron, he created and manages their Farmland gift shop and wild grapevine business, Tanglevine Crossing, furnishing original displays worldwide for companies like Bloomingdale’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus, and Coach Leather.  Francer played a key role in organizing the not-for-profit Historic Farmland USA, and served as its president for 10 years.  Under his leadership the organization garnered numerous awards, including the first annual Indiana Community Preservation Award and the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Service and Volunteerism.  Francer serves as cantorial soloist, pararabbinic fellow, and spiritual leader of Sinai Temple in Marion, Indiana.

JEROME M. HERRON—Producer

Herron is a veteran print, stage, television, and film actor with numerous credits to his name including the original television series, Miami Vice, the film Tootsie, promotional material for Disney World, and commercials for AT & T and for the Marion County Indiana prosecutor.  He has performed in many musical and operatic productions including a starring role in a Florida dinner theater production of My Fair Lady.  Herron returned to his hometown of Farmland, Indiana in 1990 to open Tanglevine Crossing, a gift and candy shop with his partner, Larry Francer.  A graduate of Michigan State University with a degree in Landscape Horticulture, Jerome blends his expertise in this field with his skills in specialty candy making to enhance the “Tanglevine Experience.”   In addition to operating the shop and creating wild grapevine creations for major retailers throughout the United States, Herron has continued his acting career in the Midwest region.  He has played an instrumental role in Historic Farmland USA and is actively involved in Farmland’s many innovative promotions designed to boost economic development.

JEFF CRONE—Directory of Photography, Indiana Crew

Jeff Crone is an assistant producer/director for Ball State University and WIPB-TV in Muncie, IN, as well as a freelance producer.  His career in broadcasting began as a teenager, volunteering as a news reporter at local NPR affiliate WBST-FM in Muncie, IN.  One of his stints during his student tenure at Ball State University was to locally host NPR’s newsmagazine, “Morning Edition.”  During his professional career in television he has produced multiple local and regional commercials for various markets in the Midwest, including Chicago and Indianapolis.  He is currently in post-production on a thirteen-episode reality television series for which he served as director of photography and producer.

JASON R. ZIMMERMAN– Director of Photography, Utah Crew

Jason R. Zimmerman (aka ZIMMERFLEX) was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah to an eclectic arts and crafts driven family.  His mother (an artist and poet) and his father (a backyard mechanic and people manager) instilled in him a lust for life and a quest for knowledge.  Cinematography seemed to be a natural focus after attending the University of Utah's Film Studies Program and UCLA.  Zimmerman has had a long and prolific career highlighted by over 70 motion pictures and TV Movies and over 2000 commercial, industrial and documentary productions, and a few award winning shows.  He is looking forward to even more film adventures in the future.  "Courthouse Girls of Farmland was a marvelous adventure,” adds Zimmerman.  “The story is deep and emotional and presented many challenges and I’d like to pursue more projects like it in the future!”

WIPB-TV—In Kind Support and Production Partner

A Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) station, WIPB-TV is licensed to Ball State University and serves more than 394,000 households in east central Indiana and western Ohio. WIPB endeavors to educate, entertain, and engage the communities we serve through distinctive television programs and enriching educational and outreach services.
 
The station has been on the air since 1971 thanks in part to a group of young mothers and community leaders who formed a grassroots movement to raise the funds so that east central Indiana would have its own PBS station.  Thirty-five years later, the station is a thriving part of the community, producing award-winning local programs and serving its residents with educational resources for children, parents, and caregivers.
 
WIPB is best known for producing the hit PBS series, THE JOY OF PAINTING with Bob Ross.  The Joy of Painting is the most recognized and studied art show in the history of television.  The series has thrived since 1983 on over 300 public television stations nationwide, and internationally in the United Kingdom, Mexico, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands, Turkey, Iran, Hong Kong, Costa Rica and Germany. The series has remained popular, 20 years later, and enjoys a cult-like following with people of varying ages.

WIPB has produced numerous local series and programs that have been carried throughout the state of Indiana, including the award-winning Gene-Stratton Porter: Voice of the Limberlost, and Ed Ball’s Century, to name a few.