RAY PADILLA - Administrative Director
Ray Padilla is the president of RS Institute and worked with the ASU, Earl Jones Institute, Old Tucson, Maricopa Skill Center and Collins College in Phoenix. RSI began training technicians, many who went on to joint the IATSE and to work on feature length films like Kingdom, Into the Wild, 3 Amigos, and the series Hidden Palms.

Employment: 1971 to current: 30 years experience in the motion picture industry. 1980-current: Working on commercials, documentaries, music videos, feature films working in the capacity of cameraman, gaffer, key grip, special effects and sound mixer. Owner Raymar Productions.

Professional: IATSE Motion Picture Technicians.

Affiliations: 1991 to 2005: Business Agent Local (State wide) 485 IATSE. Also, Secretary Treasurer Local 485 IATSE. 2003-2005: Arizona Film and Media Coalition (Officer and BOD). 2006-current: President of RSI. 1993-1994: Chairman Southern Arizona Motion Picture Association.

Some of the feature films and TV series Ray Padilla has worked on include: Cannonball Run, Cannonball Run II, Canyon de Chelle Through Navajo Eyes, Death Valley, The Unknown Comedy, Hawmps, Hunters' Moon, Disaster at Silo 7, A Star is Born, Pursuit of D.B. Cooper, Flash Point, Code of Vengeance, How the West Was Won, I Married Wyatt Earp, KidCo, Once Upon A Texas Train, Boys on the Side, The Quick and the Dead, September Gun, The New Maverick, Revenge of the Nerds, Tin Cup, The Villain, Three Amigos, Michael Landon's TV series Father Murphy and Little House on the Prairie, the TV series Hart to Hart, Petroccelli and High Chaparral. Also, music videos, including the W.A.S.P, Dogie Long and Paul McCartney.

RICK PADILLA – Acting and Writing Department Head
Rick Padilla is the internal creative force of Make A Hand. He oversees all creative film making processes, including material sourcing, development and production. He also acts as the "packager" of the creative/production team for each project. He is a writer of Pilsen and Immigrant Song. Rick teaches the Charles Conrad technique of acting, used by many A-list actors, such as Robert Duvall, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Harmon. Some of Mr. Padilla's actors have won awards.

Mr. Padilla developed and refined his film making talents while working as Hal Ashby's protegé and creative associate. He ran Ashby's film company Carbon State. Ashby was one of Hollywood's most prolific directors during the 1970s and early 1980s (he directed 11 feature films - Coming Home, Harold and Maude, Shampoo, Being There, Last Detail with Jack Nicholson - which received an aggregate of 31 Academy Awards nominations, and he is to date the only director to win an Academy Award for editing). In addition to Mr. Padilla, other directing talent trained by Hal Ashby includes Warren Beatty (Reds, Dick Tracy, Bugsy) and Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs, Philadelphia). Mr. Padilla worked on visual design and scripting of Ashby's last projects, including Truman Capote's Hand Carved Coffins starring and co-written by Jack Nicholson; The Ditto List starring Dustin Hoffman; and Vital Parts starring Danny DiVito and Gene Hackman, each of which were in pre-production at the time of Mr. Ashby's passing.

Mr. Padilla also worked with Mr. Ashby on developing computer-based production concepts to ease and shorten shooting schedules and to improve second unit options. He also did the script polish for Dick Tracy and worked with Ashby of two TV Pilots, Jakes Journey (Monty Python people) and Beverly Hills Buns (spin off of Hills Street Blues).

A drama and business graduate from the University of Arizona, Mr. Padilla also operated a film acting workshop and lectures at film schools (USC on Directing, UCSB on writing. UCLA as film advisor). His acting skills were honed at the prestigious Charles Conrad Acting Studio, where he participated and led their renowned Advanced Class. Mr. Padilla also taught film producing, distribution and Marketing at the University of Arizona.

Currently, he has a world-wide soundtrack deal with BMG on two film projects and three film distribution output deals. In Arizona, he has partnered with J.P.S. Brown, currently developing and scripting Forests Of The Night (Steve McQueen's last project before his death) and The Outfit (has been optioned in the past be some of Hollywood's A-list talent) and a television series.

To learn more about Mr. Padilla, read Nick Dawson's Hal Ashby: The Life of a Hollywood Rebel. A short video about his teaching method can be viewed here.

MATTHEW EARL-JONES - Executive Producer
Matthew Earl Jones has worked on both sides of the camera in film, television and commercials, as well as in the music industry. He has over 30 years' experience in production in the New York, Los Angeles and Phoenix markets.

His clients include: Campbell’s Soup, LifeSavers, Chef Boyardee, Apple Computer, Bandai America, Castrol, Chevrolet, Home Depot, Honda, Lipton, McDonald’s, Nissan, Nissin Foods, Nivea, PacBell Wireless, Porsche, Raytheon, Subaru, Suntory, Toyota, Yamaha, and Ziploc.

He is also an accomplished musician with a passion for Blues guitar. Raised in New Canaan, CT, Matthew graduated Dartmouth College and for the first years of his career worked in the fields of advertising for BBD&O advertising agency, and brand management for American Home Products Corporation in New York City.

Matthew is the son of late actor Robert Earl Jones and half-brother of actor James Earl Jones.

XUZHENG HE - Art Department
Teaching experience. As guest lecturer, he taught scenic painting classes in the following universities: University of Arizona, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, University of Nebraska, Ohio Northern University.

Feature Films/TV. In the following features, he served as Scenic Artist specializing in murals, sound stage back drop, signs, graphics, and general texturing and aging: The Newton Boys (1997), Buffalo Soldiers (1997), The Postman (1997), Blue Rodeo (1996), Journey Home (1995), Unfinished Affair (1995), Legend (1995), Tin Cup (1995), Boys on the Side (1994), Terminal Velocity (1994), The Quick and the Dead (1993), Geronimo (1993), Tombstone (1993), Posse (1993).

Theatrical works. He served as scenic designer and master scenic artist in the following productions: "Macbeth" (UNLV, 2003), "Fiddler on the Roof" (UNLV, 2005. Also Lied Center for the performing Arts, Lincoln, NE, 2000), "Destry Rides again" (Music Theatre of Wichita, KS, 1995), "Phantom!" (Music Theatre of Wichita, KS, 1993), "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (Music Theatre of Wichita, KS, 1993), "Paint Your Wagon" (Music Theatre of Wichita, KS, 1992), "The King and I" (Music Theatre of Wichita, KS, 1991), National Cultural Troup of P. R. China to Australia (1986), Guangdong Province Music and Dance Theatre, P. R. China (1980-1987), Shaoguan Beijing Opera Theatre, P. R. China (1970-1980)

DANIEL BALOGH - Operations Management
Daniel has a Master's degree in Business and Economics, with a focus on Operations Management. He worked as a math and operations teacher at the University of Pecs; he holds a business consulting certificate by the Ohio University, attended the Systems and Industrial Engineering Departement of the University of Arizona as a visiting scholar, and he also worked as a field manager (IT). He published papers on interdepartmental conflicts between marketing and operations, and co-authored statistics-based papers with medical doctors. His passion is photography.