The Team
The Team
meet the map to paradise film crew
DANIELLE RYAN
Danielle Ryan is a director, producer, writer and editor. She first undertook documentary, film and publishing (in magazines, books and journals) internships at high school and at university. However, she felt the idea of documentary filmmaking was a pipe dream, until her introduction to broadcast began at Nine Network Australia where she trained with the news desks. In 2011, she convinced film and post-production expert, James Sherwood, to join her on her adventure, leading the way as a journalist and producer to secure a story about child labour in Nicaragua, which aired on Dateline SBS. Seven years later, the duo has won eight film festival awards for categories such as best underwater world film, best environmental journalism, audience choice, and a Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award. Danielle was also a Youth Ambassador at the IUCN World Parks Congress (2014) where she was given the mission to reconnect young people with nature. Danielle and James have made many short social impact films about the the land and the sea, travelling around Australia from the the dry red earth of the Northern Territory to the crystal blue seas of the Coral Sea. She has a degree in creative writing and a master of international relations at Macquarie University, and has also studied editing and filming for broadcast in Canberra and New York at technical colleges. She and Co-Director James Sherwood are life partners, living on the northern beaches of Sydney, Australia. They share a deep connection with the sea.
JAMES SHERWOOD
James Sherwood is a director, cinematographer and editor, who grew up in the film and television industry with the dream to become an underwater cinematographer. He has a Bachelor of Marine Science from James Cook University, holds a PADI Divemaster certificate, and has spent the last six years making short conservation documentaries about the land and the sea, such as ‘The Last Sea Treasure’, ‘My Saltwater Sanctuary’, ‘A Journey through the Eyes of the Reef’ and ‘Saltwater Secrets’, which have played at grassroots screenings with the support of NGOs Australia-wide. James first started his career at the Sydney-based production house Zspace. Almost twenty years later, he has evolved with the industry obtaining knowledge from a diverse array of industry related skills. He has worked on a variety of works involving documentaries, commercials, music videos, promotional packages and other content for all the major Australian broadcast networks. From the moment James learned about the scientific movement to protect the ocean at university, he became hooked on this topic. He believes that it has the potential to restore underwater ecosystems and to create a better existence for humankind.
DANIEL CLIVE MCCALLUM
Daniel Clive McCallum is an Emmy Award-winning composer based in Los Angeles. He holds many accolades for projects in film, advertisement, and concert music. Born in Australia, Daniel grew up surfing and developed a profound love for the sea. He also studied music from an early age. By the time he was 13, Daniel left normal high school to further his musical education at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He graduated in 2007 and was awarded a full scholarship to study composition at the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2012, Daniel was hired straight out of university by Howard Shore to work on the feature film The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. At the end of 2012, Daniel moved to Los Angeles to work as a freelance composer & orchestrator. Most recently, Daniel orchestrated the worldwide theme to the 2016 Rio Summer Olympic Games, which earned him his Emmy Award. Two separate film scores orchestrated by Daniel won best original score and best original song at the 2016 Goya Awards in Spain (known informally as “the Spanish Oscars”).
ANNA OUTRIDGE
Anna Outridge is an illustrator and animator. In 2015 she graduated from Parsons the New School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. Her thesis film, a stop-motion short called Elliot Trix, was accepted in various film festivals around the world. Since graduating she has been a full time Creative at a New York based production company called Visual Country, where she has worked on various short form animation projects for clients, such as Google, Netflix, Zola and Polo Ralph Lauren. After spending 6 years in New York, Anna currently resides in her hometown of Newcastle, Australia. Growing up close to the ocean, it has always been a big part of her life, she is passionate about protecting it and is excited to be involved in The Map to Paradise project.
MIA GRIMALDI
Mia is an Australian artist and illustrator based in Sydney. She started out drawing fashion figures and interior spaces thanks to her fashion studies in New York, but now has developed a new love of drawing sea life thanks to being part of the Map to Paradise team. Mia is very excited to be part of such a special project. She works in the fashion industry, having worked for Australian retailers Pink Zebra, David Jones, and presently at Scentre Group. Most recently, one of her fashion drawings was displayed on a big mural at Westfield Shopping centre in Sydney City, Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (Theatre and Film) from the University of New South Wales, and has an ASS degree in Interior Design at Parsons School of Design in New York City - her favourite city on earth! After finishing at Parsons, Mia completed design internships at Playboy Enterprises Inc in New York City in their hospitality concepts department, along with design internships at Jed Johnson Associates and Michael Korins Studio.
Alice Forrest
Alice is a conservationist, marine biologist and wildlife campaigner. She has previously worked with Bluebottle Films on marine sanctuary and land-clearing campaigns in NSW and is excited to be working with them again as an Impact Campaigner. Her passion for the natural word and the creatures who inhabit it has led to a career as a scientist (BSc Biodiversity and Conservation, Bachelor of Marine Science with Honours) and scientific communicator, as well as a community organiser and activist. She believes that change comes from positivity, hope and connection, along with the knowledge and tools to make a difference. Alice is happiest when interacting with wildlife, and passionate about protecting what she loves. With this in mind, she has worked extensively in marine conservation (both fieldwork and campaigning) over the past decade. Alice is also a PADI Divemaster and SSI Freediver and has worked extensively in the marine tourism industry sharing her love of the ocean with others, as well as researching and working on community solutions for plastic pollution, winning several conservation awards for her work.