John Statzell

John's grandfather (Eugene Braun) played a key role in shaping the Philadelphia skyline by assisting in the construction of the famed PSFS sign that still stands today over the Loews Philadelphia Hotel at 12th and Market Street. His grandmother (Caroline Statzell) was a film editor and a long time member of IATSE.

In 1993 he attended Full Sail University in Florida and graduated with a degree in Film and Video Production. Upon graduating, John became a freelance camera operator and film loader for independent films being shot in the Orlando area.

In the late 1990's, after cringing at the sound quality of the indie films he had shot, he abandoned the camera department to become a boom operator, announcing to a small group of film makers "If no one in this town is going to record the sound right, I guess I'll just do it myself!" He has been a boom operator ever since, occasionally working in post-production sound as a re-recording mixer, sound designer and foley supervisor.

Bitten by the film bug at a very early age, John received his first film camera on his 10th birthday in 1978 and immediately began producing short comedic sketches, and trying his hand at stop-motion animation. In his early teens, he worked at the Wildwood boardwalk on the Jersey shore to raise money for 8mm film stock and graduated into a more sophisticated pre-production and planning for his films. Comedies were always his passion, and he strived to emulate the hilarity of The Marx Brothers. In his late teens, John, along with a few of his music friends created a comedy band called LIVER and they still record CDs to this day. It wasn't until the age of 24 and after his son Shayne was born that he decided to put his chaotic and unorganized life in order.

John was born in Philadelphia on September 12 of 1968 to parents Judith and David Statzell. The family lived in the small Philadelphia suburb of Warminster for a few years before moving to Cape May Court House, New Jersey. John comes from a long line of artists and craftsmen. His father (David) was an architect for most of his life. His mother (Judith) was (and remains) a seamstress and artist, as well are her two sisters Bonnie and Carol.