BIOGRAPHY

From an early age, Nathaniel Atcheson knew that he had to make movies.  Since that distant revelation, he’s been working tirelessly toward his goal.  He graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2000 with a B.A. in English Writing and produced his first filmed work as part of his senior thesis.  This was Waiting for Godfrey, a zero-budget feature-length reinterpretation of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot.

After graduation, he spent four years working in Las Vegas as production manager at a video production company, where he was in charge of editing, duplications, web design, and DVD authoring.  This position gave him an essential technical background for the filmmaking process, and he was able to use the company equipment to produce three short movies:  "Assigning Guilt," "Investigaytion," and "Animate Objects."  "Investigaytion" played in several film festivals in 2004.

In 2005, he was accepted to Chapman University’s prestigious Dodge College of Film and Media Arts as an M.F.A. candidate in Film Production with an emphasis in directing.  Since then, he has directed several shorts on 16mm and 35mm film, all of which have played at a number of festivals across the country and abroad.  His thesis film, "The Isolationist," is a dark existential comedy about a man unable to escape the trappings of his mundane life.  "The Isolationist" stars 80s teen pop idol Tiffany in a leading role. 

In the fall of 2007, Nathaniel won a school-wide competition in which his screenplay “Sombrero” was one of six scripts selected for production from a pool of hundreds of submissions.  Nathaniel was one of only two directors chosen to direct his own screenplay for this competition.  Nathaniel was also selected for the prestigious Pankey Scholarship, in which he attended weekly one-on-one meetings with legendary producer David Foster (McCabe and Mrs. Miller).

Nathaniel is also an accomplished, classically-trained pianist.  He took formal lessons for 16 years and has since been honing his skills writing and recording his own music.  He finished his first instrumental album, "Conspiracy Theories," in 2005, and his second, "Barnacles," in 2006.  He recently wrote and recorded the score for his thesis film, “The Isolationist.”  His interest in sound extends beyond music, as Nathaniel is also an experienced sound designer.  In addition to having sound designed “The Isolationist,” he also designed the sound for “Clean Break,” “Reunion” (dir. Natalia Fernandez), “Bean” (dir. Giovanna Federico), and “The Red Line” (dir. Joshua Shain).

RESUME

DIRECTOR / WRITER / PRODUCER
52-Card Pickup [2008, 35mm, 3 min.] (director, writer, editor)
Sombrero [2008, 35mm, 12 min.] (director, writer)
The Isolationist [2008, 35mm 17 min.] (director, writer)
A Starchy World [2007, Super 16mm, 13 min.] (director, producer)
Tenure [2007, Super 16mm, 14 min.] (director, writer)
Clean Break [2007, 16mm, 5 min.] (director, writer, producer, editor)
Animate Objects [2004, Mini DV, 7 min.] (director, writer, editor)
Investigaytion [2004, Mini DV, 7 min.] (director, writer, editor)
Assigning Guilt [2003, Mini DV, 5 min.] (director, editor)
Waiting for Godfrey [2000, Video, 75 min.] (director, editor)

MUSIC / AUDIO
The Isolationist [2008] (original score, sound design)
Bean [2008] (sound designer); dir. Giovanna Federico
Willets Point Station [2008] (sound designer); dir. Joshua Shain
Reunion [2007] (sound designer); dir. Natalia Fernandez
Barnacles [2006, audio CD, 53 min.] (musician/writer/producer)
Conspiracy Theories [2005, audio CD, 54 min.] (musician/writer/producer)
Animate Objects [2004] (original score)
Assigning Guilt [2003] (original score)

FEATURE SCREENPLAYS
Ground Control [2007] (drama/suspense)
The Scarlet Altar [2004] (horror/mystery)
Pink Chimneys [2001] (gay comedy/drama)
In the Service of Mr. Keating [2000] (drama)

FORMAL EDUCATION
M.F.A. in Film Production, Chapman University, Orange, CA (2005 - 2008)
B.A. in English Writing, University of Nevada, Reno (1996 - 2000)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2001 – 2005, Production Manager at Patchin Pictures, Las Vegas, Nevada.  Oversaw all forms of consumer-level production, including videography, editing, tape and DVD duplication, film-to-video transfers, and customer service.

OTHER SKILLS
Piano (classically trained), guitar, audio recording, sound design (Pro Tools, Cakewalk Home Studio), editing (Avid Media Composer), graphic design (Photoshop), title design (After Effects), web design (Front Page), photography, writing.