Andrew ACKERMAN//Director
Andrew has filmed sharks, bears, cage-fighters, and himself in his quest to study the most dangerous, yet misunderstood, creature on the planet. He graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Film and Media Studies. His senior thesis, titled “Don’t Make Love to it Andrew” was about his own relationship with masculinity and violence as he prepared for his first, and only, cage fight. He served as a director of photography on Jeff Orlowski's acclaimed documentary "Chasing Coral."
Andrew lives in Boulder, Colorado. He has never been able to dunk a basketball and has no plans on future attempts.
Jesse Ryan //Cinematographer/Editor
Jesse is a journalist and filmmaker who is passionate about exploring stories beneath the surface. She enjoys using traditional and immersive formats to deepen understanding of environmental and humanitarian challenges. Previously, Jesse worked as a video producer for USA Today, where she helped create over forty 360-degree videos focused on a range of themes including wildlife and adventure. Jesse is a graduate of Lafayette College and the University of Southern California.
Jesse is an avid aurora hunter (and has been fortunate enough to see the northern lights twice!).
TITO HEIDERER//Music Producer
Tito Heiderer has been called Boulder’s response to Jimi Hendrix. When not melting faces on stage, Tito is often found in his home studio composing and recording film scores for a number of projects. His favorite instrument is the lute, for which he composed a 12 movement concerto entitled Lute Fever in D Minor. After graduating Middlebury College in 2015, Tito attended the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles studying music theory and spending all his free time surfing.
Tito has since returned to Boulder to climb mountains and serenade the city with gentle lute song from the mountain tops.
Kirk Horton//Assistant Producer
Kirk comes from California and majored in Film and Media Culture at Middlebury College. He spent a year after college freelancing in New York City, and has followed his excitement for documentary film and the outdoors to Colorado. Most recently, his film "For The Love Of Mary" premiered at the Telluride Mountainfilm Festival.
Kirk lives in Boulder, Colorado. One of his front teeth is fake but he likes to think it isn't very obvious which one it is.
Bryan Shpall//Producer
Bryan hails from Colorado and earned a degree in English Literature from Middlebury College. Before working at Off The Map, Bryan was at Levantine Films, an independent film production company based out of New York. During his time at Levantine Films, Bryan served as Story Editor and in that capacity he worked on several acclaimed films including "The Fundamentals of Caring" and the Oscar-nominated "Hidden Figures."
Bryan is a Colorado native. He fainted at his Bar Mitzvah, but has been doing better since.
Ren//CWO -
Chief woof officer
Ren, in her totally unbiased opinion, is the most important creature at OTM. She didn’t graduate from some yuppy college and hasn’t won any fancy awards. She just gets her work done every doggone day. Ren is single minded in her pursuit of food…er… excellence…and insists on a solid 8 hours sleep every night.
She has never said thank you and has sworn to never do so.