the Players

Ross Munroe is a Writer/Director with a long list of awards and successful product launches to his credit. Having worked as a full-time Copywriter in such agencies as Grant Tandy/BBDO, Carder Gray/DDB Needham, Case Associates Advertising, and Ogilvy & Mather - as well as in a freelance capacity in several dozen more - Ross has also served as Vice President, Creative Director in several other Canadian agencies. He has received over 100 awards for his work, in virtually every medium including television, radio, outdoor, print and direct mail. His work has won accolades in Cannes, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles - and he had the good fortune to win the Gold Bessie for the best TV spot of the year in Canada. Ross' clients have included many hundreds of well-known names such as Campbell's, Kimberley Clark, Chrysler, Krazy Glue, H.J.Heinz, Yokohama Tires, IBM, General Foods, Glaxo and more. One of only 140 or so fully-accredited directors in the Directors Guild of Canada, Ross has directed numerous live-action and animated television commercials, performance videos and television documentaries - as well as his first feature film. The hallmarks of Ross' work are its strong strategic foundation and break-through creative impact.

Rosanna Di Fiore has over ten years experience both on the ad agency and client sides. As Account Supervisor on the agency side, she helped develop detailed advertising programs, conducted market & media research, and negotiated contracts on behalf of her clients. Her responsibilities as a client have included developing multi-pronged marketing plans, and supervising advertising launches, product promotions, merchandising, public relations, new product introductions and trade shows. Only one example of many that demonstrates the innovative approach Rosanna takes to her work is a nation-wide special event tour to support a new product introduction. She organized in-store demonstrations with over 300 retail locations, such as Wal-mart, Zellers,and Toys R Us, plus 350 school demonstration - and 50 major mall tournaments. It was a very successful campaign. Rosanna is very familiar with pitching and managing cross-promotions, and has worked in this regards with the likes of YTV, Pizza Pizza, Calgary Stampede, Shoppers Drug Mart, the CNE and General Mills, to name a few.

Martin Julian As a Director-Cameraman and Director of Photography, Martin brings a wealth of experience to Spitfire Pictures. Having been responsible for the look of hundreds of television commercials in his two decades in the business, Martin is renowned for his professionalism, for his understanding of every facet of production technique, for his ability to make each dollar spent apparent on the big and small screens. Among his many projects is work for such clients as Labatt Breweries, Proctor & Gamble, Coca Cola, Toyota, Bell Canada, Kraft Foods, Kodak International, Leon's, and Radio Shack, to name a few. Martin has proven over and over in the commercial world that a strong concept, prudently shot, is more effective than an ordinary production, dressed up with a far bigger budget. Martin has shot a lengthy list of other successful projects, including feature films and music documentaries. This added depth results in a versatile, innovative approach that brings more value to every production he shoots.

Roger Mayne has over two decades in the commercial production industry to his credit, as a Producer-Director-Cameraman. On top of shooting commercials for a wide variety of clients - including Marineland, Home Service Club and more - Roger also manages post production services for Spitfire, with a complete non-linear digital editing and animation facilities, including Edit and Combustion, as well as in-house sound capabilities when required. The result for Spitfire clients is effective live action and 3-D animated commercials at remarkably reasonable budgets. In a previous incarnation, Roger earned renown around the world as guitarist for the band The Ugly Ducklings, and he brings the same passion for excellence to everything he works on for Spitfire.

Mary McCallum is a resourceful and multi-talented Producer for Spitfire, and has helped the company create superior results on modest budgets for several years. Mary has exceptional abilities in managing overall productions on tight budgets: she is a superb Art Director - including wardrobe, props and set design - and she regularly takes on casting and budgeting responsibilities with the company. Mary's background includes work on television and feature projects, as well as the stage and special events.