Celso Giusti

Brazilian born Celso Giusti came to The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale craving a creative challenge and new aspects to add to his professional profile. In Brazil, he earned a degree in advertising and had worked several years in the field before deciding on a career change. He had always worked very close to the production field but was never directly involved in it. Wanting to work closer to the production end, he made the jump and immersed himself in a search for ways to make this happen. This landed him at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in the Video Production program, where he learned the technical side of the field. 

With new skills in hand, Celso was ready to put his knowledge to work. Originally, he wanted to gain some experience here in the United States before returning to Brazil, although he feared the cultural differences. To his surprise, he found many American channels that broadcast for the Brazilian cable channels here in South Florida. These channels were seeking help in creating promotions, programs, and on-air assistance in Portuguese making him a perfect fit. 

Celso started his new career freelancing at Nickelodeon and now has landed a position at HBO Latin America as a copy producer. He is responsible for promotional campaigns, branding campaigns and I.D.’s. 

One of the greatest highlights of his career thus far was working on a project for Cinemax. The station decided not to play any Christmas movies. Celso was challenged to create a campaign that offered viewers another choice during the holiday season. He developed a spot that featured two turkeys (typical Brazilian dish for Christmas), watching another turkey being roasted, which turned out to be a very humorous success. 

Celso feels The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale gave him the sources he needed to exercise his creativity and improve his technical skills. He says,”AiFL has a lot of equipment available to the students to create whatever they need. That is really important, because we don’t study art. We do it!”

David Drzick

A graduate of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale’s Music and Video Business program, David “extends many thanks to The Art Institute for helping me pursue my professional goals and movie making dreams. The degree I received from your institution has been helpful in opening doors within the industry and gives me opportunities to showcase my knowledge and creativity.” 

Shortly after graduation, David got his foot in the door at Brookstone Production Company in Deerfield Beach as a production assistant. The first few months were spent submitting writing samples and eventually he worked his way up writing segments for several television shows on CNBC and the USA Network. David was promoted into the position of Executive Writer/Technical Advisor and wrote numerous television series including “Your Planet”, At Home”, and “The Dog Digest Show”. He also wrote scripts for dozens of companies such as Sony, Toshiba, Royal Caribbean, Red Lobster and Apple Computers. 

After relocating to Michigan in 1993, David was immediately hired by CBS affiliate WWMT Channel 3. He served as the Floor Director and Camera Operator working his way into writing, producing, and directing countless training and industrial videos for two West Michigan based production companies, Video Resources and Absolute Video Productions. 

Ultimately David formed Katharsys Pictures in 1995 directing several short films, including ”Plea Bargain”, “Diamond Dragon” and “Springheel Jack”. In the summer of 1997, principal photography commenced on “In the Woods”, an action-horror film, which David wrote, produced and directed. “Finally, my directorial debut on a feature film!” It was shot on 16mm in 27 days with a total budget of $252,000. “In The Woods” had its world premier at the East Lansing Film festival to a sold-out crowd hailing it as a future cult-classic. It was picked up for worldwide distribution by B.C. Entertainment Group and Spectrum Films International and hit video shelves across America, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom. 

Currently David is gearing up to produce and direct two new films in 2001, “Bigfoot” and an untitled Civil War ghost story. “If there is any insight I can offer students at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale it is to have a lot of patience and perseverance. It’s taken eight years for me to reach my goals and I’ve loved every step of the way."

Jason Sampson

Jason Sampson, aka “D.J. Holiday,” the Production Director and an on-air personality for WPOW FM-POWER 96 radio station in Miami, started spinning records at the age of 13 with his sights and sounds set on a radio career. 

A 1990 graduate of AiFL’s Music and Video Business program he says, “The MVB program was a big part of my success. The instructors were great with the practical stuff and I gained perspective from their personal experiences as well.” 

Jason grew up in South Florida, not far from AiFL. Prior to his current position with POWER 96, he worked at Galaxy Skateway and Koz’s Sports Arena, Baja Beach Club, Roxy, and Trio Night Club. He won DJ of the year from Boogie Nights (the disco side of Trio) for Wave Magazine and the 1996 XS DJ of year for Broward County. 

“There were a lot of memorable experiences,” says Jason, “it’s hard to pick just one. I guess being the first host of the Circuit (co-host with Gina Zoloppi) was up there. And of course, spinning at the AiFL picnics!” In addition to his DJ gig, Jason also serves on the AiFL Advisory Board for the Broadcasting program and advised students that “multi-tasking is the key, especially in radio."

Jim Bernard

Jim Bernard currently works as a photojournalist for WFOR-Channel 4, the CBS/UPN affiliate in South Florida. As a photojournalist he is responsible for all lighting, audio, editing, and camerawork and he often even conducts interviews for the packages that he works on. 

Raised in New York, Jim decided to attend The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale in 1992. He worked full-time to support himself while he went to school full-time at night. While at AiFL, Jim worked on the first Volley-Palooza event on South Beach, where he was given the opportunity to shoot and capture the event along with a story on it. “This was a great experience because now it’s a huge event that they have down there.” 

Jim graduated in 1996 from AiFL’s Music and Video Business and was hired by Metro Video News, the company that subcontracts all news and traffic to local stations. After his stint there, he was hired by Florida’s News Channel in the Broward Bureau as a photojournalist and later by Channel 12 in West Palm Beach as a photojournalist. Jim’s work has sent him to Haiti for stories on hurricanes and relief efforts, Washington D.C. for the resignation of Senator Bob Graham, Atlanta for a national story about Botox and Botchelism paralysis, and to Stuart to cover stories related to last year’s hurricanes. “I went to Stuart for work and stayed there for a week, with no power!” Many of Jim’s stories have been picked up by national news because he has been able to get stories that other networks haven’t been able to get. 

His advice to students is, “When you attend school, nothing will be handed to you. What you put into it is what you’ll get out of it.” 

Marcelo Baquero

Spring 1999 graduate; Producer/Director at Kika Screen Productions, Inc. 
Marcelo opened Kika Screen Productions along with his brothers. The company utilizes high-end equipment to create top quality productions in video and multimedia. Marcelo spends most of his time between marketing the company and editing projects for clients in his home country of Ecuador. 

Ricardo Ruano

All around campus of The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale you will see 2004 Digital Media Production Bachelor degree graduate Ricardo Ruano, who also received an Assosicate degree in Video Production in 2000. 

AiFL recognized the talent he emanated and quickly offered him his current position as Audio Visual Specialist. He is responsible for documenting and archiving activities on and off campus and creating promotional videos. 

Ricardo is responsible for archiving graduate work in the visual arts, maintaning the plasma screens around campus, and producing promotional videos. 

In addition to his work at AiFL, Ricardo is currently creating a film titled Touch the Silence where he serves as writer, producer and director. The film is a drama which depicts “life, love and passion” inspired by an original poem he wrote. Ricardo is also busy compiling a book of pictures and poems for future publication. 

“I came to AiFL with creativity and desire and walked out with an amazing tool of knowledge,” states Ricardo. While engrossed in his studies he was particularly influenced by Video Production instructor Joe Del Sordo. “Everything he taught me I have applied to the projects I am working on today.” Sensing that AiFL needed to have an avenue to display the work of Video Production students, Ricardo created Video Visions, a television display that showcases student work. 

Ricardo knows how to use the talents gained while in school and wants other students to know it can be done as well. “There is nothing that is impossible. I’m doing exactly what I want to do as a career!”

Ruth Dial

Ruth Dial is a 1978 Visual Communications graduate from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale. Over the years she achieved the reputation as a top illustrator and print designer while also teaching, developing curricula, and assisting in hiring many instructors at Miami’s International Fine Arts. Ruth’s illustrations led her into the broadcast market where she worked for WSVN as a broadcast designer. She was instrumental in helping brand the station when it changed affiliation to FOX in 1989. 

In 1990, Ruth accepted a position as designer for WTVJ and was later asked to tour for NBC Golf and Horse Racing as the Paintbox Artist. This opportunity paved the way for Ruth to art direct the 1992 NBC Pay-Per-View Olympics in Barcelona and later she was hired by CBS to work as designer from the Olympics in Albertville. Ruth then joined WFLA, in Tampa, as the Design Director in 1992, where she won three silver BDA awards and two Emmys. Following this experience, Ruth partnered with Rey Rodriguez in 1997 to create Giant Octopus, an internationally renowned broadcast firm.

Sean Zana

A true testament to the human spirit, 2001 Video Production graduate, Sean Zana has defied the odds and persevered. Born with the birth defect, Spina Bifida, doctors gave him a grim fate and did not expect him to survive. Not only did he survive, but usually bound to crutches, mustered all his strength to walk unassisted across the stage to receive his Associate of Science degree and “Highest Academic Achievement” award. The audience cheered with this display of fortitude. 

Prior to graduation, Sean took the initiative to intern with WTVJ NBC6 in Miramar, Florida. This turned into a very wise investment of time and helped him land his current position as a morning editor responsible for editing raw footage according to the script. Probably the most challenging of work of career thus far has been the footage of the horrific national tragedy of the terrorist attack on the U.S. on the forever-memorable day of September 11, 2001. 


While attending AiFL, Sean was chosen to be on the President’s Ambassador’s Council. He feels, “ The education I received at AiFL helped me learn the skills to be a good editor.” One of his most influential instructors was Joe Del Sordo who “took the time to explain everything and made it enjoyable.” Grateful to AiFL, he knows the knowledge and skills earned make him a valuable player in the video industry. 

Sean remains active in his church where he volunteers his time creating graphic Power Point presentations. He remains steadfast, optimistic, positive, and happy to be alive; a true inspiration to us all.