So many of you have come to the Studio and seen our faces. Here are the people behind all the hard work we put into the Studio.
Ray Tesi – Owner and President
Captain- “There can be only one Captain to a ship” – Thomas John Barnardo
After the final episode of Star Trek Continues was filmed, the set sat in a frozen state waiting for the right person to come along. Enter our fearless Captain, finding out about the sets he approached the owner of the sets to purchase them. Officially January 2018 then Stage 9 Studios was under a new owner later to become The Neutral Zone Studios.
Engineering Crew
Sam Rooks – Studio Manager/Gaffer
Sam Rooks of Jacksonville, Florida is a photographer and filmmaker with a passion toward producing. He has been involved in many areas of filmmaking, including producer, prop master, and gaffer. Sam was an extra in the movie “Lonely Hearts, starring John Travolta. Sam appeared in the award-winning HBO movie “Recount”, starring Kevin Spacey, and was a political consultant to the movie’s Producer Mike Hausman. He is the official photographer for the Miss America First Coast Pageant and the Miss & Teen Jacksonville U.S.A. Pageants. Sam has produced such short films as “Within the Heart of a Child” and “Granma and the Fly”. He was dolly gaffer on the short film “Planting Hope”, produced for Jacksonville’s domestic violence shelter, Hubbard House.
Sam is presently working as the lighting gaffer for Farragut Films, Star Trek Continues, Exeter Trek, Neutral zone studios and Dreadnaught Dominion to reproduce original Star Trek episodes. Sam also works with the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees in Jacksonville Florida (IATSE115). He has worked for the Rolling Stones, Elton John, Pink, Ariana Grande and others as a stage hand.
When Sam is not working on films, he can be found running his a/c business, performing photoshoots, or hunting and fishing.
Executive Team
Tina Cordova – Executive Assistant, Scheduling Coordinator
“…every good captain needs a first officer who will tell him when he’s wrong.”
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Season 2 Episode 2, “Ad Astra per Aspera”
Ruth McCartney – Merchandise Coordinator, Guest Management, Studio Accountant
At the Helm
Dan Scanlan – Communication Officer
Dan is a man of many talents. His affiliation with the studio goes back to Star Trek Continues are part of the sound department. He continued that journey when Neutral Zone Studios was founded. Dan is also a full time Journalist with the Florida Times Union in Jacksonville, FL making him the perfect Public Relations.
Allen Anderson – Sound/Audio Department Supervisor