Ammiel G. Najar has been involved in film, video, and live presentations for over 30 years. Originally a music major (choral conducting and percussion), he changed majors and followed his passion for photo journalism and other forms of visual media.
He first learned about the film school at the University of Southern California, while working as a television news cameraman/intern at an NBC affiliate in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He would soon earn both a BA and MFA in motion picture production, later joining the faculty of the USC film school as an instructor. While on staff, he was asked to coordinate the completion and transition of the new Cinema-Television Center at USC.
Today his interests are far from mainstream Hollywood filmmaking, devoting all of his energy creating dynamic presentations in a variety of giant screen film and digital formats including Imax, Astrovision, and Extreme Screen 3D. He has also produced or created media in a variety of specialty formats including digital 3D, 870mm, and ride films for science museums and theme parks around the world. Clients include Six Flags, Universal Theme Parks, Warner Parks, Knotts, Cedar Fair, National Geographic, Iwerks, and NASA.
This interest has also led him to work on over 30 Imax format documentary films including The Eruption of Mount St. Helens, Ring of Fire, Alaska, Spirit of the Wild, Everest, Africa: The Serengeti, Amazing Journeys, Seasons, Amazon, Forces of Nature, and The Journey Inside.
Ammiel has also been involved in the production of many live multi-media productions designing presentation media and/or stage management for numerous corporate clients including Mazda and American Suzuki. He has also staged many informational and live special events for USC, the 1984 Olympics, and numerous charitable events in Los Angeles.
Currently, he is a volunteer board member of UKRO, and also serves as a consultant to the media department at Collins College. He is a founding board member of the Large Format Cinema Association, and charter member of the GSTA. He is also an affiliate member of ACE, IAAPA, and DAFE and a recent honoree of the Los Angeles Make-A-Wish Foundation.
