The Team
Scott Crain
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Scott is a successful business entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in startup, management, and operations of many companies. He is the owner of Texoma Mfg., LLC, a custom metal manufacturer. He's also the owner and founder of American Billboards Corporation, an outdoor advertising company, and cofounder of Slingshot17 Productions, a full-service production company based in North Texas. Slingshot17 has produced commercials and various video and film content for such clients as, the Emmy Awards, General Electric, ExxonMobil, Fossil, and Navy Seals, to name a few and has become one of the most sought-after production houses in the area. Scott brings real world business savvy to the project. His experience and success over the years will be a major contributing factor to the success of this movie.
Scott and his wife Carol are founders of Fusion Bible Church in Durant, OK and are involved in philanthropic initiatives around the world. He has two grown sons and seven grandchildren. Scott is an avid golfer, sports fan, and proud supporter of the University of Oklahoma. He enjoys traveling and playing golf around the globe.
Greg Matthews
Director of Photography
Greg Matthews filmic career began in 1998 with his move from Knoxville to Los Angeles. After working across a variety of roles in television, he shifted his focus to camera and directing. His cinematography career is rooted in documentary and unscripted projects including the Justin Timberlake project The Phone TLC’s Leave it to Niecy and VH1’s What Chili Wants, as well as international hits like X Factor with Simon Cowell.
Greg’s career as a Director of Photography continued to blossom with credits including two plus seasons of Fresh Off The Boat. He shot his first feature in 2021 for director Dean Caine, Little Angels. Other credits include Apple TV+ Best Foot Forward, Disney+ Saturdays and currently is DP’ing second unit for Paramount’s Loud House.
Greg also works as a director with several credits for Kinetic Entertainment including the wedding episodes of Married At First Sight.
Greg brings a passion, an incredible work ethic, and an attention to detail and preparation to The Short Game. It will be his third collaboration with Producer David Parks. Best of all, Greg is an avid, low-handicap golfer with an understanding of the sport that will serve to enhance the photographic and sensibilities of the film.
Doron Lowe
Production Coordinator
A successful business entrepreneur with over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Doron is the President and Founder of ULTD Entertainment which owns The Flight Squad, a premier, exhibition basketball team that offers fundraising events to schools, charitable and community organizations. Prior to this, he worked on many projects for television and film with major studios.
After attending the University of Houston and Columbia College, majoring in Advertising, he began his career in the production departments of both Leo Burnett and DDB. In 2006, he ventured into television working for KABC7 Los Angeles as a freelance Camera Operator and as an on-air production coordinator for ESPN. He has worked with most sports leagues including the NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB. At HSI Productions, he was a production coordinator on many projects for clients including Nike, Ford Motor Company, and Taco Bell. He has served as producer on several television shows including 2006 HGTV Real Homes and the 2009 Russian reality show Russian Tenors. Doron also worked as production coordination for the 2015 Spike Lee motion picture, Chi-Raq and as production assistant for the Daytime Emmy Awards.
Doron splits his time between Los Angeles and Houston. He enjoys traveling, the arts and all things aviation.
Frank Sanza
DIRECTOR & WRITER
Frank Sanza is the managing partner in Slingshot17 Productions, a full-service production company based in North Texas where he is the lead producer and director on a myriad of entertainment projects. Slingshot17 has produced commercials and various video and film content for such clients as, the Emmy Awards, General Electric, ExxonMobil, Fossil, and Navy Seals, to name a few and has become one of the most sought-after production houses in the area.
This high-end production knowledge and experience will be hugely beneficial to the challenges of film production. Additionally, with stages, top end camera, audio, and lighting equipment at his disposal through Slingshot17, Frank brings to the project, a comforting familiarity with the primary production gear. Frank is also an FAA licensed professional drone pilot, which will bring tremendous aesthetic production value to the film, especially the expansive golf scenes.
As part of Slingshot17, Frank is also an accomplished editor, a skillset with an importance that cannot be understated. An editor’s point-of-view while directing is exceptionally beneficial in the story-telling process. While Frank will not be the editor of the film, his expertise will still be immensely valuable in planning and executing our scenes, not to mention the short-hand language head start he will have with our editor.
Frank’s career started as an award-winning San Francisco bay area and LA actor. This has provided him with exceptional insight into working with and directing actors to ensure the very best performances possible. This background also gives Frank a wealth of knowledge related to on-set procedures and how to work efficiently in all aspects of production.
Frank is the writer and director of the acclaimed short film Home, which is still impacting lives today across generations for its bold depiction of one unlikely man's love for the unlovely. He has directed numerous regional musical theater productions in California, Minnesota, and Texas. He graduated from Bethel University in St. Paul, MN, with a degree in music conducting and through the years has directed many pit orchestras.
Frank lives in Sherman, TX with his wife and two children. It’s been reported that he is also quite the basketball player and golfer.
Joren Christensen
Writer & Co-EP
In April 2014, Frank Sanza, Larry Boatright and Joren Christensen established a writing partnership and The Short Game teed off. It has been a long and exciting road from the first click of the keyboard until pre-production. In addition to screenwriter, Joren is also a co-executive producer of the film. With three additional completed screenplays and multiple writing projects in development, Joren adds extensive creative value to the development of this film.
Joren caught the acting bug in 4th grade when he was cast as Jack in Jack and the Beanstalk in his elementary school play. He has played dozens of roles in community theater productions including Daddy Warbucks in Annie and his favorite role, the ghost of Jacob Marley in a Christmas Carol. He has also directed and been lead set designer in multiple stage productions. Joren's current feature production, as co-writer and producer, just completed principle photography.
Joren was the event coordinator of countless community, ministry and outreach events as an associate church pastor for fifteen years, including an Independence Day Pyrotechnic Extravaganza and Festival attended by tens of thousands in San Jose from 2002 - 2008.
Joren lives in McKinney, Texas with his wife, Wendy. His two adult daughters and one son-in-law live in Seattle and Nampa, Idaho. He loves to travel, has been to Indonesia and Israel and almost everywhere in between.
David Parks
PRODUCER
David Parks is recognized as one of today’s most versatile and experienced TV and film producers. With 30+ years that cross over between feature films, TV, Documentary, live events, and new media, his projects have garnered numerous awards and set many viewing records.
With many years spent below-the-line working his way up the production ladder, he has real-world, hands-on experience with a clear understanding of what it takes to pull off successful, team-oriented productions. Extensive experience in the planning, scheduling, budgeting, crew management and creative execution of projects both in-studio and in-the-field, allow him to work smoothly with production crew and executives alike.
Additionally, with significant experience on the creative side as both a DGA director and writer, David brings added value to his productions with an understanding of how to build a production in a way that supports and enhances the creative vision of the project. For David the answer is rarely “no”, but rather, “how can we creatively solve this challenge.”
After working on numerous well-known Hollywood movies, David was Producer and Director of Photography of the hit indie film The Sky is Falling starring Teri Garr, Dedee Pfeifer, Howard Hessseman, Sean Astin, Octavia Spencer, Eric Close and Chris Elliott. The film premiered to rave reviews at the prestigious SXSW Film Festival. David was also the initial producer during the development phase of the Academy Award winning Aaron Schneider short film Two Soldiers. He also produced and wrote the award-winning National Geographic documentary, Death on the Mountain: The Women of K2, and was also Producer/Director of the hit Fox TV series Murder in Small Town X.
David considers himself very fortunate to have worked on projects crossing into almost every genre of entertainment including Producer, EP, and Director credits on major productions including: 2014-2021 Daytime Emmy Awards, Sports Emmy Awards, News & Documentary Emmy Awards; 2013, 2015-2018 Tournament of Roses Parade; 2009-2011 NHL Winter Classic, NHL Awards; YouTube Comedy Week; Nashville Star, Extreme Makeover Home Edition; Criss Angel Mindfreak; and many others.
David has also produced live concert events and their broadcast including Live Earth: The Concerts for a Climate in Crisis, the largest entertainment broadcast in history; the Paul McCartney/Ringo Star headlined Change Begins Within benefit concert; and numbers A-List artist concerts for AOL Music Live!.
In Sports, besides his work at the NHL, David served as head of production helping launch the new digital sports network 120 Sports/Stadium. He has worked with almost all major sports leagues including the NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLB, and started his career at NBC Sports.
Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, David is a graduate of Syracuse University and holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts. He is a former D1 soccer player and has represented the USA in soccer internationally. He remains an active athlete in both soccer and cycling.
David is a member of the DGA, PGA, NATAS, and the Television Academy, as well as a past Master Instructor for YoungArts. He currently splits his time between LA and Chicago where he lives with his wife, TV/Film Writer/Director Florrie Laurence Parks, and their son and daughter.