March 2020

Patti Hobfoll – Head of Production

As Head of Production and co-founder of Trail Nine Media, Patti has cultivated relationships with agency partners, expertly orchestrating the translation of their vision from page to production. Examples include work for Click it Utah’s Hispanic campaign, and Valley ENT physician group. Patti also produced the filming of San Francisco’s 2021 Day of the Dead Festival of Altars and subsequent live stream, working closely with the festival organizers to capture the joy, reverence, and culture of the beloved festival. Another favorite credit includes documentary production for a Walk 2 Honor, a 4 month walk by West Point alum and veteran Greg Washington to raise awareness for PTSD and veteran suicide. 

Before co-founding Trail Nine Media, Patti served as Head of Production for Philadelphia-based production company Main Gate Media House, spearheading meaningful content projects and leveraging top cinematographers, directors, and producers. She managed projects for large pharmaceutical corporations such as The Medicines Company and Teva, universities such as West Point USMA, as well as government agencies such as The United States Forest Service. 

Working for the Medicines Company, Patti worked as the co-producer to collaboratively bring 19 finished videos to the client, distributing them across 5 global markets. She was involved in the project from concept development through final delivery; a long term project that spanned over 6 months. Patti oversaw, and many times coordinated wardrobe, set design and construction, logistics, and casting. This project is similar in many ways to the demands of the upcoming job at the airport. Nimble and creative thinking are required to solve a plethora of potential curveballs, as well as a solid skill set in many aspects of production. In addition, the organization and coordination is present to manage all these things over an extended production time period. This project for The Medicines Company is a stellar example of what is needed to fulfill the requirements of the airport job, and combined with her other experience and team members, you will be in good hands. 

Todd Hickey – Creative Director

Todd Hickey is a director, cinematographer, writer, and producer with more than 15 years of experience in narrative, commercial and documentary projects.  Early feature narrative work as a cinematographer includes After Sex and lensing the award-winning documentaries Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme and Sonny Boy. He made his feature-length directing debut with the documentary, Takedowns and Falls, which in 2012 was a top-rated sports documentary on Netflix. Todd also penned the story for the film Seeking Justice, directed by Roger Donaldson, starring Nicolas Cage, January Jones and Guy Pearce.

Past short form director work includes web campaigns for Adidas and Pepsi, a short documentary for Obey Inc, with Shepard Fairey, and a music video for Snoop Dogg. In addition to directing, Todd also served as creative director and writer for many commercial projects for clients such as The Medicines Company and Teva, as well as promo work for the 2016, ’17 and ‘18 Army/Navy Games with West Point & Nike, and animated videos for the United States Forest Service. 

Recent feature-length cinematography work includes the documentary’s None More American, about Army West Point Football players, Kid 90 (STX/Hulu), directed by Soleil Moon Frye, and won the 2021 Hollywood Critics Award for Best Documentary Made for Streaming. Todd also shot the narrative feature Everything In the End that has been in over 40 film festivals and has won 18 awards including 2 for best cinematography. Currently, Todd is shopping a documentary series he adapted from the book Dissent, History of an American Idea, and developing and another, Journey to Heal,  that looks at culturally sensitive & informed holistic treatments for PTSD, complex grief and other trauma related mental health conditions. 

Developing, shooting, and finishing any feature film takes skill, discipline, organization, and an ability to plan and set goals. From inception to completion, a feature film can span months or even years. Todd’s vast experience with feature work, from Takedowns and Falls to Dissent demonstrates clearly his versatility and knowledge to see a project through from start to finish, and to manage all production needs along the way. Beyond that, Todd wields an exceptional ability to bring creativity, originality, and beauty to all the work that he does, connecting authenticity with documentary cast and actors. Todd is an intuitive, professional artisan with the rare ability to balance the need for big picture vision with technical details required to execute quality productions.