PRODUCER & DIRECTOR

Producer | Director | Entrepreneur | U.S. Marine Corps Veteran

Jody Hart is the Founder and CEO of 1775 Pictures, LLC, an independent film and television production company developing a slate of eleven feature film and television projects, including the professional rodeo feature ROWDY.

As a producer, Jody's career was built in an environment where budgets and schedules could not fail. Long before developing feature films, he founded Combat Media Group, a veteran-based production company that secured approximately $7 million in government contracts to produce interactive training films for the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force. Those productions operated under fixed-price agreements. There were no gap loans, no additional investors, and no opportunity to ask for more money if a project went over budget. Productions had to be planned correctly, executed efficiently, and delivered on time.

It was during those years that he developed the production philosophy that still guides his work today: "Make a Dollar Do Three Things."

Rather than simply spending money, he learned to reverse engineer productions around available resources. Equipment rentals were structured by the week, so productions were designed to combine two interactive training films into a single production block, maximizing the use of equipment, locations, and crew while reducing overall costs. Every production was planned around the essential elements needed to tell the story, with additional coverage captured only if time allowed. Through preparation and disciplined execution, his teams regularly filmed fifteen to seventeen script pages per day, while much of the industry traditionally averages six to eight.

One of his most significant accomplishments came in 2012 when he produced and directed four interactive training films for the U.S. Air Force involving approximately 175 cast and crew members, four separate 65-page scripts, only two weeks of preparation, and principal photography completed in eighteen days, including filming aboard actual C-130 and C-17 aircraft. The productions were delivered on schedule and within budget.

Jody later produced and directed the documentary series No Ignoring, embedding two journalists with the U.S. Army in Iraq for nine months, and went on to produce documentaries, digital series, hidden-camera productions, live events, and unscripted television projects. As the Producer and Line Producer of the feature film STREET, he oversaw story development, budgets, schedules, casting, crew, vendors, and production logistics while simultaneously attending UCLA Extension, where he completed Producing and Directing certificates with distinction.

For more than twenty-five years, Jody has worked throughout the entertainment industry, building his career from the ground up. He has worked alongside and learned from many of Hollywood's most accomplished filmmakers, including Clint Eastwood, Michael Bay, J.J. Abrams, Joe Carnahan, and many others while working on major studio productions. Those experiences helped shape both his creative approach and his philosophy toward leadership, preparation, and execution.

His career has never been limited to a single role. While working on feature films and television productions, he was simultaneously building businesses, producing government contracts, developing original content, and creating opportunities for others. In 2001, he founded Combat Casting, the first military and law enforcement casting company in Hollywood, helping more than 300 veterans transition into careers as actors, stunt performers, technical advisors, writers, directors, and crew members.

Today, Jody works in close creative partnership with Jonathan Ball to develop and produce original feature films and television projects. While Jonathan's strengths are rooted in screenwriting, Jody focuses on story development, production strategy, budgeting, scheduling, financing structures, and the practical execution required to bring projects from concept to completion.

Jody believes that successful filmmaking is built on preparation, discipline, adaptability, and relationships. His goal for 1775 Pictures is not simply to produce individual films, but to build a company capable of creating long-term value for audiences, business partners, and investors.

After serving in the United States Marine Corps from 1992 to 1996, Jody entered the entertainment industry as a props person and weapons handler on Pensacola: Wings of Gold. Everything that followed—from building companies to producing feature films—was earned by working through the ranks of the business, learning every aspect of production, and embracing a simple philosophy that continues to guide him today: 

“Plan thoroughly. Solve problems creatively. Deliver on your commitments. And always make a dollar do more than one job.”