Paul Devlin
Paul Devlin, Director, is five-time Emmy winner for his work on NBC's Olympics and CBS's Tour de France, Paul Devlin's films include Power Trip, which screened in 60 countries, theatrically across the United States and on PBS's Independent Lens, was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and has won 10 film festival awards, including top prizes at Berlin, Hot Docs in Toronto, and Florida. Paul also made the award-winning film SlamNation, which follows the fierce competition at the National Poetry Slam and helped popularize the dynamic genre with its release in theaters and on HBO/Cinemax and Encore/Starz. Paul's current projects include BLAST and Broken Premises. Other credits include his fiction film The Eyes of St. Anthony and his work as producing editor on the Organic Film FREESTYLE: The Art of Rhyme, broadcast on VH1 and winner of the Special Jury Award for Documentary Filmmaking at the Florida Film Festival. As an editor, Paul's extensive credits include commercials, music videos (Elvis Costello, Cyndi Lauper, Kenny G), television shows and major sports broadcasts, including CBS's Super Bowls and ABC/ESPN's World Cup Soccer. Paul is a New Jersey native and graduated with a degree in English Literature from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. There he assisted Robert Altman on his film Secret Honor and took a screenwriting seminar with Lawrence Kasden. Paul has visited over 40 countries, and has exhibited photographs of his travels. He has contributed to The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, The Independent, and Cineaste, among others. ArtistShare® (http://www.artistshare.com), a unique website that invites fans to fund their favorite artists in exchange for participation in the creative process, and BLAST, a documentary that exposes a world of risky, hardcore scientific adventure, announced their partnership today. BLAST is the first film to be incorporated into the successful ArtistShare model that has connected fans with their favorite musicians since 2000. BLAST is the latest documentary from Five-Time Emmy-Award winner and Independent Spirit Award Nominee Paul Devlin, the creator of PowerTrip and SlamNation. Subscribers to the ArtistShare® BLAST project (http://www.blastthemovie.com - click on the ArtistShare link) will not only gain access to production updates and behind-the-scenes footage, but will be able to participate at various levels with interactive question and answer sessions, invitations to exclusive premiere events, and even the opportunity to personally meet with the filmmaker and the scientists behind the project. Depending on their level of participation, ArtistShare participants can even have their name appear in the official credits of the film. BLAST follows the filmmaker’s brother Dr. Mark Devlin, and his international team of astrophysicists as they put their personal lives on hold to spend five years building telescope that will peer into the past by discovering thousands of the most distant, and ancient galaxies. Lacking the funds for a satellite rocket launch, the determined scientists attach their precious instrument to a NASA high altitude balloon and take their chances. Their risky scientific adventure sends them on a journey from the Arctic to the Antarctic, from out-of-focus disappointment to complete disaster, and ultimate triumph. The random, haphazard side of science is revealed as well as its drive and tenacity as Dr. Devlin and his team help unravel humankind’s most basic question, “How did we get here?” Since 2000, ArtistShare has connected fans with their favorite musicians; BLAST is the first film to be incorporated into the program and will serve as the model for those to come. BLAST and ArtistShare participants also enjoy the freedom to focus on their personal interests; budding astrophysicists can learn more about the science behind the BLAST experiment, while future filmmakers have the option of downloading footage and editing a section of the film, with the possibility of it ending up in the finished documentary. For additional information on the BLAST and ArtistShare collaboration, visit http://blast.artistshare.com. For more information about the BLAST film and to see the trailer, visit http://blastthemovie.com or contact the creators at blastthemovie@gmail.com.

Claire Missanelli
Claire Missanelli received her Bachelor of Arts in Film and Media Communications from La Salle University and attended graduate studies at the NYU Film School. Claire is a producer, has worked on a variety of projects including Power Trip, The 2000 National Poetry Slam Finals, As An Act of Protest, and James Baldwin's Blues for Mr. Charlie and performed at the National Black Theatre in Harlem.

Amber Yoder
Amber Yoder is a recent graduate from Denison University in Ohio, is Associate Producer on BLAST and manages the BLAST project on ArtistShare. She also works as a Production Intern at Heavy.com, and recently held an internship with P.O.V. - the independent documentary program on PBS.