Empowering the World's Documentarians

Michael DeChant

(He/Him)

Senior Multimedia Producer / Manager, The Pew Charitable Trusts

Rockville, MD US

Open To Mentoring

Open To Virtual Coffee

About

Michael DeChant is a senior multimedia producer and manager at The Pew Charitable Trusts, a non-profit organization that conducts research and advocacy on public policy issues. He has over 20 years of experience in the film and video industry, producing and directing short and long-form documentaries, explainer animations, commercials, music videos, and interactive media. Michael is also an accomplished still photographer and his images have been published in Pews Trust Magazine. In early 2000, Michael co-founded a media company, Double Six Productions, LLC, via which he co-directed and co-produced the feature-length documentary "Soldiers of Paint", which was released by First Run Features in 2013. His earlier years of multimedia production found him working on Transformers (2007), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), and The Invasion (2007) as well as the HBO television series, The Wire (2008). Michael holds an MFA in Film and Media Arts from American University and a BA in Communications and Advertising from Loyola University Maryland with a minor in photography. He is passionate about telling compelling stories that inspire positive change in the world.

Featured Work

We Are Pew (2023)

Since 1948, The Pew Charitable Trusts has used data to make a difference. We are a diverse, passionate, global team working together, and with dedicated partners, to address the challenges of a changing world by illuminating issues, creating common ground, and advancing ambitious projects that lead to tangible progress.

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The People of the Boreal: Indigenous Hunter Keeps Traditions Alive in Boreal Forest (2016)

“An intact boreal forest is essential for the survival of Dene communities,” says James Marlowe. Marlowe is a Dene hunter and guide from the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation, a remote Indigenous community on the east arm of Great Slave Lake in Canada’s boreal forest. The lifestyle of the Dene is experiencing some changes, and so is the forest landscape, as demand for the area’s rich natural resources expands. The boreal region of Canada stretches across more than a billion acres, and is one of the largest intact forest ecosystems on Earth. Pew’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign encourages a balance between development and conservation and works with the people who live and there to achieve that goal. People of the Boreal is a multimedia project that tells the stories of those who have the most to gain or lose from decisions about how the region is managed.

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"Soldiers of Paint" Feature Documentary Official Trailer (2013)

Join 5,000 participants as they restage D-Day, the notorious 6th of June invasion of Normandy. Instead of bullets, it’s paintball; instead of the French coast, it’s Oklahoma. And,every year, it’s any man’s game, which means the Germans could win! Staged on a 700-acre battlefield owned by the grandson of a veteran of Omaha Beach, this yearly battle of paint is fought as a tribute to all veterans. These paintball soldiers take “gung ho” to an all-time high, utilizing real tanks and airplanes for this epic fight.

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"Know My Way" by Honest Lee Soul (2021)

"Know My Way" is an Honest Lee Soul original song written by Cullen DeChant & Rahsaan Eldridge while visiting New Orleans. The song was recorded at Wrightway Studios in Baltimore, MD and was mixed and mastered by Steve Wright. Lead Vocals - Rahsaan "Wordslave" Eldridge Vocals - Sharese Reid Guitar - Cullen DeChant Bass - Reggie Maddox Drums - Devin Brown Organ - Kirk Myers Saxophone - Barry Caudill Trumpet - Nick Reider For all things Honest Lee, visit www.honestleesoul.com Credits: An MD Prod.Co. Production Produced, directed, and edited by: Michael DeChant Cinematography by Umit Gulsen and Michael DeChant

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