Credits

Director
Co-Writer
Brent Heise

My filmmaking journey began in childhood with a Minolta Super 8mm camera and a Kodak Presstape splicer. That underlying drive to make moving images that evoke emotions became a lifelong pursuit to elevate people through storytelling that aspires to entertain thoughtfully. I attended the American University in Washington D.C. During my freshman year, I made a supernatural-themed short film featuring Sara, the future class valedictorian. This project received top billing at the Media Festival. I considered this a good omen, and it was. Returning to Portland, Oregon, I subsequently won a “Best of the Northwest Judges Choice” from the Alliance for Community Media for my indie feature “Twilight Man.” Willamette Week critic David Walker highlighted the editing techniques that I used to evoke the lead character's maturation and enlightenment. Mr. Walker's encouragement helped me to focus my attention on further editorial work. Beginning at the ad agency Euro RSCG 4D DRTV, I shot and edited Allstate's “Keep the Drive” campaign with several actors speaking on the face of a driver's license to relay a message of safe driving. At the production studio Digital Wave, I shot and edited a nonprofit documentary for the Community Transitional School subsidized by Oprah Winfrey. This school for children from unhoused families continues to provide vital education and health services for our most vulnerable citizens in Portland, Oregon, very satisfying work. I then teamed up with songwriter and musician Tom Guernsey to bring his one hit wonder story to a wider audience, even as he suffered from the debilitating setbacks of ALS. Our collaboration had highlights such as cameos by Nils Lofgren of the E Street Band, as well as Mike Clark, founder of Portland’s famed Movie Madness shop. I moved on to editorial work at the boutique animation studio Bent Image Lab. Working under the guidance of award winning director Chel White, I helped to bolster the company's presence in the film community through animated segments for features, commercials, and social media. Behind the scenes edits for Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The 4-D Experience and David Oyelowo's directorial debut “The Water Man” are Blu-Ray special features. Recognition for one company reel appeared on Motionographer.com. Meanwhile, my post production work on Mr. White's memoir segment for Academy Award Winner Joan Gratz played at the opening night of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival. I also produce videos for the Preservation Artisans Guild, shedding light on members of the historic preservation community and their so valuable artist efforts. These shorts spotlight the craftsmanship of Portland's most talented artist in regards to maintaining our heritage and knowledge of the present and the past.

How to do this? Answer: Make a music video to re-show the world the song. Tell its story and show the world that The Girl Who Faded Away, miraculously, had not Faded Away.

The film creation process happened swiftly, almost by magic. The widow introduced Daly to a local Portland cinematographer and film editor whom Tom had worked with on some little-known film experiments, the last effort called The Girl From California.

Daly and Brent Heise hit it off on the phone, and they proceeded forward. Throughout, it was a combination of music and film. Tom Guernsey’s ex-bandmate Daly came with deep expertise in the Hollywood music business, is a hit songwriter, and before that, had experience as a musician and artist. Daly’s history also included experience as a film director with a prior nationally award-wining documentary Most importantly for this story, however, George Daly had known Tom Guernsey as a brother in a band. Also on the film side, the talented Heise came from a deep professional video background and also had already worked with Guernsey. Heise knew and deeply respected him, was inspired by him.

Objectively, Daly and Heise were two perfect people to team up to create a music video to celebrate a special song and a special man. Their working together with Tom’s widow became a beautiful pairing of the past with the present using music and film. The team knew Tom Guernsey and knew his spirit. While he was no longer here, they still loved him as much as if he was working along side them, which is what Daly and Heise essentially did.

Now with the work done, and film awards coming in from the four corners of the globe, the story of The Girl Who Faded Away proves that fidelity to a dream and working with talent and love can make for vivid, lasting art. The art, in this case, as memorable and beautiful as the story of a long ago rock band, music and undying friendships.

Producer
Co-Writer
George Daly

George Daly is a music executive, songwriter, musician, film and music producer, award-winning film director and inventor. In his role as a music Industry Artists & Repertoire executive, he worked with Janis Joplin, Booker T. Jones of The Cars, Tool, Huey Lewis, Carlos Santana, and others. Artists to whose efforts Daly has contributed have sold in excess of 300 million singles and albums in vinyl, tape, CD, and digital download music streaming formats.

After moving from the Washington metropolitan area to San Francisco, Daly befriended Janis Joplin and was soon hired by Columbia Records as CBS Corporate San Francisco Head of A&R spanning the Clive Davis and Goddard Lieberson eras. Following that, Daly was named head of A&R at Elektra/Asylum Records in Hollywood and later in Los Angeles, where he was hired as Head of Artist & Repertoire by Ahmet Ertegun at Atlantic Records (WMG), where he worked under Doug Morris. He then worked with Zoo Entertainment (Bertelsmann Music Group) as both BMG corporate Vice President and head of the Artists & Repertoire division. Daly is the recipient of multiple Gold Record and Platinum Record music recording certifications.

Daly is a lifetime member of NARAS (the Grammy organization). Daly is also a lifetime member of Mensa and holds an FCC Amateur Extra-Class radio license.

Daly discovered and contracted musical artists such as The Cars, signing the band to a long-term Elektra/Asylum recording contract on a paper napkin after a live performance at Harvard University. The band’s self-titled first album stayed on the charts for 139 weeks and sold over six million copies in the US alone. Daly also discovered and brought The Tubes, a surreal SF theatrical rock band, to A&M Records. Daly also signed Bill Manspeaker’s Green Jellÿ to BMG/Zoo. Green Jelly members Maynard James Keenan and Danny Carey became the band Tool on the label. Daly has also worked professionally as a songwriter/musician with many other prominent artists and musicians, such as Roy Buchanan, Nils Lofgren and Boz Scaggs. Daly co-wrote Boz Scaggs’ classic "Slow Dancer" (also recorded by Rita Coolidge and Emmylou Harris) which some consider to be Scaggs' greatest musical achievement. Daly has also worked with other artists, including Huey Lewis, Carlos Santana, and Alice Coltrane. Daly also worked with the family of Jimi Hendrix in producing The River of Color and Sound, an award-winning interactive multimedia biography of Carlos Santana.