Andy Neitzert

Starting at the age of 6, Andy Neitzert would steal his dad's video camera and film Saturday Night Live skits in his living room. From the outside, Andy Neitzert is just a regular guy: he watches Glee, he's obsessed with Disneyland and spends time with his wife Sara and daughter Lilly. But what you don't know about Neitzert is that he is also an accomplished filmmaker. Neitzert attended Brooks Institute in Ventura, California, and since then has created numerous film projects. Some of the projects he's worked on include Sync, Afterward and Once Upon a Clown. Neitzert was born in Columbia, Missouri, but moved at a very young age. He attended The Advanced Technologies Academy and Green Valley High School, both in Las Vegas. Neitzert and his wife Sara moved back to Columbia three years ago. It's no surprise that Neitzert went into the film business, as he comes from a long line of creative family members. His grandfather was a photographer during World War II, his sister is a theatre management major and both his brother and father are photographers. Film is a sort of family affair, as Neitzert's wife is also a filmmaker. While attending middle and high school, Andy spent a lot of time concentrating on making movies rather than working on his schoolwork. Teachers and peers were doubtful Neitzert would succeed at all. Andy even went as far as enrolling in marine biology school while he was attending Brooks Institute; he wanted to be a Sea World trainer. He decided to drop out though once he heard that a trainer had died on the job. He dropped out of college again to get a job at Disneyland. Andy stuck around Disneyland for two months before going back to Brooks and completing his degree in commercial film. A very successful project that Neitzert was able to work on was a corporate video for the Children's Hospital of Orange County. He was the first filmmaker to be allowed to shoot at Disneyland for the video he produced for the hospital. Andy shot the walkathon that takes place at Disneyland every year. The video was a success and is still used at the Children's Hospital.