Bruce M.

Bruce Merwin is a man in motion – producer, cinematographer, actor, singer, writer … and if you need it, he can strike a set and probably compose a tune while he’s doing it. At an age when some men are wrestling with midlife crisis or contemplating early retirement, Merwin is producing his forth full-length motion picture, and also working as Director of Photography on the same film. The movie is “Carriage Horses,” an independent documentary set in our nation's oldest city St. augustine, Florida, being produced by Florida-based Merwin Films, founded in 1980. “A director frequently works in front of the camera and in back of the camera on the same film. Although it’s unusual, being the cinematographer and also acting in the same film isn’t all that much different,” explains Merwin. “With a lot of preparation and a little bit of luck, it becomes a seamless operation.” An overachiever by nature, Merwin’s talents and skills began overlapping at the age of 13. While keeping up with his academic studies, he sang in Miami garage bands. At Palmetto High School, he was the lead singer with a rock band called Slaves of Sound. After graduation, he was a contract singer with John Kennly’s Broadway Musicals at the Plaza Hotel on Miami Beach. At the age of 20, he was awarded a drama scholarship to Flagler College in St. Augustine. He attended Flagler only a few months before enlisting in the U.S. Navy. Merwin was born into a military family. His father was a Strategic Air Command pilot and his oldest brother was retired Air Force. From 1973-1977, Merwin served aboard the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) where his duties included assembling air-to-air rockets and maintaining shipboard weapons. Although he was honored to be stationed on the famous aircraft carrier and sometimes liked activities at sea, the military was not a good career fit for the former liberal arts student. When his four-year Navy hitch ended, Merwin returned to Flagler College. He also attended Florida School of the Arts in Palatka where he received a degree in technical theater. During this period he performed in more than a dozen area plays (among them “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “South Pacific,” “Cabaret,” “A Streetcar Named Desire” and “Cross and Sword” – the latter, depicting early St. Augustine history, was designated “Florida’s Official State Play”) before going to the West Coast in 1978. In California, using his G.I. Bill benefits, Merwin attended Columbia College Hollywood where he received a BA degree in filmmaking. He made the rounds of independent movies and student films, acting and singing in them whenever possible. He returned to Florida in 1980. During the ‘80s, Merwin produced three (all at the same time) cable TV shows in Palatka, married the former Anne Buynitzky (a medical doctor), and eventually moved to Orlando where he worked as a cameraman, electrician and/or producer on hundreds of big-name industrial shows. Notable among these shows were McDonald’s, IBM, General Electric, Chrysler, Cadillac, Ford and Pfizer. After five years of corporate shows, network television and motion pictures opened up to Merwin. He was an assistant editor on TV’s “In the Heat of the Night” (7th season), a gaffer on the feature film “Fire Birds” (Touchstone/BuenaVista – 1990), and an assistant cameraman on TV’s “The Old Man and the Sea” (Fuisz/Yorkshire – 1990). It was while working with Anthony Quinn on “The Old Man and the Sea” that Merwin’s commitment to multitasking was reinforced. “We were filming in the British Virgin Islands,” recalls Merwin. “I walked down to the beach early on the first day. Way out in the water, I saw someone in a lone boat rowing back and forth, back and forth. I asked a crew member who it was out there so early in the morning. ‘Tony Quinn,’ he replied. ‘He’s learning to row like a native for the character he’s portraying.’ I was immediately struck with the thought that if this superstar, at the age of 75 who had been in nearly 200 movies, was working this hard – well then, I had better start working just as hard, perhaps even harder, at what I do.” Merwin was next employed by Time Warner as a television and film technician. He also was the cameraman on “Chill Out,” a dark comedy produced by Top Line Cinema. Simultaneously, he began packaging his own DVD and CD projects. Presenting himself as producer, director, photographer, writer, and sometimes performer, his independent ventures are available online at [login to view URL]: “New Walden” (DVD) – a transcendental musical fantasy “Orange Blossom Tale” (CD) – traditional songs of the South “Fernstock II” (DVD) – a rock documentary “Magnificent Magnificats” (DVD) – the music of Michael Praetorius “Voice of The Camera” (DVD) – documentary on Hollywood cameramen “Changing Faces” (DVD) – documentary on Hollywood Effects Makeup As the millennium unfolded, Merwin went back to California where he honed his filmmaking skills at UCLA and learned the logistics of independent film marketing at the American Film Market Association. He produced, directed and photographed “Double Exposure: The Voice of the Camera,” a documentary featuring seven legendary cinematographers ([login to view URL]), and worked with the City of Beverly Hills as a cameraman on several video programs. He loved the energy of Los Angeles and the opportunities it offered, but his wife passionately missed Florida. Merwin, his wife, and their teen-age son made a permanent move back to Florida in 2004. Over the many years, wherever he traveled, Merwin always returned to St. Augustine, Florida, our nation's oldest city. Whenever he visited St. Augustine, Merwin frequently envisioned story ideas for motion pictures. Merwin has written three scripts, based out of historic St. Augustine. The first motion picture being produced by Merwin Films is one of the three scripts written by Merwin, titled “Carriage Horses,” it is a documentary about a carriage driver and a carriage horse, situated in our nation's oldest city. Merwin is directing his own script. Starring Carriage Driver Roosevelt Upshaw, a veteran St. Augustine Carriage Driver of 51 years. Merwin is also the cinematographer. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * Professional Name: Bruce Merwin Legal Name: Bruce Martin Campbell Merwin Birthdate: September 27, 1951 – Austin, Texas Marital Status: Married Anne Buynitzky – November 7, 1980 Children: Louie Austin Merwin - born March 5, 1991 Siblings: Miles Anthony Merwin, Helene Crystal Merwin 5’7” 180 pounds blue eyes blond hair International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes (IATSE) Bruce Merwin received a Best Screenplay Award for “Dionysus,” an adaptation of Euripides’ Greek classic “Bacchants,” at the Houston International Film Festival in 1984. Merwin’s favorite cinematographer is William Fraker (ASC, BSC). His favorite saying is: ”There are those who look good. And there are those who make them look good.”