Bio - Chris Shindelbower - Principal, Blue Reef

As a film student in college Chris developed a strong understanding of visual communication, especially involving the moving image. As the movie industry began to move to computers, Chris picked up his first Macintosh to see what could really be created on the desktop. Immediately he was hooked and began to focus more on design, multimedia and its power when combined with video.

 

Chris gained valuable print media experience while working as a designer for Cox Target Media and Global Impressions in Largo, Florida in addition to many freelance endeavors. He then accepted the position of Multimedia Developer at networking hardware manufacturer TimePlex Group. There he was responsible for the development of company-wide multimedia projects. He was then hired to be the Manager of Interactive Media for Tampa-based web development firm Webtank, Inc. Along with web development, Chris was a key player in developing the company's DVD authoring initiative and subsequently opening a new office in Los Angeles to cater to the Hollywood studios.

 

As V.P. of Product Development for Visual Media Technologies he designed a fully automated multimedia process, for the creation of CD-ROM based interactive portfolios through a web-based service. The process was automated utilizing custom written code to control several development solutions such as Macromedia Director and Adobe Photoshop. The process required minimal manual intervention from web order to burned disc.

In 2001, Chris founded Blue Reef along with his partner Matt Dieter. As the chief creative director for the firm Chris has been involved in thousands of projects for a wide-array of clients and industries from tourism to military technology. Chris is firmly rooted in the Tampa Bay area, where he was born and raised. He has seen the area grow into an exciting melting pot of people industries and technology, and looks forward to what the future holds.