THE TEAM
RICKY BYRDSONG JR
Ricky Byrdsong, Jr. is the co-director of Byrdsong, in which he explores the dark circumstances of his father’s death, its impacts on the community, and his family’s efforts to turn the tragedy into triumph. Aside from producing, Ricky works in Chicago's heavy civil road construction industry.
JOHN PAUL ORICCHIO
John Paul Oricchio is the director of Byrdsong. Oricchio is an Emmy award-winning documentary filmmaker who focuses on the intersectionality of sports, race and pop culture. He has produced documentaries on Baseball Hall of Famers Mike Piazza and Tony Gwynn, as well as WNBA legend Candace Parker. Oricchio won an Emmy for his work on MLB Tonight and currently works as an Editor for Turner Sports.
avery brooks
Avery Brooks is an editor and cinematographer for Byrdsong. Avery got his start in film with MLB Productions, carving out a niche for himself through his camerawork and experience in the field with Latino baseball players. With an affinity for feature storytelling, he has gone on to work as an editor for a variety of sports outlets, including ESPN, CBS Sports, NFL Network, The Players’ Tribune, and NBC Sports.
greg washington
Greg Washington is the director of photography for Byrdsong. Washington is a global fashion cinematographer and BTS shooter with a passion for all filmmaking. Greg has a creative eye, crafting schemes with light, shadows, and cinematic movements to tell the story. Whether it’s skateboarding downhill with a Sony and glide camera or flying drones in Chicago, Greg is our guy to get the shot just right.
Mel Rodriguez
Mel Rodriguez is an editor for Byrdsong. Rodriguez is an award-winning writer/director of the indie dark comedy "In Stereo" starring Beau Garrett and Micah Hauptman and a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize winner as an editor on the documentary "We Live in Public" in 2009.
TIM SCHWAB
Tim Schwab is an Editor on Byrdsong. Tim got his start at Major League Baseball, where he won an Emmy for his work on MLB Tonight. Since then, he's worked on streaming docu-series that aired on Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+.
ELLIOTT RIEBMAN
Elliott Riebman is a producer for Byrdsong. Elliott has worked in TV/film development for Fortress Features and for Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman’s film company Revelations Entertainment. He is currently also producing the documentary "Area 2," which was selected as a finalist for the Library of Congress/Ken Burns Prize in 2024.