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|  |
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (July 2026) |
Don Schechter | |
|---|---|
 Schechter's author photo | |
| Born | April 18, 1979 Queens, New York, US |
| Occupations | Author, producer, professor |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | donschechter |
Don Schechter (born April 18, 1979) is an American writer, filmmaker, and media producer. He is the author of the science fiction book Ascendants and is the founder of Charles River Media, a video production company in Needham, Massachusetts. He is also a Professor of the Practice of film studies at Tufts University.
Early life
[edit]Schechter graduated from Tufts University with a double-major in Music and Media Arts and Technology. As a music student, he played the flute and theremin.[1] While attending Tufts, he was the President and Production Coordinator of the student-run broadcasting studio Tufts University Television (TUTV) while the organization was transitioning to internet streaming.[1][2][3]
Schechter returned to Tufts to pursue a graduate degree in Music, where he studied and performed experimental classical music.[4] He also served as the Technical Assistant to the university's Multimedia Arts Program.[5]
After graduating, Schechter served as a lecturer teaching filmmaking through the Tufts Experimental College before a film program was established.[6] When the Film and Media Studies program was established in 2016, he became a Professor of the Practice, where he still teaches as of July 2026.[7]
Media career
[edit]Early work
[edit]Schechter's first professional role in media was as an intern at the start-up internet platform Nibblebox, later known as Hypnotic.[1][8] Cofounded by David Bartis and Doug Liman, Nibblebox produced web content for ages 18-34 and frequently sourced talent from student filmmakers. [9][10] At Nibblebox, Schechter designed an online program called Viscosity that allowed users to create music videos within their internet browser.[11] He also worked as an intern at Dateline NBC.[1]
Schechter was involved in various television productions and documentaries. As a graduate student, he was a producer on the documentary Bad Boy Made Good: The Revival of George Antheil's 1924 Ballet Mécanique.[12] He also served as a camera operator on The Rolling Stones: Four Flicks and an editor on A Good Whack: The Making of 'Tonya and Nancy: The Opera.'
Founding of Charles River Media
[edit]In 2004, Schechter founded Charles River Media (formerly Charles River Media Group), a video production company based in Boston that produces corporate videos and live events.[13][14] Charles River Media includes the LXD Research, an educational technology research and consulting company.[15]
Feature films
[edit]Schechter was a producer on the 2026 psychological horror feature film The Arborist which is distributed by Dark Sky Films.[16]
Conception of Ascendants
[edit]Schechter has been a science fiction fan since childhood.[17] As a young adult, Schechter worked on the documentary Transcendent Man, which examined the work of the futurist Ray Kurzweil. Schechter's exposure to Kurzweil's ideas surrounding the singularity inspired initial conceptions of a dystopian narrative.[18]
In 2006, Schechter wrote a feature-length screenplay influenced by Strange Days and Children of Men and titled it Ascendants. Initially, the idea for the script began as a single vivid scene in Schechter's head about a husband wanting to follow his wife into the afterlife and soon developed into an exploration of a world where entering the afterlife was genetically-determined.[19][20] Due to the financial limits of feature films, he expanded the mythology of the Ascendants world outside of the screenplay and wrote a series of anthology shorts, much like a serialized television show. The series began with Ascendants: Family and was followed by Ascendants: Raven, starring Johnny Lee Davenport.[13]
The first film of The Ascendants Anthology premiered in the 2013 HollyShorts Film Festival, and later films screened at other festivals such as the Boston International Film Festival, Boston Comic Con, and NYCIFF Fright Fest.
Writing career
[edit]After completing The Ascendants Anthology short film sreies, Schechter decided to adapt his vision of Ascendants into a thriller novel to tell the full story.[19] At this point, the core narrative centered upon three plot lines tangled in the affairs of the scientific institution whose inventions allowed users to experience the moment of ascension into the afterlife.[20]
Ascendants was released on March 24, 2026.[20]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "Schechter Combines Musical Inclination with Technological Acumen". The Tufts Observer. September 29, 2000. p. 2 – via Newspapers @ Tufts.
- ^ "Grant will allow TUTV to expand". The Tufts Daily. August 31, 2000. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ^ "Rethinking Tufts' Media". The Tufts Daily. August 31, 2000. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ^ "'Zuck vs. Schechter' humorously destroys convention in music". The Tufts Daily. November 3, 2002. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ^ "Build a car? No sweat for these women in engineering". Tufts Journal. October 2002. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ^ "Tufts moves closer to establishing film studies major". The Tufts Daily. April 10, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ^ "Don Schechter Profile". tufts.edu. Archived from the original on July 15, 2026. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ^ "Hypnotic swallows Nibblebox". Variety. June 6, 2001. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ^ "Nibblebox About Us". hypnotic.com. Archived from the original on February 7, 2002. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
- ^ "HRTV Joins Internet Media Venture as Campus Affiliate". The Harvard Crimson. April 25, 2000. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ^ "Nibblebox Debuts New Programming" (Press release). New York and Los Angeles: PR Newswire Association LLC. BWR Public Relations. September 18, 2000. Retrieved July 27, 2026.
- ^ "A professor follows his own beat". The Tufts Daily. March 8, 2004. Retrieved July 17, 2026.
- ^ a b King, Loren (September 26, 2015). "'Raven' ascends, John Hughes goes Korean". The Boston Globe. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ "Homepage". Charles River Media, Inc. Needham Heights, MA. Archived from the original on May 14, 2026. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
- ^ "Labster Engages Learning Experience Design Research Team to Build K-12 ESSA Evidence Portfolio" (Press release). New York and Los Angeles: Business Wire. Sterling Communications. April 14, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
- ^ "The Arborist". Woods Hole Film Festival. Archived from the original on July 31, 2026. Retrieved July 31, 2026.
- ^ Schechter, Don (Dec 13, 2021). Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Storytellers, Sci-Fi, & Unreliable Mirrors (Video). TEDxTufts. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ Joel Marshall (Jan 23, 2026). "New Science Fiction Book - Don Schechter: Author of Ascendants, Sci-Fi Storytelling - LT-718" (Podcast). Lunch Therapy. Retrieved July 24, 2026.
- ^ a b Schechter, Don (May 26, 2026). "Everything Except the Novel: How I Made My Book the Long Way". Writer's Digest. Active Interest Media. Archived from the original on June 9, 2026. Retrieved July 28, 2026.
- ^ a b c "Ascendants". Girl Friday Productions. Archived from the original on July 27, 2026. Retrieved July 27, 2026.