Faculty

Lucas Pic Lucas Cuny, MFA, Department Co-Chair - Lucas Cuny grew up in New Haven, Indiana, a small town surrounded by cornfields and truck stops. Like Luke Skywalker escaping Tatooine—or George Bailey always dreaming of leaving Bedford Falls—he shook off the dust of small-town life and headed west to Southern California in search of adventure and to follow his passion for film.

He studied film in Los Angeles and eventually brought his talents back to the Inland Empire, where he has produced short films, documentaries, and commercials. At one point, he had a wild idea: start a film festival in Redlands, California. That idea became Slate Inc., a nonprofit organization he founded to support regional filmmakers. Through Slate, he produced two international film and beer festivals in Redlands, led filmmaking workshops, and secured grants to help fund local film projects.

Lucas went on to earn an MFA in Screenwriting from California State University, Fullerton, and has since remained deeply involved in academia. He is a published author, beginning with his book Running a Film Festival: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Project Management. His academic writing has appeared in respected publications such as the Journal of Film and Video and the Journal of Arts and Letters, where he explored topics like career paths for arts majors.

He has also presented multiple times at the University Film and Video Association’s national conference, covering subjects such as web series development, screenwriting, and creating work experience opportunities for film and media students.

Lucas continues to write and produce, always with the hope of helping transform the Inland Empire into a thriving hub for film and media production.

lcuny@valleycollege.edu

Kevin Lyons Associate Professor, Broadcast, Post Production, and Cinematography - Kevin Lyons is an active independent filmmaker and business owner. He has worked in Radio, Television, and Film, as a Cinematographer, Producer, Video/Audio Editor and Graphic Designer. Over the years, he has grown a substantial network of clients across the nation. His program emphasis include production, cinematography, and directing. One of his favorite cinematographers is Roger Deakins. Adjunct Professor TV/Film Klyons@valleycollege.edu.

picture of manny sandoval sitting in a chair

Manny Sandoval Adjunct Professor - Journalism and TheoryManny Sandoval is the proud co-owner of the Inland Empire Community News and Sandoval Communications. He holds an associate's degree in radio broadcasting from SBVC, a bachelor's degree in mass communication from CSUSB, and a master's degree in strategic communication from CBU.

Prior to his success as a business owner, Manny worked for CBS Radio (now Audacity) in Los Angeles. There, he was responsible for managing audio boards and coordinating on-air promotions as a board operator at 97.1 AMP Radio. He also worked as a PR specialist for the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians' Tribal Government. In 2019, Manny was recognized as one of the top 30 community leaders under the age of 30 by California State Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gomez Reyes. msandoval@valleycollege.edu

Amber Barnard, Adjunct Professor -- Amber hails from the mountain town of Big Bear Lake, Ca. Eventually making her way to Los Angeles county, she found life in the city to be more her style. Amber was always drawn to the artistic world, initially by the angelic sounds of punk rock music. Going to shows was a favorite past time throughout her high school career. Then the music performance bug bit her quite hard and she had to be part of this crazy music scene. Amber began playing drums of the punk and hardcore type, joined a few bands in LA and her music career took off. Next, of course, came time to make music videos and #Filmlife began. She enrolled at Cal State Fullerton to further her knowledge of the film world and earned a Masters degree in Screenwriting. Shortly thereafter, Amber jumped into the role of actor and producer of an independent production company, New Vizion Films, based in Los Angeles, and through years of grinding, the production team has been fortunate enough to work with people, brands and companies like IGN, Ebony Magazine, Issa Rae on her original webseries: Awkward Black Girl, Comic-Con, Nike, Cinemark Theaters, and many, many others. New Vizion has also produced feature length documentaries accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival and The Santa Barbara Film Festival. So- what else could she do with all this knowledge and experience you ask? Well, teach of course! She was given a wonderful opportunity to teach film studies at SBVC as an adjunct professor and she couldn't be happier! She still plays the drums, she still works with New Vizion Films as a producer, writer and performer, and now teaches. What a crazy ride! She’s very excited for and always looking toward the future abarnard@valleycollege.edu