About Us.
Pioneer3 is an independent documentary film and photography skunkworks in Somerville, Massachusetts. We aim to capture stories where people, place, community, and technology converge.
What’s In a Name?
Pioneer3 is, in part, a reference to the “pioneer class” — really more a confusingly-named three-year cohort — of the Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Ryan’s high school alma mater. (He graduated with year three.)
It’s also a nod to the Pioneer 3 spacecraft. Mostly a footnote in space history, it was intended as lunar probe. It didn’t quite make it.
More lobbed than launched into space, it spent a mere 38 hours there before falling to Earth. It did, however, aid in the discovery of Earth’s Van Allen radiation belts, and provide knowledge for future missions.
That’s part of our philosophy: “failures” are learning opportunities. And you can’t be afraid of them.
Pioneer3 is led by non-fiction veteran Ryan Shepheard. For over twenty years he’s worked on nationally broadcast documentaries and science outreach projects as editor, animator, colorist, consultant, producer, writer, and occasional narrator. His credits include award-winning science documentaries for NOVA, including “Decoding COVID-19” (duPont-Columbia Award), “Sputnik Declassified” (CINE Golden Eagle), and three-part engineering special “Build It!”; PBS specials The Bomb and Pearl Harbor: USS Oklahoma — The Final Story; historical series America’s Hidden Stories, and feature documentary The Rivals (dir. Kirk Wolfinger), for The Smithsonian Channel; and Titanic: 100 Years in 3D for A&E International.
In addition to his film and television work, Ryan participates in science field work and consultation. In collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Advanced Imaging and Visualization Lab, he helped redesign the shipboard media room for original OceanX vessel MV Alucia (now Odyssey); drafted recording system recommendations for HOV Alvin; and developed post-production pipelines for 3D underwater short films. In 2010 Ryan joined the RMST/WHOI Titanic expedition, co-designing and leading operation of its multichannel recording and archival systems. The expedition resulted in the most detailed
In 2019 and 2020, NOAA, WHOI, Marine Imaging Technologies, and the University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center teamed up to provide live telepresence broadcasts from shipwrecks in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Ryan wrote, cut, animated, and narrated pre-edited inserts, and provided live video switching and support in the field.
iMDB • Reels & CV at synapsepost.com