Connor James Mangold is a filmmaker, musician, father, and lieutenant in the United States Navy. Since childhood, his creative passions have led him down a road of self-discovery that ultimately propelled him 25,000 miles to circumnavigate the globe in pursuit of a better life. Halfway through his undergraduate degree in music education, Connor realized he had bigger dreams.
To maintain his forward momentum, expand his education, and still graduate in a timely manner, he switched his degree to a multi-disciplinary program called University Studies; the program allowed him to blend elements of different disciplines into a unique degree that fit his professional goals in a way not achievable through pre-existing degree programs at his school. His studies included a blend of music composition, film production, and computer science—three subject areas encompassing his degree's thematic core, Sound Design for Film and Game Development.
Following his graduation in 2016, Connor attended Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, RI; he then joined the United States Navy as a commissioned officer in the Supply Corps as part of his 10-year-plan to gain acceptance into the University of Southern California's Masters of Fine Arts program in Film and Video Production. At the age of 24, he became the Disbursing Officer on the 100,000 ton aircraft carrier USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72) and managed an onboard bank with $2.5 million in cold, hard cash during a world record 10-month deployment, which circumnavigated the world from Virginia to California. In 2018, he received a grade of outstanding during a surprise federal audit and was awarded the Disbursing Excellence Award by Commander, Naval Air Forces Pacific designating him the best Disbursing Officer in the US Navy for 2018.
While late to discover his spark for filmmaking, Connor's creative practice reflects a wide range of experience that reflects the depth of his passion and the extent of his training. He has 8 years of experience as sound editor, composer, sound recordist, videographer, video editor, and producer. His portfolio includes major creative positions on over a dozen projects, to include several award winning short films, an avant garde dance film, a promotional documentary, and two feature-length films. Commercially, his clients have included his own alma mater and global finance firm M-CAM International.
Connor has not allowed his time in the military to put a pause on his creative aspirations. When not at sea, he completed work on 2 short films, the award-winning Deserted, as well as The Hat Box, a 25 minute narrative piece produced by North Carolina director A.J. Ogilvie. Connor intends to transfer into the Navy Reserve, and lateral transfer from the Supply Corps into Public Affairs to align his civilian and military life while pursuing his graduate degree. Additionally, he plans to use the financial management, logistics planning, and leadership skills he has gained in the military to work as a producer on feature-length films and television shows following his time in graduate school.
Connor is currently completing his narrative short film, Skipper, which seeks to raise awareness about PTSD, substance abuse, and homelessness—three widespread issues impacting combat veterans. The project aims to engage community veteran outreach in media by utilizing the San Diego and Los Angeles chapters of Veterans in Media & Entertainment (VME) to employ veterans to crew and cast the film.