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MEET THE TEAM

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ARI MARK

CO-FOUNDER

Ari formed AMPLE in 2014 in an ongoing effort to find the intersection between quality and commercial appeal. Partnering with the massive talent, Phil Lott, Ari quickly grew AMPLE from a Venice garage to a state-of-the-art production services company with all creative & physical production kept in-house. 

 

Ari's style of business and passion for storytelling is the engine behind AMPLE and its continued expansion across premium documentary, blue chip natural history, and franchise-able series. Ari's commitment to quality has led to partnerships with talent like Adam McKay, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Snook, Courteney Cox – and network partners like Netflix, HBO, Roku, YouTube, Facebook, Warner Discovery, History, A&E, and Peacock.

 

But it is with the relentless pursuit of unexpected stories and IP (whether it’s high-flying tales of cocaine enemas or baby kangaroos finding their feet) that Ari is most passionate about.

 

Some of AMPLE’s most notable projects include The Invisible Pilot (with Adam McKay/HBO, and co-directed by Mark), Kangaroo Valley (with Sarah Snook, Sia, and Netflix), Murder in the Heartland (with Warner Brothers Discovery), the Emmy-winning Could You Survive the Movies (with YouTube), Cooper’s Treasure (with Amblin & Discovery), 9 Months (w/Courteney Cox and Facebook Watch), Cold Case Files (with A&E and Blumhouse), and the docudrama epic, Ancient Empires for History Channel.

 

Committed to independent filmmaking, Ari has also launched an AMPLE Studios slate which kicks off the After the Fyre, a follow-up to the groundbreaking Fyre Festival fiasco, which he also co-directs (in partnership with Fremantle).

 

Before starting AMPLE, Ari served as Senior Vice President of Original Programming for Xbox Entertainment Studios where he was challenged to jump-start a digital platform's ambitious move into non-scripted filmmaking. In a short time, he produced and launched Xbox's first series, Every Street United, a global premium documentary series led by soccer icon, Thierry Henry. He also oversaw Xbox's documentary slate, including Zak Penn's cult film, Atari: Game Over, and Greg Barker's, The Thread.  Ari also produced Xbox's first scripted project, Possibilia, a choose-your-own-adventure interactive film shown at both Sundance and Tribeca Film Festivals.

 

Prior to Xbox, Ari worked at AMC where he oversaw their first launch into non-scripted programming. He developed the massive hit after show, The Talking Dead, the cult hit Small Town Security, Comic Book Men, and the critically acclaimed series, The Pitch, among others.

 

Ari began his career at Sundance Channel where he quickly developed a reputation for bold programming choices and strong creative instincts. During his tenure, Ari helped develop the hit series Iconoclasts, The Staircase, Architecture School, Brett Morgen's Nimrod Nation and Brick City, both of which won Peabody awards. He also helped oversee their feature documentary slate, producing more than 20 films including Alex Gibney's Human Behavior Experiments and D.A. Pennebaker's War Room Revisited.

 

Before Sundance, Ari received his MFA from San Francisco State University and his BA from SUNY Binghamton. His early films, The Gift and The Metamorphosis were both acquired by Sundance Channel.

Ari Mark
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PHIL LOTT
CO-FOUNDER

Phil has been behind some of the most recognizable documentary series and non-scripted shows on television including directing and setting the look for the pilot episode of Emmy-winning Undercover Boss for CBS, as Cinematographer, shot the pilot episode of National Geographic’s hit Locked Up Abroad, show-ran Critic's Choice-nominated The Pitch for AMC (where he met Ari), and Xbox series Every Street United. Other showrunning & directing credits include Supernanny, Wife Swap, Faking It, Auction Hunters, Shark Week, I’m Alive, Sole Survivor, Kurt Sutter's Outlaw Empires, Be the Boss, Speed of Life, Mayday Bering Sea, and Biker Battleground.

 

When it comes to execution, Phil has created an enviable track record of pushing storytelling and visuals to new levels. Which is why he was brought in-house to direct and showrun for BBC Worldwide, Studio Lamber, and Gurney Productions, a run that would span 10 years.

 

Starting AMPLE in 2014, Phil's unique visual style became a key defining characteristic of AMPLE’s shows, helping to quickly establish the company's reputation for always delivering bold visuals, no matter the genre. Now, in 2025, that signature attention to quality extends across all of AMPLE's work, from our in-house graphics team to music to recreation. Working closely with showrunners, editors, and composers Phil has been able to scale the brand and maintain the handcrafted feel that has become so important to AMPLE and the networks who work with us.

 

Determined to continue his work as a filmmaker, Phil directed & shot recent projects like the HBO Documentary series The Invisible Pilot (with Adam McKay as EP, and co-directed with Ari), This is the Zodiac Speaking, Jailbreak: Love on the Run both #1 shows for Netflix, and the upcoming Fremantle co-production, After the Fyre.


Prior to AMPLE, Phil began his career in London, England, working on feature films and documentaries. As cinematographer, he shot Indian Tales for Academy Award-winning director Asif Kapadia, SXSW Gamechanger winning indie-feature, Kelly and Cal starring Juliette Lewis and Cybil Shepherd, directing 2nd unit on IFC success, Rust Creek.

Phill Lott
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DARREN KANE

EVP of PRODUCTION

Coming to AMPLE from ITV America, Darren brings over 20-years of production experience at the highest levels. 

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Darren has taken the filmmaker-led mentality of AMPLE and has been able to support the many filmmakers and documentarians who work with with us. In a fast changing industry, Darren is known for developing thoughtful new models for production that allow for the way we make our films and television series to be as creative as the work we deliver and ensures that budgets are maximized and end up on the screen. 

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Darren and his robust production team have been battle-tested, from delivering over a 100 hours of television in the last 14 months alone, to sending crews to film everywhere from war-zones, to glaciers and jungles, from space to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. And always with respect, and always as an extension of AMPLE's guiding principal of honesty, integrity and being a great partner to our networks and distributors. 

Darren Kane
SEAN NUGENT

Sean comes to AMPLE after an extensive career producing shows for all four major broadcast networks, as well as some of the most ambitious and successful non-fiction series of the last decade including "Extreme Makeover", "Fear Factor", "Wipeout", "Undercover Boss", and ESPN’s "Sport Science"

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Sean also has an enviable track record of live and live-to-tape shows, including the Super Bowl XLV Halftime Show and the inaugural NBA Awards Show.

 

What unites Sean's experience is scale and adaptability and after years at the cutting edge of production, his innovative approach is put to work daily on all of AMPLE's series as we strive to find bold new ways to bring powerful stories to the screen.

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VIVIANA SOTO

DIRECTOR of FINANCE

Viviana is a key member of the AMPLE team, in charge of payroll, finance, and accounting, she runs a team dedicated to keeping all our series running smoothly. Prior to joining AMPLE, Viviana worked for Shed Media, Articulus and was across three seasons of "Don’t Forget the Lyrics" with Argyle Productions.

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