Robert McLachlan
Founder

McLachlan founded Omni Film Productions in 1979, and brought current head Michael Chechik into the fold a year later. They worked together for the next decade, but McLachlan’s love and talent for cinematography eventually led him away from Omni.

Over the years, McLachlan has served as director of photography on Canadian and U.S. series including The Beachcombers, The Commish, Strange Luck and Millennium. On the features side, he has shot the Jet Li actioner The One, the supernatural thriller Final Destination and Wes Craven’s Cursed. He is a member of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers and the American Society of Cinematographers.

‘It’s just such a pleasure to be out on shoots, and not having to be the last one being paid,’ he quips.

Michael Chechik
President & executive producer

A filmmaker since 1975, Chechik first came to prominence with his 1977 16mm documentary Greenpeace: Voyages to Save the Whales. After this heady taste of docmaking, ‘I was wondering if I could make a living of it,’ he recalls.

As history shows, he did. In his 25 years with Omni, Chechik’s long list of credits includes exec producing the youth series The Odyssey, which has aired in 60 countries and was nominated for an international Emmy; the nature series Champions of the Wild, sold in 25 territories; and 70 half-hour episodes of the teen drama Edgemont.

Gabriela Schonbach
Vice-president & executive producer

Originally a photojournalist out of Washington, DC, Schonbach began her association with Omni in 1994, when she came in as an associate producer and director on the doc series Hi-Tech Culture.

‘I began as an independent producer at Omni, and over time became more involved in running the company,’ Schonbach says. ‘Since becoming a partner with Michael, Andrea and Brian, it’s been hugely rewarding to participate in the overall strategic planning for the company.’

She is currently exec producing the comedy series Alice, I Think and the doc series Stuntdawgs.

Brian Hamilton
Vice-president & executive producer

A self-proclaimed ‘film hobbyist since high school, making films on weekends with a Super 8 camera,’ Hamilton moved from Toronto to Vancouver in 1992 with plans to produce TV documentaries. He says Omni topped his list of companies to work for, but it wasn’t until he sold Discovery on the series Hi-Tech Culture and then brought it to Omni that Hamilton made it through the door.

He is currently producing Alice, I Think and exec producing the comedy pilot This Space for Rent, the doc The Terry Fox Legacy and the factual teen series Make Some Noise.

Andrea Droege
Chief financial officer

Described by Hamilton as Omni’s ‘King Solomon’ when it comes to resolving contentious issues, Droege keeps a close eye on Omni’s bottom line through all phases of production.

What started as a two-days-per-week job has evolved into Droege heading her own department of veteran accountants. A member of the CFTPA’s tax-credit policy committee, Droege can still remember when she was introduced to the career concept by Chechik.

‘He came to me and said, ‘You will have to learn about the film tax credit – there’s production financing available here for people who understand how to access it.’ So I learned it.’