Derek Joseph Shields

Derek Joseph Shields was born in the District of Columbia in 1972 to Robert and Elizabeth. Shortly after his birth, Elizabeth moved the two of them to the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where they remained through Derek's early adult years. Derek attended Plum Boro Senior High School and became a member of the Unity Volunteer Fire Department at the age of 16. He later joined Monroeville Fire Company #4 where he was a live-in firefighter responding to emergency calls at night while attending Paramedic classes at the Center for Emergency Medicine of Western Pennsylvania during the day. Derek went on to become a Paramedic for the City of Pittsburgh until he was drawn to the American Southwest where he was a firefighter and flight paramedic. A string of helicopter crashes in the summer of 2008 changed his world and ended his career. Moving to Los Angeles Derek found a passion in commercial and film production. A fluke incident on the set of a music video had Derek wrangling and directing a cast of children when a director who was inexperienced with kids walked off set. Following an assortment of music videos and commercials Derek began to focus his directing efforts towards the documentary world with the feature length post 9/11 film The 37. In late 2013, after just learning of his existence, Derek met his brother Robert "Bobby" Shields. A long time member of ASCAP (American Society of Authors Composers and Publishers), Bobby is a singer, songwriter and publisher under Sam Lynn Publishing. Together they brought Bobby's experience in the music industry with Derek's knowledge of media production to form Shields Bros - a production company with interests in Los Angeles CA, Portland OR and Biloxi MS. Together they are penning The Sins of the Father, an original screenplay based upon their vastly different upbringings amidst their father's wrongdoings.