ABOUT ME

August 2014. After a year of having to remind myself to smile, I sought a distraction in Guardians of the Galaxy. Every joke landed. Every plot point was invigorating. I was the happiest I had ever been. And when we got to the car, I looked at my parents, and I cried. 

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After feeling everything and having no where to place it, I collected all of the neighborhood kids like Pokémon, and shot two Star Wars fan films. You know...as you do. Our main Jedi even sported a Starlord mask.

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After about 12 years, I sat down and rewatched them. 

 

They were good for the time, I thought. If you ignore the fact that you can see my dad mowing the lawn during the lightsaber duel for the universe. Or if you gloss over the idea that our protagonist dies at the end of the 4-minute short and is immediately brought back in the 2nd.

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But I'm not sure it was about the Jedi's death as much as it was the lengths his family and friends went to revive him. That he just meant that much to them, that they couldn't go a credits sequence without him, and I find that oddly...touching?

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At least, that's one way to interpret it. I'm not sure 11-year-old me was consciously thinking about those things when I made those films. But if you squint maybe you can see it.

 

It's interesting to follow the thread of where your work started vs where it is now, and where it's going to be. The similarities. The differences. ​But one thread that I pride myself on is that connection. ​Whether it's a resurrected Jedi, friends bonding over a dry erase marker, or students dressing in duct tape and spandex to fight their professor.

 

Whether it's a kid in car, telling his parents how much he loves them. 

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I convey this in my work across short films, commercials, and branded shorts. I also bring a touch of that connection to the years of experience I've had on other films and live productions. 

 

I also bring the lawnmower, just in case.