Produce

Overseeing every detail of production from brief to final delivery. As someone who loves shooting, editing and animating myself, knowing how to balance creative aspirations and client expectations is the job I feel most confident in. There is something about an organized well-oiled production process that allows the creative to shine. But also for the client, no overages. My goal is to allow the creative to dictate the what, and not have to worry about the how.

THis in action

• Managing clients and vendors during Pre-Production, Production and Post while building trusting and long lasting relationships with creatives.

• Organizing timelines, the bidding process, multiple vendors, and talent negotiations.

• Being aware of the legal implications of music licensing, talent sessions, and stock footage.

Direct

I thrive as the creative point-person on a production. My first taste of this was starting out in wedding photography. Everyone is looking at you for direction - where to stand, how to position their arms, when to smile. Being able to describe your creative vision is the most important aspect of a director’s job. The director’s communication with talent and crew can make or break a shoot day. In preproduction, this communication is vital when it comes to managing client expectations and exceeding them. I believe everyone has creative vision, but it's the ability to form genuine connections with clients quickly and effectively that transforms a regular creative thinker into a director. 

This in action

• Building genuine relationships with creative teams and clients. That way when the pressure is on, ideas flow naturally and there is no barrier.

• Truly understanding how to do each role on set. This allows direction to be given in a clear and concise way.

DP

Lighting is everything. When I see the sun glimmering through the trees my mind immediately wants to take advantage of the stunning light and snap a photo. Everyone thinks what makes a great director of photography is the ability to find the perfect composition. While composition is important, it’s just the beginning. Light is what brings an image to life, and there are endless decisions to be made. You have to decide what lens to use, how to angle the light to hit the lens just right, when to use various exposure settings - playing in that space is where my passion lies. Just watch how excited I get on set when we start lighting.

This in action

• An in-depth knowledge of camera operation and exposure settings. Using meters to correctly expose an image.

• A firm understanding of how light intensity and angle affect perspective and reflections.

Animate

As an editor, I typically want to sprint home and start editing the footage together right after I leave a shoot. However, there are sometimes limitations to what video footage can be captured or there is simply no time for a shoot at all. When this happens, I tap into my love of animation and graphics. There’s something about the process of creating motion from complete stillness that I always find so fulfilling. It puts me in the driver seat of what I can create without being beholden to what was captured on the shoot day. I can create an intricate and elevated video with nothing but an idea.

This in action

• Creating a graphics-only video that includes complex text treatments, character rigging, use of key framing/expressions, and particle use.

• Using masking, tracking, cloning, and warping to alter and comp existing footage to create something entirely new.