REEL DEAL

It's funny to look back at all the work you have done up until this point. It's been a while since I made a new directing reel, but this is it.

Here is my collection of work that I believe defines me as a young director at this point, and am lucky to have what I have now as well.

Every time I view my own content, I remember the stories behind each piece and how they were made. So many events, up and down moments leading to an accomplished music video or feature in the end makes me feel very satisfied.

Click HERE to view.

Doing live action & stop-motion, TOGETHER

Music videos can be fun, but when you are doing stop-motion, there are times you just want to chuck the chair across the room.

Friend and musician James Hersey was coming back to New York City for a short visit. I always wanted to do a music video for him. His music had a chill and cool vibe that I just dug.

So me and my old friend Hunter Baker wanted to make something simple but yet out of the box. I have been doing stop-motion for some years now and when Hunter came up with using a chalkboard and drawing on walls, I thought, "Hmm…what a great idea!"

The whole video took five days to make, with only five hours of live action and four and a half days of insane stop-motion.

All the animation was shot separately from James being in the frame. In fact James was shot live and then animated in post production. The most annoying thing about this was superimposing the image of James over the already animated chalk drawings. We then dubbed the footage of James in front of the VHS camera (which was really shot on the Cannon 5D) to actual VHS and then back to digital to create that video look.

Click HERE to view.

Bushwick Underground

You know when you say, "Man I wished I lived in New York City during the 80s," when the music/arts scene was different. It's hard to say when we are in a cultural movement, but I think right now what is going on in Bushwick Brooklyn is one of those things.

Art and music shows in loft apartments, style, warehouse party's, and the small businesses popping up makes me believe that I am living in the middle of a cultural movement.

LIFTED APPAREL

I never in a million years thought my mind would start to drift in other interests besides the life style of working in the film industry. However, this past summer I found something new. I started silk screening again. Something I hadn't done in two in a half years. This time I started making t-shirts.

Image and look was something that always struck my interest. I guess that's one of the reasons I am in film and take photography. My brother Quincy started his company LIFTED APPAREL to go along with his music and merchandise.

But I wanted to start something with my little brother so, we decided to push his company in the direction it should be. We started a Facebook page and twitter, but have yet to really launch it as we still are planning out our approach and methods of how we will show the world LIFTED APPAREL.

We kept wondering if our designs would catch on, but I think when strangers stop you at a bar or on the streets about your shirt, I think that means you might have something...

HERE is the link to the FACEBOOK PAGE. Yeah we only got twenty some odd people, but it's only the start. So LIKE us now!

http://www.facebook.com/getLIFTEDAPPAREL

STOP-MOTION with CHALK

So I thought I was done with stop-motion for a while, however when I got the call that my next music video had dropped and I had nothing.

Just then, I got another call from friend and Austrian musician James Hersey. He was coming into the city and needed a place to crash. I remembered always wanting to do a video with him, but nothing ever panned out.

I immediately messaged him back asking, "Do you want to do a music video while your here?" He freaked and automatically said "Yes!" The next day I told my long time friend and fellow cinematographer Hunter Baker about doing the video over the next day or two since our last one dropped. He was in and brought up the idea of doing stop-motion in chalk. Since he was already painting his walls chalkboard color we could easily do it at his place. I had a 1987 VHS camera that I have been dieing to use. So for the first time in a long time this music video will be chalk stop-motion on VHS. Two different blends in one!

You are probably wondering about the story or more of what the video is about besides just chalk and VHS. Well you see the whole thing starts off with James setting up his VHS camera singing along, but once the chorus kicks in we cut to the POV of the VHS camera as it captures James singing about his travels and leaving his girl back home. With that story in mind, we took the time to animate his journey fron New York to Hollywood and then back home.

So in a sense it's just a man singing about his travels with pictures drawn behind him to go along...oh and shot on VHS too!! COMING SOON!!

My First Documentary

Can a father really tell his son the truth about his past? I bet a lot of you ask that question, but this is something that had bothered me for years. When I was seventeen I started looking into my father's history. Something I didn't know, but desired to. I start documenting things about his life. He was resistant as well as most of my family to talk about it. This only made me more persistent however.

For five years up until I was twenty one I finally finished the documentary. However what was so interesting about this project was that the direction of it completely changed. Not because of the shoot or editing, but in me. I never thought I would be a part of this film, but I was sucked in during the making of it. I couldn't believe the effect my father's story was having on me. By the end of it all, I was a changed person or should I say a healed person.

The project went on to have a small run with two showings for the Filmmaker's Symposium in two AMC theaters in New Jersey. It later went on to raise thirteen thousand dollars for Food Bank and raved about by filmmaker's such as Raymond De Felitta, director of "City Island" & David Gordon Green, director of "All the Real Girls" & "Pineapple Express."

The funny thing is I never intended on the film getting to where it is. It was a student project for my junior year at School of Visual Arts and just took on a journey of it's own, healing many along its way.

For a limited time, the film is on Culture Unplugged, an online film festival through out the world.
Click HERE to view.

A Music Video with Michale Graves

Sometimes I find myself flicking through my iPhone and land upon the Misfits on my playlist. Trying to relive the fun memories ten years ago when I was fourteen and pissed off for no reason what so ever, but I guess it was the cool thing to do back then, ha!

I've always liked punk and the energy and vibe it gave off. I guess I mostly picked up the liking from my mother oddly. She was into the alternative sound since the late 70s in her rebellious teenage years.

Anyway that's beside the point, because I recently made a music video with my friend and fellow director Craig Singer with once the Misfit front man of the 90s and early 2000s, Michale Graves. It was a cover of Blind Melon's "No Rain."

The interesting thing about this video was the fact that we didn't have a shotlist or general idea of how we wanted to shoot it. The only thing I knew was Craig wanted to shoot in Seaside Heights and Asbury Park, both in New Jersey. We just took my Panasonic AF-100 with Nikon glass and shot any thing with Michale that seemed prospectively awesome to us. It was the middle of winter and no one was on either boardwalk. It was perfect for the song. I would say the best part about this experience was working with Michale, and seeing how he got his skull make up on just right!

Take a look and enjoy. Click HERE to video.

MAY 2012 Photography

Have been taking more band photos of my brother, but also starting to embark on photo essays of people who have impacted my life by some shape or form. Take a look! And remember, its all shot on FILM!!!

T-shirts for SALE!!

So I mentioned it a while ago, but I am currently back to one of the many art forms that I love, which is SILKSCREENING!!

I have been designing some and making prototypes for different shirts already. I have decided to fuse with my brother Quincy and his company Lifted Enterprises. Quincy has already made shirts and clothing that goes along with his music career. I thought it was quite brilliant that he would combined the style and culture of his music with a clothing line of his own.

So I decided to do the same thing, but this time make it a little edgier. Taking that rock & roll persona to a different level.

More designs are underway, but for now take a look at what has been created so far.

They are for sale. $10 a shirt! If there is a type of style you are looking for I can order it and make it for you.

Over all the cool thing about this is every where my brother and I go with it on, someone stops interested by it! Asking, "Where did you get that shirt?!"

More Black & White Photography

I think I have become obsessed with black and White photography. For some reason it just depicts the essence of the subject I am taking.

I don't think I did a good job at scanning these photos into the computer, but if you look past the light streaks you can find something captivating in each one. To me when I look at a photo, I often wonder what the subject is thinking. When you have a some what answer to that question, the photo takes on a new meaning for you.

Photo Essays

So I was shifting through some of my old film photos and I landed on this:

A portrait of my father. The first thing that came to my mind was, "What is his story?" However I already know. To me the photo means so much more because I know who he is, my relationship to him, and how he inspires me.

This made my mind run wild. I started to think of all the people in my life that I know, care for, admire,  and have given me deep inspiration from the story of their lives. All they way dating from my childhood till now. Friends, strangers, co-workers, lovers, and family.

So I have decided to make my own photo essays of people in my life. Telling the viewer, who they are, how we met, their story, and what they mean to me.

The portrait would encompass their personality and who they are. Just like any other photo essay, but yet again no two people are ever a like...

COMING SOON...So either look for it or for some, you will be getting a phone call from me asking,
"Hey...long time no talk...can I take your photo?"

New Music Video!!!

So I realized that it has been a while since I did a stop-motion film. I was recently handed a song to do a video for by Mad Dragon Records. The track is by an upcoming band called, The Company We Keep.

They had a darker vibe to them, so I figured why not do a stop-motion music video. Only this type of animation can be two things, goofy or creepy. The only problem though was that the song is four minutes long. And if you know this type of animation, you have to shoot a photo (frame) for each action that your subject in front of camera makes. Now there is twenty frames in one second. With a four minute video, that equals out to be 240 seconds. THAT'S A LOT OF PHOTOS!

The song is about a down and out girl, so I made the video take place in a dark creepy attic with toys and dolls. My parents neighber and good friend of mine, Kathrine, had all these old dolls and just handed me over the box saying, "HERE!"

I found one doll in particular that stood out more then the others. And when I say stood out from the others, I'm saying had no hair, big blue eyes, and most of all was fuckin' creepy!

Shooting in the attic was the hardest thing. With all the lights and the hot weather outside, I had to keep a fan on my equipment from the radiating heat.

We are almost done with the edit and will post the video soon, but thought some stills might grab your interest...