Bio

I'm an advertising producer, director and cinematographer. I have a Juris Doctorate with a concentration in intellectual properties from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School.

I was born in Detroit, Michigan. As a kid, I loved movies and would go to the theater multiple times a week with my grandma and uncle. At night, we rented movies from Blockbuster and I watched them with no mention of bedtime.

I first began working on projects while in high school: studying film, creating short movies that took the place of homework assignments, and running my own student newspaper (which was featured in a case with the ACLU). At the same time, I was executive editor of a video game magazine and ran a personal webpage which featured interpretations of themes of different films.

I graduated high school early and began studying Japanese at the university level. I lived, studied, and worked in Japan for 6 years. During this time, I produced music and video projects for myself and others. Upon returning to the United States to get my law degree, I produced a number of music and video projects in my free time that are featured in the different portfolio sections of this site.

After graduating law school, I decided to follow my passions and pursue film production professionally full-time. Since then, I have produced over 200 projects in the USA, Europe, and Japan. These projects include broadcast commercials, events, and business pitches for companies such as Coca Cola, Adidas, Dodge, Chrysler, Maserati, Serta, JBL, Alfa Romeo, BMW, Comcast, and McDonald's. I also helped produce part of the closing ceremony for the Cannes Film Festival in 2015 for Canal+, was a coordinator at the Les Escales Festival in Saint Nazaire, France, and worked with America's Got Talent.

I was a producer at VMLY&R, where I produced, directed, edited, and filmed for America's Navy. I often traveled across the US to different Naval bases to capture footage of ships, SEALs, aircraft, and more.

I'm currently a producer/cinematographer in Seattle, Washington.

Outside of advertising, I write and direct my own films. My films have been featured as official selections at various festivals around the world. My feature film "One Night in Tokyo" is currently in post-production.

I consider myself a lifelong student and try to keep my skills diverse by consistently studying. I also try to collaborate with other artists as much as possible, working on short documentaries and releasing vinyl records.

Awards and Nominations:

• Paris Film Festival 2021 Award Winner - Best Director
• Snohomish Film Festival Award Winner - Best Sci-Fi Film, Best Young Actor, Best Sound (2022)
• The OneShow Merit Award (2020)
• New York Festivals Silver (2020)
• D&AD Finalist (2020)
• Adweek Arc Gold Award (2019)
• District, Regional, National Addy Awards (2018, 2019)
• Special Jury Award (Main Street, Letter to My Son) - Indie Memphis Film Festival 2021
• Los Angeles Cinematography Awards 2021 Winner - Best American Film
• Paris Film Festival 2021 Award Nominee - Best Live Action Short Film
• Indie Short Fest: LA International Film Festival Award Nominee - Best Director
• Short Encounters International Film Festival Award Nominee - Best Cinematography
• Beyond the Curve International Film Festival Award Nominee - Best Short Film, Best Director
• Detroit Music Awards - Best Compilation Album Nominee for Pathetic Sounds of Detroit

 

Let's get personal - these are some things I like:

Favorite Movies: The Trial (Orson Welles), Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick), Citizen Kane (Orson Welles), The Third Man (Carol Reed), Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman), 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini), Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju), Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa), There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson), Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis), I Vitelloni (Federico Fellini)

Biggest Influences: Stanley Kubrick, Orson Welles, Charlie Chaplin, Martin Scorsese, Robert Rodriguez, Paul Thomas Anderson, Roger Deakins, Yorgos Lanthimos, Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini

Favorite Bands: The Beatles, Radiohead, The Cribs, Arctic Monkeys, Blur, Pixies, Queen, Nirvana, Johnny Cash, The Go, Buzzcocks

Favorite Video Games: Final Fantasy VII, Super Mario Bros 3, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Uncharted 2

Favorite TV Shows: Family Ties, Breaking Bad, Arrested Development, Seinfeld, SNL

Favorite Books: A Clockwork Orange (Anthony Burgess), The Stranger (Albert Camus), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Next (Ken Kesey), Frankenstein (Mary Shelley)