Filmmaker. DGA Director. Commercials at division7 x SMUGGLER. debut feature, STAGES, in post. I’m always making something. One foot in front of the other.
Filmmakers: what’s a film that changed your perspective on what a film could be?
(broke a rule, opened your eyes, expanded your imagination - answer how you want)
a legendary gaffer carried a clothespin in his pocket and when he got stupid lighting notes, would "put up another light", then sit at the monitor w/ the note giver and snap the pin at his side saying "on, off. on, off. which one?" they'd answer, he'd smile and say "good choice"
had a huge director tell me "be careful about your first feature, it'll hang around your neck like a scarlet letter" and that single conversation kept me out of the arena for 7 years. don't be like me. just make the thing.
Directed a commercial with Noah Lyles back in the lead up to Tokyo. We got 30 minutes total time. Since he was in active training, he could only come out of the blocks 3 times because the explosiveness of the exit carried a very real potential of injury.
Ok great, how to cover…
Not an accident. I've seen the decks. Just directed a campaign in which the "BTS" was main unit work set up to look like we were just "capturing" a moment. This is as structured, planned, and AD'd as the shoot itself. Tom/Matt/Ben aren't on set a second longer than needed.
Okay, this might be the smartest behind-the-scenes content I’ve ever seen.
Dunkin set up a tire target for Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Tom Brady to throw at during the commercial shoot, all while they’re wearing Dunkin jumpsuits.
Easy, smart, fun for the actors, viral.
He came back and said that he would only do one more. I made the call - have a handheld op up top, sprinting alongside so that we could cut between.
Wild.
Anyways, the spot. Natalie Kingston, my DP, and Andrew Brinkhaus, the e-cart op absolutely nailed it.
Even if you shut off white balance, most of the pictures I see aren't selling how orange the sky is, because there's no frame of reference. Here's a 6500k display with an image we all recognize, for a more relative perspective. The color science isn't perfect, but close enough.
I love that the Oscars campaign videos allow the VFX teams to actually show us how integral their work is to the construction of so many films. "No CG" is marketing, I get it, but there is no greater joy than VFX taking our ideas and making it feel real.
Let's not forget that the filmmakers of Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One keep saying 'We filmed all for real!'. Just look below at the Oscar's VFX reel. Full CGI shots in Rome, full CGI shots in the airport, so much CG, VFX, it's just mindblowing 🤯. This film could
haven’t been talking about much this year but we roll camera in 10 days for what will become my first feature and it’s so much harder and frightening and vulnerable and different than I thought. reflection will come later - for now, pure action.
it’s all happening, I can feel it. 7 years and it’s looking like it’s finally the time to go and make this thing. we’ll have a fraction of a budget and I’ve got spreadsheets up to my ears and we’re going to have to lean on every relationship I’ve developed but it’s all happening
there's this one DP who is EVERYWHERE shooting EVERYTHING that is the *only* DP on my NEVER HIRE list. Beautiful images, horrific treatment of production (anyone not cam team, basically). It blows my mind to keep seeing their name on bigger and bigger stuff. Life is too short
@imPatrickT
couldn't agree more. i'm marveling at how he was able to pull off shooting these images in the midst of that process. I literally walk on set with a camera, set it down somewhere and never pick it up again.
the last thing I officially DPd was a film for The Daniels. It was an absolutely bat-shit crazy film called Boat Dad. It hasn’t come out. We spent two weeks in a house together and that experience changed my life. It made me realize that it was time to follow my path to directing
Or just do whatever you want. Make a found footage movie in your childhood home. Or spend 10 years honing your craft and make a film that has the budget that captures your vision. It's not binary. Take as long as you need, make it tomorrow. There is no "higher" path.
SKINAMARINK was shot for $15K in the filmmakers’ childhood home. It’s being released in 600 theaters. Don’t spend ten years talking about making your movie. Go make it happen.
Just wrapped the biggest, most complex gig of my career. helicopters, VFX, huge driving sequences, 120 crew, 10 weeks prep, 8 day shoot.
And it felt…natural. I got stressed from time to time, of course, but the clothes fit, so to speak.
made my first yt video and it's........24 minutes long.
is this a problem???
lol, for real, I won't be able to hit the 9min target THAT often. (says the guy whose "short" films have been 25+ min long)
I would like to start a small production company to pair up and coming directors with commercial projects. I know so many great directors who could put their reps in and make some great progress in their careers with both entry point branded and TVC spots.
Just saying.
I want to talk about sound design. I am not sure (many? most?) filmmakers grasp how crucial sound is to building the emotional/tonal atmosphere of your film. We spend so much time focused on *shots* and then leave so much creative possibility on the floor when it comes to sound.
just lost the biggest gig of my career to a best director Oscar winner. hoping that means something, but I’m going to put this energy into my own film and see what happens.
Nightcrawler is a criminally underrated film - a parable of our time that is proving to be profoundly prescient. We are all Lou and Rick and Nina and Joe shrugging our shoulders unsure of what to do inside a system that is eating itself in a “race to then bottom of the brainstem”
@kevinmnye1
@FilmUpdates
It was made with a team of 5 on laptops in AE. There are hundreds of VFX shots in the film, and yes, even this gif is nearly all VFX - composited with a mixture of led wall lighting effects and green screen. ✌🏼
One thing I’m struggling with since moving into directing: so much of my work ends up being intuitive reactions to an overall plan and I haven’t found a ton of DPs who are down for that journey. Basically, build the box, but within the box, we improvise, document, photograph. 🤷🏼♂️
in pre-pro for my first project to be shot on a volumetric LED stage. (The Mandalorian stage, to be exact!) Having to do full pre-vis and tech-vis and "scout" in new ways. Quite a ride.
Fun process so far imagining the possibilities :)
Had the good fortune of directing a scene in the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live last week. Most insanely compressed, stressful 12 minutes of my life. Two days prep, needed to use all of his staff/crew, walk-through day of w/ lighting, cam, and stage manager to make the plan explicit.
ok here me out but Tubi might have made the best ad. Every single person in the room just stopped and turned to look at the tv saying “wait who hit the remote” just in time to see thr Tubi logo 🤷🏼♂️
The kid is already created an 8 track layer of her vocals, including two vocoder tracks panned hard L and R. Now she’s humming notes to match organ parts. Lyrics and music by her, I literally don’t understand how she knows how to do any of this 😭😭😭
just imaging the vast volume of creative decisions that will be put off in the commercial process because of tools like this. not to be doomsday, but i'm frantically building outside of commercial directing because i know agencies will cut us out as soon as they possibly can
directing actors, directing performance, scene work....
literally nothing has lit me up as much as this. i love it so, so much.
gonna be hard going back to commercials tbh.
There is no greater skill a director can learn than the ability to accurately imagine the possibilities of a location after a talented production designer gets a hold of it.
A quick story:
Last gig: 100 person crew, massive multi-day set build, 50ft techno, global superstar.
Current gig: 2 person crew, different kind of world famous musician, rocky cliffs at blue hour, and a Blackmagic camera.
Thankful for BOTH kinds of directing.
Flexibility = longevity
I am watching baseball. I never see live TV. During a commercial break I just saw two different spots that I directed. It caught me off guard because I never think about the things I make ever being seen because I’m so removed from where it ends up. I think this is a good thing.
Just watched Children of Men again. Reaffirmed why it has continued to hold the top spot on my favorite movies list. Allegory/Parable, a cam that lingers on the small details, “sci-fi” that is deeply character driven, and a story that asks more questions than it answers. 💙💙💙
I am so proud of them. Here is a video when we made a pilgrimage to the Moonlight diner on an early scouting trip (s/o
@BarryJenkins
). I can’t believe this was only 5 years ago. Can’t imagine where they’ll be in another 5. Anyways - thankful for them and for what they’re building
legit call I had today:
producer: “I mean, are you 600 because there is a whole recurring sequence on the show that very well could be operated from rollerblades and your name came up twice.”
if I quit directing to become the worlds best wheeled camera op, don’t be surprised
is there an award for best vacation cinematography because my daughter filmed this on my phone and I’m telling you, she knows how to hold a shot and look for layers of action in the frame 🤯🤯🤯
my eternal question:
how can i be a good father and partner to my family
AND
how can i make important work
(especially when it often feels like those two things are mutually exclusive)
i know successful women are asked about this dichotomy often. let's normalize asking men.
i have been digging in deep to the nuances of using a treatment to communicate a final film.
narrative flow, imagery at the right time, in the right order, even the way text layouts can be broken up to convey stutters in the edit, etc.
stumbled on an idea for a doc series that is so perfect, so simple, i CANNOT believe that it hasn't already been done.
couldn't be working a treatment up faster. it's seriously lightening in a bottle. like. seriously.
I sat directly across from him, watching him settle into the blocks, then watched as he started to tense/coil - then silently signaled the e-cart to go, then prayed it timed out.
Nailed it on the first one. Cart hit peak speed right as he came off the blocks…
I directed a campaign for LONE RIVER back in August. Just finished the Director's Cut of the film. Many times a DC exists because the agency cut diverged significantly from the original intent. That wasn't the case here. I loved the agency cut and it ran EVERYWHERE.
The Last of Us Part 2 is a masterpiece. I’m stunned, to be honest. I don’t play games but have played Part 1 and am nearing the end of Part 2 and I cannot tell you how satisfying the storytelling is. Wow.
side note. don't mistake my frequent existential questions/statements/revelations as a lack of confidence. I'm fucking good at my job. I work my ass off, I'm intentional about trying the things that scare me, and I'm working to build both deep and wide with the best people I can.
6 years to the day since moving to NYC. Landed a small office in DUMBO week 1 because I had 3-6 months of editing lined up. Month to month turned year to year. Moved into a proper office in 2020 to accommodate remote directing. Thankful for the time in this space/neighborhood
Thinking about creating a filmmaker “boot camp” of some kind this fall in nyc. Small group, we all help each other make one small short. We crew for each other, etc.
Mulling it over….
Am I a YouTuber now??? :)
making a doc series w/
@MattiHaapoja
and I couldn't be more excited to pick up a camera and just *make* something. going to go poke around the world of youtube a bit and see what I can find :)
anne made me promise that i won't go out to film tonight, no matter what happens. "please leave it to journalists who are actually getting paid to be there, who actually know how navigate those kinds of moments."
*long pause*
"ok..."
*puts batteries on the charger*
find your people. build while no one gives a shit. anticipate irrelevance. Discover the freedom to CREATE that lies on the other side. wishing you all the best.
HONEY. Time to finish this film. I’ve been scared of it because it felt like a bull ride I didn’t manage to stay on. Going to break it apart and see what’s there.
finishing a doc i've been working on w/ a subway busker. i've filmed him once a year since 2018. 2020 was the most potent - a month into lockdown, no work. went to prospect park where he played to no one...until one of his reg commuters wandered out of the fog to listen. insane
read the damn article people. The “both sides” = the writers/actors on strike and as a filmmaker with a film to promote. that’s a shitty headline. you think the guy who can barely contain his contempt for studio meddling is going to suddenly change his tune during the strike?
therapy is making realize how angry i have been at myself for not accomplishing more, faster. like, furious, punishing, and cruel. the past few months have been softening, letting go, realizing that middle age is here and that i still have quite a bit of road in front of me.
breaking down the script with my DP, Natalie Kingston. Making HONEY in two weeks. Natalie’s process involves deep conversation about each scene, POV, intention, emotional content, and summarizing the scene in 1 word. It’s amazing how much is uncovered in the process.
Got a DM from one of my favorite DPs on the planet (who made 2 of my very fav shows) telling me how much they love my work and that they cannot wait until I’m making episodic and features and I’m going to DIE.
please send each other dms like this. it means the WORLD
I’ve been watching Star Wars with the girls. 4,5,6. They loved them. 1,2,3. Enjoyed the story but a lot of “why does it look so cheesy?” Just started Rogue One before 7,8,9 and my oldest paused it and said “this one looks amazing. Not cheesy, it feels so dark and dramatic.”
finally snapped a 7 (!!!) month long losing / jobs-getting-killed streak. wild. i know we're supposed to be "all wins all the time," but the sea is seriously choppy sometimes.
No way we could film on steadicam. No op could keep up. Segway? Not fast enough. Turns out an e-cart with a stabilized head was the answer.
Only trick?
The e-cart needed a 20-30 yard head start to get up to speed to track w/ him.
How to time it…
this is how we're making STAGES. small crew, everyone gets equity. keep the budget tiny to maximize the backend upside for our crew and make it a no brainer to sell.
@gregkwedar
and
@clintbentley
are two filmmakers pioneering this process. happy to see it's in the broader water.
I cannot tell you how free i feel knowing that evangelical church culture can’t fuck with me or how I make my living. Literally can’t touch me.
That’s the thing I feel the most sad about for so many. They want to speak up but they’re livelihood depends on their silence.
Always amazed at what you can find on just a few blocks, in just a few minutes. Any time of any day - this in the harshest light in the middle of the day. And yet - beauty in the mundane. Dip your hand into the flow and see what you find.
just wrapped a 14 hour production day..........from my office. Such a different experience remote directing, yet the same emotion remains after wrap. I'm hyped up, won't wind down for hours, exhausted, sore, and yet......completely alone while a crew of 60 wraps out. 2020 is wild
if you see the phrase "sex addiction" within the evangelical context, it doesn't mean what the average person thinks it means. it likely means that this dude has a malignant shame cycle surrounding his own repressed sexuality and has convinced himself of external causation...
An ex. of AI in practical use on a film set: Actors showed up on the day. They’re playing a granddad and granddaughter. We use iPhone snaps as reference and then they prompt a handful of “family photos” for background frames. Not for CU, but def in BG. Helped build the world.
this is what i spent about 5 weeks on. 13 production days in 6 states (3 states were directed remotely with full production on the ground). all said and done, over 400 people worked on this thing. i have never worked harder in my life. truly.
Ok 2 weeks off IG. Finally able to articulate why I need the break. My visual cortex has been fried by a barrage of everyone's work. It all feels like single note static. Cognitive dissonance produced by over stimulation. A flattening of reference and output.
Anyways, healing