Where are we headed

A core belief of mine is that it doesn’t matter where you came from or what star you were born under. Nor does it matter where other people or forces might have tried to put you in the past.

What matters is where you are headed and who you are trying to become.

I strive to empower and embrace the creative process in everyone. We all have a story, but it only becomes art in its creation. The process turns ideas into art the same way that spinning turns wool into yarn.

As a Director of Photography, I strive to help bring each story from page to picture. That means working with the director and writers to shape every part of the image to achieve their message. It also means working closely with ADs and producers so that image happens on time and in budget.

I love light, the way it can give power and meaning to every moment. Light can show isolation and grace, it can shape joy or hint at pain. A shadow exist as a message that is about negating the unimportant to bring sharp definition to what matters most. My work as a lighting technician is about utilizing light to highlight the emotions in a scene.

But the thing that separates film from any other media is the camera. Frame by frame, image by image, and cut by cut, we have created a language around shot choices and camera angles. As an audience member, watching a story unfold, we know when someone is lying, flirting, plotting, or oblivious. We can tell when people are friends, or want to be friends, or about to be enemies before any word of dialogue is heard. This language is the language of film. Translating between a story, into a screenplay, and finally into an image is what being a cinematographer is about.

I look forward to helping translate more stories into films.