About Me
My front page bears a quote by Vincent Price that, as I mentioned, guides my daily life. Another quote of his that I'm equally as adamant about is: "A man who limits his interests, limits his life." As such, I've got no shortage of hobbies, anecdotes, collected eccentrics or places I've visited. When it comes to the latter, I firmly believe that if you have the opportunity to travel, you should take it. Life offers us many chances to spend our money, but new cell phones and videos games, much less paid bills, are scarcely rewarding for the soul. The experiences that travel, especially out of the country, provides cannot be conveniently purchased, and all too often are out of our reach due not to expense, but rather obligation to our families and jobs. Therefore, I encourage students to travel as soon as they have a chance, before they're hampered down with responsibility, to truly grow.
I firmly believe that students don't respect teachers - they respect human beings. To grow as human beings, we need to get out of our comfort zones and to spend a few days without our cell phones, computers, families and friends so we have the chance to simply be with ourselves. Such is the freedom that travel provides. The video below chronicles one of my such excursions - I spent almost two months backpacking from Bejing to Mt. Everest in Tibet (traveling by boat, train, bus and even hitchhiking). Nothing captured was planned - it was the sheer happenstance that isolation on the road offers. This film defines me as an individual human being and, in turn, as a teacher. In short, if you clicked on this tab to learn "About Me," then just view the film below in its entirety, preferably uninterrupted and without distraction, and you'll know everything you need to know about me. Should that not suffice, read on below the video or check out this feature article in the Voice Tribune.
I firmly believe that students don't respect teachers - they respect human beings. To grow as human beings, we need to get out of our comfort zones and to spend a few days without our cell phones, computers, families and friends so we have the chance to simply be with ourselves. Such is the freedom that travel provides. The video below chronicles one of my such excursions - I spent almost two months backpacking from Bejing to Mt. Everest in Tibet (traveling by boat, train, bus and even hitchhiking). Nothing captured was planned - it was the sheer happenstance that isolation on the road offers. This film defines me as an individual human being and, in turn, as a teacher. In short, if you clicked on this tab to learn "About Me," then just view the film below in its entirety, preferably uninterrupted and without distraction, and you'll know everything you need to know about me. Should that not suffice, read on below the video or check out this feature article in the Voice Tribune.
To learn more about my travels in China and the process involved in my creation of Kora (the film displayed above), click on the above link to read an in-depth interview printed in Tobacco Magazine .
Writing, shooting, directing and editing films, for me, is more than just a hobby - it's how I express myself creatively. I believe everyone should have a medium through which his/her creative voice is expressed. Whether you express yourself creatively through music, writing, art or countless other mediums, I feel it's important that you have that outlet that is unmistakably you. Everyone should take the time to create. "I don't have much of an imagination," has never been an excuse I found to be valid. After all, imagination is like any other attribute - the more you work on it, the stronger it becomes...
That being said, here are a few trailers for films of mine. The first two, Bill the Viking and Succession, are currently works in progress. The latter two, Symbiosis and The Fated Assemblage of Dr. Malvagio, are projects that are completed and, like Kora, screened in theatres and festivals (Symbiosis was a fun collaboration with teachers and the drama students at my school).
Writing, shooting, directing and editing films, for me, is more than just a hobby - it's how I express myself creatively. I believe everyone should have a medium through which his/her creative voice is expressed. Whether you express yourself creatively through music, writing, art or countless other mediums, I feel it's important that you have that outlet that is unmistakably you. Everyone should take the time to create. "I don't have much of an imagination," has never been an excuse I found to be valid. After all, imagination is like any other attribute - the more you work on it, the stronger it becomes...
That being said, here are a few trailers for films of mine. The first two, Bill the Viking and Succession, are currently works in progress. The latter two, Symbiosis and The Fated Assemblage of Dr. Malvagio, are projects that are completed and, like Kora, screened in theatres and festivals (Symbiosis was a fun collaboration with teachers and the drama students at my school).
Bill the Viking
I spent two weeks on a river cruise in France with my grandfather. My original intent was to film a companion piece to Kora. However, I was not afforded the free time I'd hoped for as I spent the better part of my time in his company assisting him in getting around the country. Instead, I chose to secretly film him as he explored landmarks, indulged in local cuisine and interacted with the people of France. As such, the film focuses more on his impressions of a foreign land, humorously juxtaposed against the non-narrative segments I shot. |
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Succession
I've designed this as a true companion piece to Kora. I've been shooting a great deal of time lapse photography all around the state in parks, subdivisions and abandoned sites for the purpose of conveying one theme: nature's ability to inexorably reclaim what is taken from it. Another meditative, non-narrative piece, it will simply combine music and image as Kora did, but rather than introducing you to a foreign culture, it will show you a side of your backyard you often take for granted. |
Symbiosis
This film was shot largely at Bullitt Central and made with the assistance of both film club members and drama students. The film is designed as an homage to sci-fi fare of the 1960s, specifically the original run of "The Outer Limits". Five separate tales in this anthology intertwine to reveal a horror greater than creatures in the woods - the innate interconnectivity of all our lives. Apart from the roles of direction, filming and editing, the script also presented me with some challenges when it came to the film's F/X. I had fun designing/creating a monster in the spirit of Wah Chang's creations. |
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The Fated Assemblage of Dr. Malvagio
The Italian giallo has long been one of my favorite subgenres of film. Grindhouse meets Grand Guignol, the films are known for "putting the gore in gorgeous." By far my most hyper-stylized film, from technicolor lighting to a script that features all the quintessential giallo tropes seen in the cinematic offerings by such directors as Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino and Mario Bava. The basic story follows a photographer as he stumbles onto the pattern behind a series of murders in his hometown, which all are seemingly tied to members of a cult who are striving to open up the gates of Hell. The film also led to the creation of my first band - the black metal group DoppelHammer. |
While DoppelHammer was created just for the purpose of the aforementioned film, I am currently involved in two bands. The first is a new project I became involved in over the summer wherein I play bass - Werestein Meets Frankenwolf, which could probably be best classified as psychobilly, though it also has punk influences. The second band is one I've been a part of for about four years and leans more towards the 90's crossover thrashcore end of the spectrum, further away from the doom/sludge end where the aforementioned DoppelHammer existed. I handle the management/stage shows and music videos, as well . Two music videos I developed for the band are at right.
When it comes to the second of the music videos ("You Can't Rocksteady Without a Little Bebop"), I created all the costumes and special effects as well (apart from filming/editing). Starting with the lifecasting process for the guitarist and drummer and working all the way to the application of prosthetics was strenuous, but totally worth the end result of seeing them transformed into the characters from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. Other music videos for the band can be found here, here, here and here. To check out the rest of the album, click the button below. And to read about one of our recent shows, check out our concert review in National Rock Review. |
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Another hobby of mine that predates the band or filmmaking is makeup. I love the overall process - lifecasting, sculpting, molding and casting of appliances, and the final application (I can, however, pass on removal/cleanup). It's chemistry meets visual arts meets theatrics. It, like my other hobbies, was self-taught and I got into it after falling in love with the film Dick Tracy and found myself utterly fascinated at the process by which ordinary humans were transformed into grotesque villains. The photo at left shows me in my garage "workshop," posing with an abdomen lifecast of a friend (made for The Fated Assemblage of Dr. Malvagio) with Emmy Award-winner John Goodwin (CSI). John's been a constant source of support for me over the years, always willing to give advice or lend an ear, and I owe him a debt of gratitude for the skillset that enabled me to produce the works in the gallery below. (Sorry about the size of the slideshow - Weebly wouldn't let me shrink it down)
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When the opportunities would present themselves, I like to get my students drawing within the classroom. Some will object: "This is science - this isn't art!" It's at moments like those that I will take the time to show them the paintings of Ernst Haeckel (father of ecology) or John James Audubon, or even the sketches of Robert Hooke or Charles Darwin. Each was an artist in his own right, for while they weren't artists by trade, they were so out of necessity - the ability to draw being a necessary skill to help share with others the organisms you had seen, long before the invention of cameras. Art in every subject, I say. As such, I can think of nothing more relaxing than an afternoon spent at the Louisville Zoo, sketching animals.
Below and at right are a few sketches I've done during my visits there. I was also fortunate to have been invited to write an article on education opportunities for teachers at the Louisville Zoo for its publication, Trunkline. Should time permit, feel free to give it a read at the link posted below the sketches. I can't recommend the courses they offer for MAT credit enough.
If you still have time to kill, feel free to scroll down. Below are photographs I've shot during my travels to various locations within the United States (only seventeen more states to visit before I've hit all fifty) as well as out of country. All of these were shot on B&W 35mm film with my loyal 1972 Nikkormat, which has traveled with me ever since it stopped traveling with my dad. While I also shoot my fair share of digital, 35mm is still my preferred medium, for I love the patience and discipline required in waiting and manually adjusting for a mere 24 shots (that you hope and pray turn out when they're finally developed).