So, what's this "Doc" stuff about?

I call myself a docmaker - I don’t do fiction, I don’t shoot film. I don't aspire to direct a superhero movie one day. I make documentaries. That’s it.

​

In an age of AI deepfake dinner parties and CGI everything, I crave genuine honesty and filmmaking with a tactile handmade approach. I like my stories unexpected, my camera handheld, and (ideally) my stuff makes you laugh at some point. 

​

That's great, but who have you worked with?

HBO, Discovery, Paramount+, NBC, PBS, and ESPN, as well as corporate work for Nike, Google, and Microsoft. Also I tend to get hired by a lot of European clients to shoot in the US, like the BBC, The Times (UK), The Economist, Viacom/Channel 5 (UK), ARTE (France), DR2 (Denmark), ZDF (Germany), and Windfall Films (UK).

​

Are you a team player who can work alone?

Yes, I love to collaborate. That's the best. But often, the story, the location, or the budget requires that it's just me and a suitcase (or me + a trusty co-conspirator). Why go small? I can move fast, keep things intimate, save money, and blend in like a storytelling ninja. People open up when they don’t feel like they’re on set - and that’s where the real stuff lives.

​

I am a man of many hats (on top of each other)

I’m a cinematographer for hire, but also a self-shooting producer/director, licensed drone pilot, and longtime editor. Basically, I can take a doc from napkin sketch to final cut. I believe each discipline sharpens the other. I shoot like an editor - always looking for building blocks of story and anticipating where the scissors will land.

​

I like interviews

So I’m in the National Portrait Gallery in DC, and it hits me - bam. This is why I’m obsessed with interviews. On the surface they are simple and similar, but within this frame of convention is a visual opportunity express something about the subject and how they fit in the story.

​

Interviews are often the backbone and audio structure of a doc, so it is critical to create a comfortable and honest environment in which people can speak candidly and be themselves. Sometimes an interview requires lots of lights, a backdrop, and a half-ton grip truck, but often it just requires shaping what reality has given you, leading with curiosity, and listening to what someone has to say - and that’s where the real stuff lives.

​

My life story (+ lots of boats and bikes)

I grew up in Hawaii and went to USC film school in Los Angeles. I’ve lived (and made video stuff) in San Francisco, London, Berlin, Russia, Afghanistan, and now New York City. I have traveled to over 50 countries, but unfortunately never to Antarctica. For some reason, I end up shooting from a shocking number of watercraft - sailboats, kayaks, zodiac rafts, airboats, mudboats, and windsurfers. Still waiting for the submarine. Oh, and I really like riding my bike for weeks, so I can cross international borders with pedal power.

​​​

Don't bring the big tool, bring the right tool

Every story needs a different set of tools. Ideally its a handheld cinema camera, but it could also be a gimbal, a GoPro, a drone, or the always at-the-ready and invisible iPhone. Sometimes you need to park in Manhattan to unload a cart full of lights... and sometimes you can take a suitcase on the metro. Let the story tell you what to bring. 

​

And this applies to the aspect ratio too. Some people get upset when it isn't horizontal 16:9. I don't mind what shape it is - if it should be a 9:16 vertical phone video, then thats how you do it. I love super shallow heavy prime lenses, but I am also incredibly liberated by shooting with a smart phone. The best camera is the one that is there and the one best suited for the story.