Happy New Year, everyone. I know I’m a bit late, but it’s still January and I haven’t wished one to you all this entire time. I have set some ambitious goals for myself for 2012 and I hope to accomplish them all… and then some! I currently have some projects in line for Robin Hannibal, SiairaShawn, and Eric Lau, so definitely keep an eye out. The music videos for Siaira and Eric are especially special to me as these are going to be their first music video releases! Also, I am working on a live performance of Jose James at The New Parish and that should be out soon.

I know I haven’t been releasing as many pieces lately, but as you all may know by now, grad school has been keeping me very busy. As it gets closer to the graduation date (June ’12!), my presence will be more and more scarce, but I hope to still be able to put things out in the minimal free time that I have.

Thanks for staying with me and watching me grow over these past couple of years. It’s a great pleasure to read and see people’s reaction to my work. Thank you for your continued support and I hope to be able to share more of my videos with you as I continue to grow and develop.

Here’s a short piece I put together of a recent trip to Monterey of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I didn’t make it to the seahorse exhibit, but I hope the jellyfish are enough to hold you over!

Earlier this year, I spent some time with Oakland’s Mara Hruby getting to know about her stories growing up, her influences, and her sentiment in the style of clothing she rocks. Mara also performs a live acoustic rendition of D’Angelo’s “Send it On.” Take a moment to learn more about Mara Hruby in part one of this two part interview.

Over the summer, I took a trip to LA to meet with Robin Hannibal [Quadron/Boom Clap Bachelors] and create two music videos for his solo EP, Bobby. I was more than thrilled and excited to not only meet such a talented individual, but to also collaborate and help bring his stories and visions to life.

Robin Hannibal is a bit of a mysterious guy so I thought that in this video, he should play a central role in it. Robin came up with the storyline and we felt things along as we were shooting. It was a fun and low-key day at the canals, the beach and in Los Feliz and I had a great time. Keep an eye out for the second video, but enjoy this one in the meantime (which debuted on OkayPlayer and CMJ)!

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of shooting a music video with Mara Hruby (who most of you may recognize from the ‘Simili Life‘ video that I directed for Quadron) for her rendition of ‘Character.’ This is one of my favorite music videos to date. I was able to set a mood and aesthetic that I think is representative of Mara’s style and persona. I feel really honored that the video was able to debut on Essence.com. I hope you all enjoy the video and keep an eye on Mara – she has a great future ahead of her.

Hey everyone!

I know it has been a while since I have updated my site and released new content, but I’m in my last year of grad school and it demands all of my time. Nonetheless, I am still trying to use the little free time I have to work on new projects. In the next week, or so, expect not one, but two music videos I directed from the likes of Robin Hannibal (of Boom Clap Bachelors and Quadron) and Mara Hruby. They both possess really different styles and aesthetics and I enjoyed creating them.

I also have some new music videos that will soon be in the works, one of which will feature Bay Area’s SiairaShawn. She’s currently doing a Kickstarter campaign to get her two videos funded off of her new EP. You can check out more of Siaira and donate here.

Stay tuned, folks, and many thanks for all of the continued support.

Sometime last year, Ant Pomponio of Cadillac, messaged me about putting together a music video for his band. I was really excited by the offer because he lives all the way in Australia and I was humbled that he liked my work so much, that he trusted me to direct and shoot all the way in the states. Unfortunately, I was starting my first year of grad school, so we ended up losing contact.

Earlier this year, Ant reached out again and, since I was about to wrap up the school year, I agreed. I was really honored that even though things didn’t work out the first time, he asked me again, so I really wanted to do my best to bring Cadillac’s vision for ‘Dreams’ to life, despite the distance.

This was my first time working with a really energetic model (the cutest 5 year old that you’ll ever meet), so it was a bit of a challenge (I really would have loved a co-director), but it all worked out in the end. I hope you all enjoy this video. There’s still a bit of summer left, unless you live in the Bay Area (summer never came), so enjoy this really fun and upbeat tune and beachy scenery!

I’m not sure how I got into making music videos, but it’s been a real adventure and a lot of fun. Being a filmmaker, I enjoy making videos that resemble what I like to embody in my short films. I incorporate longer shots, fewer cuts, and often move at, what feels like to me, a much slower pace than most videos. At first that used to worry me, the fear that folks might tune out or become disinterested, but I realized that I had to trust in what I constructed through imagery and pacing and that it would be engaging enough to hold the attention of folks for 3 minutes. That it might even be captivating enough that folks would want to watch it a second time.

With that being said, here is my latest unofficial music video that I have directed for SBTRTKT’s Hold On which features one of my new favorite vocalists, Sampha.

*Caution: There is subtle nudity in this piece.*

SBTRKT has the illest beats. Sampha has the illest voice. I heard this song one late night and knew I wanted to set visuals to this track. Many thanks to Laura, who laid on her apartment’s cold hardwood floors for over 3 hours in nothing, but her undies and Yesenia, who met up for a second reshooting of the glasses, even though I decided to go with the originals.

Model: Laura T.
Painter: Yesenia E.

I’m still not certain how I feel about this piece as I’m a bit out of my comfort zone with this one. As a way to push myself, I’m trying something new by incorporating narration into some of the future videos that I put together. I found a really nice quote by Bob Marley and was inspired to try and set some visuals to it. Originally, I had planned to shoot this at Golden Gate Park, but it was your typical beautiful day in San Francisco (cold, windy and grey), so I decided to put together something quick at a friend’s place.

It was a quick shoot, but definitely had me thinking about what to incorporate for future projects, including trying the ever-challenging piece that’s completed in just one take. I hope you all enjoy this and I’d love to hear your feedback on it if you have a moment!

Though I love almost all aspects of film making, my favorite part is cinematography. As I produce more videos and short films, I push myself to create more complex shots through unique angles and movement. Although, when executed correctly, the final product is elaborate and something I’m proud of, the road to getting there is trying and difficult, and most of the time never works out as I had originally planned.

The more that I shoot, the more that I realize that I’m not always going to get the exact shot as I had envisioned in my head, but that most of the time I’ll be able to walk away with something, sometimes a completely different shot, that evokes the same feeling I was looking for. There are always going to be factors working against you as a filmmaker, but keeping in the mind the feelings and emotions you are looking to communicate in your story will help you under the pressures of time, changing light, and tired cast and crew.

The latest excerpt from “What They Don’t Teach You at Film School,” deals with knowing when to shoot and move on.

If You Can’t Be With the Shot You Want, Love the Shot You’re With

The audience knows nothing about, and could care less about how you had originally planned the shot. Maybe that special shot was an artful way of delivering this scene. But who has the time of art at the point when you are losing light and you are about to be kicked out of your location? You need to tell the story, fast.

Ask yourself, what is the one thing that needs to happen in this scene so that the story can move on to thenext one, and the one after that? Boil it down to one critical thing that must happen in this scene and no other: the gesture, the word, the ultimatum, the introduction of a prop, the single raised eyebrow that lets us know the character is suspicious, etc.

Shoot it and move on.

Hey everyone!

I apologize for this late post, but I’ve been in LA for the past few days shooting a couple of music videos and had no time to post about the release of the latest music video that I directed, shot and edited for the Boom Clap Bachelors’ song, “Skynd Dig Langsomt” (which translates to “Hurry, Slowly” in English).

This video is particularly special to me because it features two of my good friends, Heba and Christine.

I hope you all enjoy it and thanks again for supporting me and all of my creations. I can never stress enough how much I am humbled by and appreciative of all of the positivity from you all. It means worlds to me.