It’s been a while since I’ve been to a show, let alone filmed one, so it was an honor when I was able to link with Jose James to film his show at the New Parish. It was his first time in Oakland and the town definitely did not disappoint. Jose is a nice, talented and easy going guy and I hope you all enjoy the video for “Save Your Love for Me” after the cut. I have 3 more on the way including some behind the scenes stuff of him and his band during soundcheck.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The name yo-yo came from the Philippines, but it’s been around for centuries with different names including bandalore.
Here’s my most current demo reel drawing from a few of my most recent projects… and also a few projects that have yet to be released!
