Quotes

I get uncomfortable sometimes when people ask me what I think my work means. I think a Director explaining his or her work or visual art -- in particular with film -- can be a fruitless endeavor at times. It is what it is. The sad thing is, that kind of rationale pisses off most people.

When in doubt, look it up on IMDb.

If I want to tell a story or a share my view on something and have no money for high-end resources, I'll still manage to deliver my project. Whether it's filming something on my phone or recording audio on a tape recorder and displaying still photos in the back of a café, the power of the content will always triumph. It's not about how pretty your work is, it's about how true it is to what you're trying to express.

I decided to "do it myself" because I quickly realized that indie filmmaking had split into two arenas: commercial indie and new media DIY indie.

The great thing about the time we're living in is that we have FREE tools to make this happen. It's getting harder for new artists to hide behind the "I'm waiting for the right moment to break in" facade.

Anyone who knows my shooting style knows that I'm not a fan of tripods. To me, most static "pretty" shots that I see from other indie filmmakers represent an analogy for an elusive Hollywood-esque model of moviemaking. Ever been on a student film set and notice how much of the day goes to laboring over a shot that really doesn't grab you in the end? We go to the movies and are swept away by the big budget vistas and then for some reason we're convinced that our camcorder, a tripod and a light set will accomplish the same feel. And when it doesn't, we're surprised. But we shouldn't be. At the end of the day, it's all about the content of what we're trying to show, say or provoke in an audience. So instead of trying to mimic or recreate a sense of grandness without the necessary resources (like an outrageous Hollywood budget for example), why not create our own language for the cinema?

The cinema has always moved me, inspired me and broadened my perspective of the world. I want to have a say in it too.

Nobody likes a diva. Independent artists only endure with some kind of support system and these days that system is online. If we can continue to curate good content online and really promote the hell out of each other on every possible page and platform, we will send an important message to the masses. That message: DIY is here to stay.