Creating pieces that tell short stories for individuals, businesses, and institutions. My storytelling work is often commissioned for biographies, award ceremonies, and expository pieces for websites.
Still photography’s lessons of lighting, lens choices, and the challenge to tell stories without the benefit of the dimension of time give the new wave of converts to video, like myself, a huge leap forward in filmmaking. By looking at every set as a moving portrait, a careful attention to lighting allows choices to flatter subjects, or make them more compelling. The same is true for composition and the use of the “window” of the camera’s frame. The practice of being so intentional with creating still portraits is what allows me to breathe life into the subject to be filmed.
Part of why I do video is that it’s so interesting and challenging for me. I get the same rush when I capture images using video as well as photography stills. It’s like an amplified creative process, and the exercise of editing is even more engaging than the controlled environment of the digital darkroom.
Capturing and then editing good video work is like a great game of chess, always played against new and surprising opponents.