What inspires your work
honestly inspiration can come from anywhere. An instagram post, a snowstorm in Upstate New York, a smudge on a hotel window, my son’s drawings, a dream, you name it. the problem is then interpreting that visual and turning it into something concrete, further elaborated.
Do you plan on making a feature
I do. I have a project lined up at Lionsgate right now but the studio process is so much longer than music video making! I’m reading scripts for smaller projects all the time, waiting for the right one to come along.
How have things changed for you since 2004
First, I’m rarely shooting on film anymore which is sad. I only get to shoot about one or two projects a year on film, if that. Just finished up a video for James Bay we did on 16mm which was a blast. Bigger picture though, career is no longer a priority, it’s family. Every chance to jump on a plane was met with thrilling excitement in 2004, now it’s weighed out with spending time with my wife and son and making sure I’m there for him. I’ve also stopped shooting as many music videos sadly, only doing about 2-3 a year. I’m spending more time in the commercial world which while by and large creatively less stimulating, is also less mentally frustrating! You sink so much of your heart and soul into music videos because of the passion for the music, but then someone at a label or a manager or an artist decides on a whim to change something that defies logic. On a commercial you are already more removed from the start and the conversations with the clients are more practical in nature so the chances of heart attacks are reduced by a factor of twenty. And that’s pleasant. I can easily attribute each of the grey hairs on my head to a specific music video shoot but none to commercials!How has family life changed you
See above.
Whats your favorite work of yours
It’s so hard for me to answer that question. I’m incredibly sentimental, keeping extensive visual journals dating back to elementary school, and when i look back on projects I rarely look back on the finished product and instead think of the moment i was living in during its creation. Sometimes the worst shoots trigger the fondest memories of being in the trenches with dear friends and collaborators while excessively epic videos were just another day on set. That said, the Jonas Brothers video for Love Bug remains a great combination of the two.Is there anything you’d like to plug? (The book will be out in Aug)
Ha. Not that i can think of! Let me know when it comes out, if i’m not too late for my submission, would love to see the end result!