Education Week: Changemakers

When Teresa Garcia moved to Washington state from Arizona, she expected to have a tough time navigating the bureaucracy of a new school district—especially since her children needed specialized services and she was still trying to master English. But she quickly found a powerful and reassuring ally within the Federal Way school district near Seattle: Trise Moore,…

Not My President

This is an observational film of the peaceful protest of more than a thousand Seattleites who marched through the city the day after Donald Trump won the presidential election. Thousands of people in cities across the nation took to the streets, a sign to Trump and to the world, that the next administration will have…

36 Hours: Paris

Think Left Bank, and the Latin Quarter and the Eiffel Tower spring to mind. The Right Bank, which is twice the size, has no clear identity. There are, in fact, many Right Banks. I’m pleased to share the another episode of 36 Hours, a video travel series for The New York Times. Read the written article here. Role Cinematographer Full…

36 Hours: Pittsburgh

Beyond Pittsburgh’s pretty downtown, transformation and momentum reign, with former industrial areas giving way to restaurants, shops and art venues. I’m pleased to share the another episode of 36 Hours, a video travel series, that I’ve been filming for The New York Times. Read the written article here. Role Cinematographer Full Credits Producer: Fritzie Andrade Cinematography: Jessey Dearing and Andrew Hida Sound: Louie Alfaro…

36 Hours: Savannah

Yes, there are lots of live oaks and lovely squares, but Savannah also has a lively bar scene, innovative restaurants and a rich, storied past. I’m pleased to share the another episode of 36 Hours, a video travel series, that I’ve been filming for The New York Times. Read the written article here. Role Cinematographer Full Credits Producer: Fritzie Andrade Cinematography: Jessey Dearing…

36 Hours: San Luis Obispo

Wine, California cuisine and the great outdoors await visitors to bucolic San Luis Obispo County. I’m pleased to share the another episode of 36 Hours, a video travel series, that I’ve been filming for The New York Times. Read the written article here. Role Cinematographer Full Credits Producer: Fritzie Andrade Cinematography: Jessey Dearing and Max Cantor Sound: Louie Alfaro Editor: Will Lloyd

36 Hours: Key West

Ernest Hemingway’s favorite pastimes — catching big fish, eating well and drinking hard — still define the island’s appeal, with the added attractions of countless water sports and gorgeous sunsets. I’m pleased to share the another episode of 36 Hours, a video travel series, that I’ve been filming for The New York Times. Read the written article here. Role Cinematographer Full Credits…

36 Hours: Palm Beach

Palm Beach may be known for its extravagant mansions, tony retailers and fancy nightspots, but it also has its own brand of small-town charm. I’m pleased to share the another episode of 36 Hours, a video travel series, that I’ve been filming for The New York Times. Read the written article here. Role Cinematographer Full Credits Producer: Fritzie Andrade Cinematography: Jessey Dearing…

36 Hours: Koreatown

As the most densely packed part of Los Angeles, Koreatown is also one of the city’s most strollable, with Art Deco buildings, palm-lined streets and East-meets-West restaurants. I’m pleased to share the first of several films that I’ve been shooting with The New York Times on a video travel series called 36 Hours that began last…

The James Irvine Leadership Awards

I’m happy to share four stories I worked on in December for The James Irvine Leadership Awards. The awards recognize and support individuals who are advancing innovative and effective solutions to significant issues in California. This years winners are working to stop child sex trafficking, provide college education to inmates at San Quentin, close the education gap for Latino parents…

Migration west

After spending three years in New York, I recently moved to Seattle with my partner, Lauren Frohne. The journey west was a long one involving multiple trips between Seattle and Brooklyn and a 10-day Southwest camping and hiking trip in the middle of driving cross-country. Though we officially moved Nov. 1, 2014, I have only spent about…

great california road trip #6

After a long day driving down cloudy route 395 the sun began setting low enough to shine under the clouds. Lauren and I saw a beautiful streak of light painted horizontally across the mountains to our East. As we were driving through Bishop, California, I excitedly turned down a side street and sped towards the…

Here is New York #8 – 09.14.2013

Lauren and I usually try to celebrate our birthdays by traveling somewhere nearby. For her birthday last September, we drove to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. We brought our bikes and stayed at an AirBnB. I’ve spent my whole life around large bodies of water, but the sheer volume of water flowing over the…

James Irvine Leadership Awards

This is Talking Eyes Media’s fifth year producing the leadership award videos for The James Irvine Foundation. These are documentary-style profiles of these winners and their organizations. We spent two days doing all the main interviews and then two days in the field with each subject. Two of winners from this year are posted below….

Trash Talk + Flatbush Zombies: In the studio

Converse hired Lauren and me to take over a series of short “In the Studio” films to accompany the release of the “CONS EP VOL. 1″ compilation, which pairs music artists to collaborate on songs for the album. We produced the shoot from beginning to end. The song in this video “97.92″ is produced by…

Automated Subtitles in Final Cut Pro 7

Over at Talking Eyes Media, we recently came across a useful subtitling tool using Final Cut Pro 7 and InqScribe, a transcribing software. Essentially, you can use InqScribe to subtitle a project, or a scene, and easily import those subtitles into FCP 7. There is a way to import these to Premiere Pro CC, but you have…

Traversing snowy New York City by bike

I’m one of the few souls in the tri-state area who lives in New York and commutes daily to work in New Jersey. The “reverse commute,” they call it. To get to work, I ride my bike from Fort Greene, Brooklyn, to Penn station in midtown. From there, I board a New Jersey Transit train…

great california road trip #5

Having never been to a hot spring, we made a stop after visiting Bodie at this undeveloped hot spring.  We had the small pool to ourselves for an hour or so. The spring is surrounded by mountains and it was a wonderful way to relax before getting back on the road for a couple more…

RATKING + Eric Copeland: In the studio

This short was produced as part of an upcoming shoe release for Converse. I filmed the verité scenes and the tighter angle of the interview. Sarah Riazati is the director, editor, and animator. Ben Carey set up the main interview and lighting, and Lauren Frohne ran sound on the four mics. It was great to…

great california road trip #4

We took a slight detour off of highway 395 to visit the ghost town of Bodie. After driving down about 13 miles of dirt road we reached the abandoned town that is now minimally maintained by some sort of state parks organization. From what I gather, the town experienced a couple of fires, and circa…

Here is New York #6 and #7 – 07.29.2013 / 07.31.2013

Maybe I should start calling this series “Here is Brooklyn Bridge.” My regular bike route home brings me over the Brooklyn Bridge as the sun begins to set and I usually take a few minutes to take in the view and see what people are doing. The man was letting people carry, or wear, his…

great california road trip #3

We began one of our longer days of driving when we left Lake Tahoe. We drove south down Highway 395, which runs along the eastern side of the Sierras in the valley and high desert. The highway is surrounded by constantly changing landscapes and high mountains. You could spend weeks on this route and not…

great california road trip #2

After visiting Napa Valley, we drove east on some backroads until we hit Interstate 80. We switched to Highway 50 and made our way into the Sierras, eventually landing in South Lake Tahoe. The terrain in California can change so quickly. The following day we went for a long hike aiming for Maggies Peak. We…

great california road trip #1

Lauren and I took a vacation road trip around a large portion of California last year.  I brought my Hasselblad, which I basically abandoned after graduating from photography school in 2008, and stocked up on some Kodak 100VS film. I’ve always enjoyed the film experience because it forces me to slow down and demands a different attention…

Here is New York #4 – 06.09.2013

I went with my girlfriend, Lauren, to the Upper West Side this afternoon to have lunch with her family. We photographed Juliana (Lauren’s cousin’s daughter) after her first communion at  Riverside park in the upper west side. I brought my Hasselblad with a polaroid back and took a portrait of her. We gave the prints…

Kisumu, Kenya

  I recently traveled to Kisumu, Kenya, to film part of a client documentary project with my employer, Talking Eyes Media. The project highlights an effective program aimed at fostering friendly dynamics between the police force and sex workers. The program has helped sex workers feel comfortable reaching out to police when a crime has…

Here is New York #1 – 04.07.2013

I visited the Astoria Skatepark on a Sunday afternoon under the Triboro bridge in Astoria, Queens. I had to take a break from skating after seeing a group of ATVs riding all over the park. I followed them down to the waterfront of the East River and took a few photographs with a point and…

Massachusetts Incarceration

I worked on this story while I was at The Boston Globe. I toured four different prison facilities with reporter, David Abel, to see a supervised view of the Massachusetts prison system. I say supervised because our tour was carefully guided by a public relations representative who was present during all interviews and all locations. We…

Spilling Over update…

Last August, Lauren and I traveled to Venice to film a few days and catch up with the Arnesen’s for our documentary, Spilling Over. It was a fairly successful trip. We were able to interview David, Kindra’s husband, and I went fishing with him. Read more about the trip in this post on our film’s…

Miles and miles

View Miles and miles in a larger map After 40 days on the road, it’s time to head home and begin editing content. Between one story based in two towns more than 1,000 miles apart and another about the BP oil spill in the Gulf, I’ve been home a total of nine days since May…

Medicare, Medicaid and Disability

My documentary project on health care has picked up some pace and I am working with three people in the Charlotte and Monroe area currently. They all have very interesting, sad and disturbing stories about their struggle surviving major health injuries. Vernadine has a prosthetic leg and is more than 100,000 dollars in debt. Keith…