Creative Design
Empowered Production
These past few seasons, I got the opportunity to work as a production designer for Empowered Theater & Arts, a theater company that serves actors with disabilities. Empowered is dedicated to clearing the path to creative expression and equitable opportunity, driven to inspire dialogue and inclusion. For their production of Beauty and the Beast, I designed and built many of the costumes and props, as well as gained backstage experience. I spent several months constructing costumes from scratch such as teapots, teacups, giant silverware, candlesticks, and many others. It was a terrific experience to work with such talented artists and to see the actors perform looking their absolute best. It was a huge undertaking and took countless hours of construction and problem solving, but it was an experience I truly enjoyed and can’t wait to do again. We have begun preparing for this Spring’s performance of The Others. This performance will be recorded and have a theatrical release at Harkins Theaters accompanying a Red Carpet event in June 2025.
I have spent the last several years creating my own projects and collaborating with others to create short films. Due to my unique interests, I have had the privilege of running the art department on productions such as In The Desert, Two Birds One Gun, Pest Control, Cupholder Companion, and others.
Practical VFX
Concept Set Design
Shorts and commercial shoots (2024-2025)
I have spent the last few years working on nearly a dozen shoots. I have been on student projects, short films, and large-budget commercial shoots with roles rangeing from PA all the way to Producer. I have experienced the gambit of crew postions and seen many different approaches to filmmaking.
Pest Control and In The Desert are the horror-shorts that I produced in 2024 and 2025 respectively. This was a considerable venture for me because I had never been completely in charge of a full cast and crew before. I found actors and locations, created call sheets, treated scripts, organized craft services, rented equipment, and everything else involved with a complete production. I learned more than just the process of a production, I discovered the nuances of organizing large groups of people and the importance of effective communication.
Overall, I was pleased with how the films turned out, especially the costuming, sets, and props. I was able to create an atmosphere of horror by creating compelling scenery in my sets. The creatures I created are seriously terrifying. By combining these elements with creative camera work and practical effects, the shorts truly came to life. Pest Control is available on YouTube; In The Desert will be released in several months as it is still under consideration for several festivals.
Animations
I produced three claymation shorts from conception to completion. The latest, Cupholder Companion, has already been selected to appear in two film festivals. When on the road this summer, I also began working with 2D animation. Making these films takes an enormous amount of patience, but the result is a satisfying mix of wonderful and creepy. Claymation is an underrated art form and I am glad to have experience with it.
