"Let's do the interview now and who cares if there is a little background noise because this light from the window is amazing and you're comfortable and this moment feels real"

I have been around film sets long enough that I can confidently make the cliche claim of “been there, done that, got the t-shirt”. From massive Los Angeles productions before the I Phone existed to the "One Man Band" shoots from the documentary feature I made. I may not have seen it all but I've seen a lot. A big set with a bunch of people standing around each with their own specific job within the film production ecosystem can definitely be a pretty cool thing to witness. I know for many filmmakers the goal is bigger budgets, bigger crews, bigger sets, bigger=better. There is a ladder to climb and points to score. If they end up on the micro shoot it's just a "sigh", a gap filler, copy and paste and move onto the next one. This is where I feel like I am cut a little different. I never felt comfortable on the big shoots.  Too big, too loud, too many personalities. It was all just too much for the creative introvert in me. When I started making short films with a few close filmmaking buddies on our own terms the process started to feel right. We shot things handheld, on crappy camcorders with available light and on our own terms. 

(BTS photos from that "dusty road trip shoot through corn country")

Nowadays I prefer to be on the low budge shoots that get down to the nitty gritty.  The shoots that have a loose schedule and some room to breathe and grow. The shoots that you go into and are not exactly sure where things are headed but open to the roads it may lead you down. I thrive on the minimal. I don't care if I am loading all my gear in, setting it all up, running to get the coffee and then running the cameras, audio and interviewing the subject. The “let's do the interview now and who cares if there is a little background noise because this light from the window is amazing and you're comfortable and this moment feels real” shoots. Ill pass on the grip trucks, director chairs, sound stage green screens, and PA’s on a Starbucks run. I'll take the dusty road trip through corn country with a client piloted mini van full of gear capturing the stories of real deal "salt of the earth" farmers. These shoots are my shoots, they are where I want to be and what I want to be doing more than anything. Finding the excitement and cinematic beauty in the humdrum. Elevating the scene in the most subtle ways. Chasing the shadows and burning some candles.

(BTS photos from that "dusty road trip shoot through corn country")