From the age of six, I have always known exactly what I wanted to do with my life: make movies. As the years went by, movies did more than just occupy time in my life; they were my life. They provided me with a place where I could go and free myself from reality. And as this escapism grew into a passion, I realized that it wasn’t enough for me to merely sit there and watch a movie, I had to make them.
After completing my bachelor’s degree in history at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, I attended the School of Filmmaking at University of North Carolina School of the Arts. It was there that the world of cameras and lighting was opened up to me. Cinematography became by concentration and with that grew my love of camera movement. Early on in my film school experience I learned of a device that allowed one person to move a motion picture camera through space without the usual shake that came with a handheld camera.
“A human dolly?” I thought to myself. And thus began my obsession with Steadicam.
In 2010, I attended my first Steadicam workshop in Kentucky, where I studied under some of the finest operators on the East Coast, including my mentor and good friend, David Svenson, SOC. Once film school had ended, I began my work in the professional world in the camera and video departments. It was during this time that I was given the opportunity to work on HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE and THE DIVERGENT SERIES: INSURGENT in Atlanta, GA, as well as two weeks in Chicago on TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION among other films. Thanks in part to these incredible experiences I was able to graduate not only to a full-sized Steadicam rig in 2012 but to a full-time career as well.
Be it a lock-off on the beach, a slow creep down a hallway or a full sprint down a city street, my focus in life now is creating images. My goal as an operator is to not only provide my clients with my best possible work both technically and professionally, but also aesthetically. It’s more than just pretty pictures that look good; I wish to help tell stories and bring your vision to life. Because at the end of the day I view myself as more than just a technician or an operator; I’m a storyteller.