My roots in digital content started on Strife TV. When I felt my creativity being hindered at my 9-5 job, I took the initiative to create a Youtube channel with my friends that would document the Breakdancing and Hip Hop culture. Today, it has over 156k subscribers and a global following, and has allowed me to work with top brands, travel the world, and teach for Google. I’m grateful for the community that’s been built around Strife over the past 11 years. I’ve seen children grow up watching our videos to now become world renowned competitors, and dancers I admire become close friends. Strife allowed me to fully express myself through video without the limitations of brands, companies, or outside authorities. That freedom has given me opportunities to explore innovative camera and editing techniques, and access to the best camera and lighting equipment on the market today. I always go back to Strife whenever I feel I need a creative fix and freedom to create what’s on my mind, while being able to fully engross myself into the Hip Hop culture.
Creating Top Down Videos for Bentgo
I love creating videos for brands and products that I actually can use in my daily life. Bentgo offers a series of lunchboxes with several compartments to make footage storage and meal prep easy. It was fun creating these videos and having a solid team around me, it always helps when you have a food stylist on set.
Creating content for the Vermont College of Fine arts
Traveling to Vermont during the winter was a cold yet delightful excursion. I had a chance to create a series of videos that highlighted the many MFA programs that the Vermont College of Fine Arts has to offer and connect with teachers within those fields. It was fascinating to hear about the low residency programs and the different format that they have for their graduate degrees. Visiting campus only twice a year and studying remotely to earn your Masters in Fine Arts. I learned a lot and made a few friends, it was a pleasure being able to surround myself with intelligent people and passionate artists that are motivated to share their knowledge.
More food content with Nest Fresh and Tapatio
I love making this style of food content for Foodeez because it gives it a more cinematic and commercial feel over top down videos. I’m a fan of shooting with the Sony FS7 and the color space impresses me every time I edit in post. The camera has its quirk yet when you have the right lighting, Kino Flo’s and Litemats for this, then it makes it easier to control.
Sysco Foodie video with Chef Marcus Means
Video I shot and edited for Sysco Foodie with Chef Marcus Means in Atlanta.
Cannabis Top Down content with Kushy Punch
New top down recipe video I shot and edited for Foodeez and the cannabis company, Kushy Punch :)
Cool spot I directed, shot, and edited for Foodeez
This was a very fun video to shoot and edit since I got to make a mess with chocolate chips and peanuts all for the sake of the perfect shot.
New video with Camilla La Vie!
I love working with the Camilla La Vie team and bringing their dresses and ideas to life. They created a cool live action comic book / fashion shoot and coincided with this video. We shot at the Oheka Castle and I was fascinated by it’s rich history and magnificent design. It’s always a joy to film projects at picturesque locations because it makes the shot that much better, plus I have a decent place to take selfies :P
Fun Branded Content for Clack That Fan
I love directing talented artists from all fields of creativity such as the variety of movements that utilize a fan. Always thought of a fan as just another way to cool yourself off on a hot day, yet my friends above have opened my eyes to the various uses of a fan not only for today but also since the ancient days of warfare and self-defense. This is in collaboration with Clack That Fan and I’m delighted to have such an open-minded partner that is interested in expanding their audience into different verticals with diverse content.
Short narrative piece I directed, produced, and edited for The Asylum!
When I first found my passion in film-making, it was when I borrowed my parents’ camcorder to create a video for my high school Spanish class. From there, I continued to use the camcorder to direct shot pieces and music videos with my family and friends because I loved the feeling of capturing images and audio to tell stories. Fast forward to my college years at UC Santa Barbara, and I began my journey as a filmmaker, learning about the theory of cinema while producing films with my classmates. After graduating, I was pushed into the entertainment industry without any “real world” training on the development, pitching, and general Hollywood industry process so my creative fire began to sizzle out. Grinding out each day to sell scripts, exhausting myself while schmoozing 24/7, and pitching projects I had no creative input on drained me of my passion for cinema and storytelling, until Youtube came along.
I then bought myself a Canon T3i, started filming again, built a Youtube channel around my love for Hip Hop, and cultivated my skills through a lot of trial and error. It was through digital content and media that I found my passion for film-making and storytelling again, and as I expanded my media and marketing business more as an entrepreneur, my skills as an artist also began to enhance as stories are now that best way to captivate and engage an audience.
With that all being said, this is my first narrative short film that I’ve directed with a r crew that I’m very proud of. Our budget, time constraints, and resources were limited and we were still able to create an immense amount of content, including 3 short vignettes that tell the story of The Asylum.
This video is about Hannah Donovan and her first briefing with the Angel, Maggie, who is the Warden of the Asylum and enlists Donovan along with a motley crew of spirits to hunt down 29 dangerous rogue souls that have escaped purgatory. You can read and learn more about the story at TheAsylumNow.com and on social media at @theasylum11.
Thanks for watching!
An Instagram Account with a Sci-Fi Story told through content
I’m pleased to announce a new webseries and project that I’m directing, producing, and developing the content strategy on that has a new twist on the idea of purgatory. THE ASYLUM is a story about an organization between heaven and hell that decides whether souls go to heaven or hell. Written by my friend David O’Neil, the story follows a lost soul named Hannah Donovan and her search for her late fiance while taking on the role of soul bounty hunter for the Warden of the Asylum, Maggie.
I’m so happy that I was able to work with a talented crew to create a variety of content on a single shoot day to build a world on Social Media through photos, videos, gifs, and blogs. I’ve always wanted to create a property that transcends traditional media and utilizes the full extent of today’s storytelling platforms that includes digital. I directed and edited this teaser and will be releasing 2 more narrative videos soon so please visity TheAsylumNow.com for more info and stay tuned for more content!
New Infuse Spirits Founders Video
Every year, I have the pleasure of working with Seth (the founder of the all natural infusion company Infuse Spirits) on creating videos for his company to tell his story and feature his new products. This is our updated video with new bottle designs and his new line of bitters. I’m always impressed with how much he grows every year and how we both help each other expand in our crafts. Support him at infusespirits.com !
Video for Scrappys Bitters
I had the pleasure of working with Milli Agency to create a cool video with Jason Yu and Scrappy's Bitters. I love working with other creative artists in different fields along with progressive brands that believe in the power of social content and video. It was fun creating this piece with Jason since we had to make his apartment look like a mini-bar while still capturing his personality in his surroundings. He's a talented mixologist that was very humble despite his big following on Instagram, which made the experience smooth and fun.
I used the Panasonic GH5s, Beholder Gimbal, and a few lenses to create the video and feel that we were able to create something awesome for the amount of time we had. Hope you enjoy this piece and please support my friends at Milli Agency, Jason Yu, and Scrappy's Bitters!
231 Likes, 10 Comments - Scrappy's Bitters (@scrappysbitters) on Instagram: ""[My favorite drink is] the Old Fashioned. It's so simple, yet strangely elusive to the unknowing..."
Filmed for Spotify and Top Dawg Entertainment!
I was so happy when I was hired to film for Spotify and BWG for the Jay Rock pop-up concert in downtown LA. I'm a big Jay Rock fan and love his music, so to be able to interview him and film him up close on stage with Top Dawg Entertainment artists Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, Isaiah Rashad, Sza, and Sir was a blessing and experience I won't forget.
Lightning in A Bottle "The Bottle" Recap video
My summer kicked off with an incredible start with a fun project at Lightning In A Bottle with Zach Dragovich and his amazing installation "The Bottle." My Rave Train team and I filmed a recap video and organized the official afterparties for the installation to bring together the wildest gathering at the festival.
My Bundaberg Top Down Recipe Videos
Here is a Top Down Recipe video I directed, shot, and edited for Bundaberg Beer!
New dance series on Strife with Flipz Entertainment and Rave Train!
I produced, directed, and edited a brand new original series on Strife TV called DROP-IN SESSIONS in collaboration with Flipz Entertainment and Rave Train TV. This is the first episode with Dj Lean Rock and a group of amazing dancers that bring movement to sound with a freestyle dance performance with a live music mix!
Creating content for Amy's Kitchen, Tapatio, and other food brands!
I've found myself producing a lot of content for food and alcohol brands over the last couple of years so it's only fitting that I've begun working with Foodeez and their clients with directing digital content for various food brands. This Amy's Kitchen video is one of may I've created over the past few weeks and is the beginning of a portfolio of digital food content that I will be releasing the next year.
New Video Series for Stella Rosa!
I love this new style that we brought to Stella Rosa's cocktail recipes since it brings our more of a cinematic looks rather than the regular top-down "Tasty" videos. The Director of Photography, Tony Huong, did an excellent job capturing the different details that go into mixing a drink. Though drink recipes can be seen as fleeting social media pieces, I've found them to be little commercials and music video within themselves that helps me evolve my craft.
Big thanks to the Stella Rosa team for always being on point with pre-production and overall design. More videos in the series to come over the next couple of weeks :)
My travel video from Japan
My trip to Japan was filled with surreal experiences that I had to capture on camera. Check out a video I made for fun with my friends as we roamed Hakuba, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo.