Based on the 1993 Larry Mitchell novel. I read it several times before shooting began. The prose was sparse and sterile--almost paranoid. The characters feel order being imposed on them. This interpretation lent intself to a visual style of strong graphic components set into symmetrical patterns. My palette consisted mostly of strong primary colors modulated by angular white fields--almost like that of a Modrian abstract. (more frames)

My latest short film starring Mark Borchardt. It's silent-era style zombie bloodfest with a redemptive twist! The film was shot silent at 18fps with inter-title cards and old-fashion iris wipes. The iris transitions were accomplished with bridgeplate rods and homemade mattebox cutouts, one sized for the 28mm and one for the 50mm lens. The iris effect is very precise, and is hard to distinguish from an optical effect. (more frames)

This is a story of contrasts--between light and dark, good and evil, sanity and insanity, religious and secular. The images are similarly dialectic: the iconic clashes with the banal, high-contrast with low-contrast, warm tones with cool tones. One extreme is define by its opposite. This clash defines the inner conflict of characters who reach for the ineffable, yet are still tortured by their own humanity.  

This is a short sci-fi project that gave me a chance to experiment with digital video. The subtext of this film had a lot to do with order being imposed upon the characters by external forces. As the story develops, we see a distopian, totalitarian society of the future methodically control and trap its inhabitants. The visual design expresses oppressive order through symmetry as well as enclosure and stifling within a heavily composed frame.

You guessed it. Killer leeches! This was the most physically challenging shoot I have ever done. All night exteriors, in late fall, in freezing water, on cliffs, in culverts, in boats, on scaffolding. I chose bluish tones for "moonlight" ambience. I bounced H.M.I's off the surface of the water to get that liquid play on the actors faces. Slighty offset framing (see left) adds to the tension.

We shot at 18fps to mimick a film speed associated with silent-era comedy films. Along with authentic costuming, make-up, art direction & Harold Loyd antics (such as dangling off a 30-foot cliff by one foot!), this neat little film ended up looking pretty, well, authentic. I kept the sepia color throughout and added a slight flicker efffect in the transfer.

The director wanted her character to always appear confident and strong. It is the story of a women struggling with certain "demons" from her past. She deals with memories of childhood abuse by attempting to prove herself through physical confrontation. It seemed appropriate to keep the palette icy cool, emblematic of her suppressed emotions and disassociation with society.

Dark, dark humor. A Senator unknowingly has a tryst with Satan herself. And just how much black is too much? I was thinking of Ken Kelsch ASC's outstanding photography for The Addiction when I shot this one.  Kodak's b/w reversal stocks have a visceral quality to the grain structure that no other film has. (more frames)

Here the script demanded a consistently nostalgic look at modern life in a small fishing community. A young girl battles city hall to get her dad's job back at the local cannery. I decided on a chocolate filter to enhance this feel, but it only works well when the rest of the colors in the scene are cooperating (see left). For some of the flashbacks I added light diffusion.

This is what I do to pay the bills. I much prefer working on movies because I'm interested in the storytelling--at least in a more complete sense. The greatest thing is reacting intuitively to a narrative, and then mounting that story visually, as one mounts a painting into a frame. Great cinematography can only start with a point of view.               (more frames)