Thoughts
A working library.
Essays, field notes, and short observations. Pick a category to go deeper, or search across everything.
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What "Teenage Wasteland" Reminded Me About the Power of a Creator
A Netflix documentary about high school kids who exposed a toxic waste cover up in 1991 is the clearest picture I have found of the real power of a creator.
Recent thoughts
Hiring a Fractional Creative Director: The Practical Guide
A plain guide to hiring a fractional creative director: what the role covers, when it beats an agency or a full time hire, typical costs, how engagements are structured, and the questions to ask before you sign.
If Open Houses Had a Bouncer
A realtor's reel joked "if open houses had a bouncer," and it's a masterclass in a content trick: drop your brand into a scene everyone already knows.
How Detailed Do You Actually Want to Be?
Before you build a team or hand your brand to other people, an honest look at the detachment outsourcing creates, and the balance between fast and rushed.
Content Is the Easy Part
The content is maybe one percent of building a media engine. The other ninety-nine is the system. A note to founders building a team and creators entering business.
Why I Build Universes
Taste is becoming the scarcest asset in business, and the best creators see a whole world where others see a single project. Why I design brands as universes.
Directing for Evolution, Not Performance
My art direction philosophy: why I use narration, imperfection, and the fourth wall to catch people mid-change instead of mid-performance.
I've Filmed Weddings. I Still Had No Idea What Went Into One.
Sitting at our favorite coffee shop with my fianc\u00e9e and our coordinator, it hit me: I've filmed weddings and still had no idea what actually goes into one.
The Best Marketing Is Showing People What You Can Do
A Dubai director films an entire crew just to take one photo. It's funny, it's memorable, and it's a masterclass in turning your craft into marketing.
Filming Wellness Content at SlimFit Studios: Round Two
Round two at SlimFit Studios with wellness expert Vanessa Bennum: the consultation, two machines, a lighter kit, and how I turn a machine demo into a benefit-driven piece.
How I'm Funding My Own Wedding with a Photography Sprint
To help pay for my wedding, I built a hidden landing page, a video ad, and a full Stripe funnel in two weeks using AI, then texted the link to twenty people and closed four.
Documentary Portrait Photography: I Shoot Your Story, Not Just Your Face
Why I shoot documentary portraits: I'd rather follow you through a real day, at work or at home, and capture your story as it happens than pose you in a studio.
Filming a Laser Treatment I Knew Nothing About
Back at SlimFit Studios in Newport to film a laser skin treatment, shot in two formats, vertical and cinematic, with a focus on angles, detail, and just enough added light.
What a Barbershop Taught Me About Systematizing a Business
A barbershop in Irvine photographs your head after every cut so any stylist can reproduce it. Here's what that system taught me about scaling a one-person video company.
Building a Green Screen Studio in a Living Room
The gear and lighting setup behind twelve educational videos a month: two Amaran lights, a collapsible green screen, a teleprompter, and a client's living room.
Fifteen Years Without a Break
For fifteen years I spent thousands on memory cards and tools and nothing on a vacation. The systems I'd needed that whole time only got built when I finally had a reason to leave the desk.
Every Company Needs a Media Arm
I partnered with a founder to launch a podcast from scratch, brand, website, photography, and studio, in two weeks. Here's the build, and the bigger argument: every company, large or small, should be running its own media arm.
Filming Demo Content for SlimFit Studio: Round One
A pitch deck, two friends, and one dimly lit studio: notes from the first round of demo and social content for SlimFit Studio, and what I learned testing fast.
Documenting Spontaneity During a Luxury Yacht Shoot
Creative filming on a yacht turns into a celebration of spontaneous moments and documentation despite a lack of technical facts about the vessel.