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Why Nine Hours? What format do you use? Where do you get the equipment? Who taught you filmmaking? What inspires you? Are you a screenwriter as well? Will you make my movie? How do I get started? What is your favorite movie? What do you do besides make movies? Where do you go from here? You don't update much. Why?	Why Nine Hours? In 1998, I sat down with several college friends watched nine straight hours of Babylon 5. This marathon became the time measurment for all undertakings. I liked the way it sounded to declare my films "Nine Hour Films" and the company was born. In a touch of irony, since then I have also been on film shoots that have lasted exactly nine hours. What format do you use? The first Nine Hour Films were shot on VHS with old bulky cameras and editing using a simple linear editing system. However, starting with the short version of Watashi Wa...(I am...), Nine Hour Films have been shot with Sony digital video cameras on mini-dv tapes and edited on non-linear systems including an Avid Xpress editor and a G4 Macintosh with Final Cut Pro. Where do you get the equipment? Most equipment for completed films was borrowed from the Hollins University Media Collection. Recently equipment has also been borrowed from friends including Patrick Foley of Galtham Films and Michael and Rain O'Brien. Nine Hour Films has recently invested in their own camera and editing system. Who taught you filmmaking? No one person could really be credited with my style (which I'm sure they're thankful for). However I owe a great deal of thanks to Carl Plantinga, Klaus Phillips, Michael Mansfield, and Ula Stockl. Carl was my first film production teacher who taught me more about editing than anyone else. He also was one of the first people to really believe in me enough to tell me I could do even better. Klaus taught me more things than I could name as my primary film theory professor. He not only has made me look at film differently, but has helped me realize the importance of the smallest things in my own works. Michael was the technical advisor for almost everything I made on non-linear systems and I don't think I realized how much I learned from him until after I was out of college and on my own. Ula was my second production teacher, and the biggest supporter of Watashi Wa... in it's planning stages. Her excitement and support of my projects kept me going even when I wanted to give up, and her skill and teachings have definetly stayed with me. What inspires you? A few things really, partially experience. If I make a film where a shot works really well, I might try similar shots later on down the line. I've started shooting mostly outdoors because I've learned I'm horrible with lighting. Also, television and movies. Depending on what I'm watching at the time, I might try some similar tricks, or even become a little more lax. I was spending forever perfecting the cuts in All Good Stories, and I still didn't like them. Then I watched a little TV and a few movies and realized that unless I'm in an editing frame of mind, I don't notice their cuts. So the whole film was a lot more smooth after that because I wasn't being so paranoid that I was messing it up. The other thing that affects my "style" as a director and editor is the fact that I've spent four years in a liberal arts school. Taking such a wide array of classes has helped me really pull various experiences into each shoot. One of the most valuable of those things is my Art History minor, you'd be amazed how much Art History can be applied to film. And I can't deny that my family and friends affect it as well. Especially working with my mother extensively in photography. Having her influence on my simple ability to frame a shot and see the dynamic movement in a still image has been invaluable. Are you a screenwriter as well? Not a very good one in my opinion, but everybody thinks that about themselves. I've written a few scripts, including (The Trailer for) All Good Stories and Waiting for Warcraft. However, mostly I'm an idea person and I get other people to help with the writing part. Even those two films had a great deal of help from members of my screenwriting class. Will you make my movie? Well I guess that all depends on a lot of factors. First one is if I really like the script, not just for its quality but if it's something that I really want to put something into as a director and filmmaker. I've read some great scripts that I wouldn't have wanted to film. That said, you really should just ask. E-mail me and let me know a little about the project, and I'll let you know. I can't afford to travel, and I don't really have a large amount of actors and actresses at my disposal after I graduate. But if it's a small project I can film in my area I'll look into it. How do I get started? First, I'm not the person to ask because I'm not sure either. Second, best advice on that topic I ever read came from George Lucas, who just said that the way to get started is to make a movie. When you're done with that, make another movie to prove the first one wasn't a fluke. It's really all you can do. Film school is okay, but most of what I've learned those four years was from getting out and creating, not from sitting in a class. And for goodness sakes don't listen to people telling you that you can't do it. Half of them are just bitter they didn't follow their dreams and don't want you to have fun either. What is your favorite movie? For goodness sakes don't ever actually ask me this question. I hate it. Go ask a novelist what their favorite book is, I dare you. It changes all the time, and I can't consider any of them my favorites. If I have to chose a favorite film, I go with E.T. because it was really the first movie to affect me and it's stuck with me all these years. What do you do besides movies? Sleep and eat. Okay, I do a few other things. My mother and father both love photography, and my mom actually exhibits her work. I inherited that from them. I like making webpages, I write a little. I collect just about anything collectible, and when I have time I read a lot. I used to paint. My senior year, I also got the chance to direct a one-act play. So my stage debute was Degas, C'est Moi by David Ives, starring Lindsay Durango, Rhianna Smith, Cat Vasko, and Colleen Hagerty. It was also stage managed by the lovely Molly Knudsen. I credit that play and my cast with reminding me why I was in school in the first place, because it was a fantastic experience and it showed me that I can actually direct. Where do you go from here? "Nothing but work work work all the time." (Wesley, The Princess Bride). From here, I work to pay off student loans. I'll be filming Watashi Wa...Version 2.0 and hopefully resurrecting Luminosity. You know, in a perfect world. You don't update much. Why? Because I'm currently working full time and trying to pay back student loans since I graduated. The only constantly changing pages will likely be the Events page.