Selected Independent Work · 2018–Present

Music Videos & Experimental

Director · Director of Photography · Camera Operator · Editor

I love music videos. They offer a visual freedom that is unbounded by narrative structure. My favorite music videos don't take themselves too seriously, explore dada and surrealism, and craft an abstract atmosphere that connects visually to the indefinable magic that is music. This portfolio features music videos, live performance capture, as well as some of my exploration of early, local Stable Diffusion and Deforum.

Music Video

01 / Selected Work

Pom Poms

Director · Camera Operator · Editor

Pom Poms is an expression of the weird and wonderful Jessie Payo. The aesthetic can best be summed up as alien-hotdog-skeleton.

Pom Poms · I Think You're Right

Editor

TOMI

Director of Photography · Producer

Indie icon TOMI started out as a major-label darling before deciding to go fully independent to pursue her unique vision. Her voice is full of power and vulnerability, and her songwriting is among the very best.

TOMI · NUN

Director of Photography · Directed by Julie Pacino

Spindrift

Director · Producer · Musician

This was my first music video commission, for the psychedelic western rock outfit Spindrift. The video is composed entirely of photographs taken while the band was recording their album Classic Soundtracks Vol. 1. This video kicked off a long collaboration with the band, culminating in co-producing Classic Soundtracks Vol. 3 alongside Jello Biafra for his Alternative Tentacles label.

Spindrift · When I Was Free

Director

Live Performance

02 / Selected Work

Selected Work

Director · DP · Camera Operator

Capturing musical performance requires the seamless consideration of audio recording and mix, alongside lighting, camera, and edit. It also requires the expression of the abstract experience of music being played and experienced. To avoid becoming stale documentation, musical performance capture requires a focused approach to crafting an environment around the performance, without ever overshadowing it. It is a medium unto itself.

Featured Performance

TOMI · More Time

Live at the Den Studios, LA
Director

Experimental

03 / Selected Work

At the onset of stable diffusion and early AI image generation, I became interested in local AI computing. I was fascinated by the ability to build and configure these systems on my own machine, and enamored with the soupy, psychedelic nature of those early models. I found the places where the system broke down, out of visual coherence the most compelling. As AI image generation improved, becoming more realistic and consistent, I lost interest in the medium and moved my study of AI to code and systems. These early works are a kind of flag in the sand. I wanted to be among the first people engaging with these systems from the ground up, not just running consumer models, but building and running my own local stacks to produce strange and beautiful machine dreams. This series was produced locally on a Mac M4, with original scores recorded the old-fashioned way.

Machine Dreams

Local Stable Diffusion · Deforum · 6 Pieces

Six ambient animations produced on a locally-configured Stable Diffusion / Deforum / Automatic1111 stack, each scored with an original ambient composition recorded the old-fashioned way.

Featured Piece

The Gallery

Stable Diffusion · Deforum · Ambient