When SXSW season came around, We decided to get as far away from Austin as possible so we went to Vietnam and Cambodia, which was a great place to clear up some of the mind mush and fly my new DJI Mavic Pro. They were super strict about the no-fly zones (for good reason imo) and so I could only take it up in a handful of places. Really thankful for that trip because I was able to connect with some ancient sites like Angkor Wat.

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Immediately after returning from the trip, I started working with Houston Public Media, the PBS and NPR affiliate. There, I worked with the Digital and Web team to report news stories, create and add visual elements (photo and video) to local, national, and international news, capture video and photo for marketing purposes, edit a ton of in house digital content, and produce a few series from the ground up, Leftovers and Show Us Your DiverseCity.

Sadly, due to budget concerns and the current political climate, they weren't able to resign my contract.

It was an awesome opportunity and I got to work with lots of level headed, pleasant, and fun people. Looking back, I'm amazed at how much we were able to do in such a short time. My supervising producers, Don Geraci and Aurora Losada, were the coolest to work with and are doing everything to convince the finance dept. to get me back on the team. Right now- they're working on the next fiscal budget to make room for me and trying to get me on a few one off productions here and there. 
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Since, I've been back hustling harder than ever trying to get some more freelance gigs. Lately, I've almost exclusively been working in the camera department (cinematographer) on these random one offs, but I still love doing audio, lights, and editing when people need me to but I'm always down to produce from the ground up.

In the short time since being back into the dark and seedy underbelly of the freelance world- I've shot oodles of interviews, a few corporate videos, a TV pilot with Green Eyed Theater, and a music video that I'm really excited about with the very righteous Houston Artist Doug Kosmo. We have a great team editing it (progressive pixels) and it's set to be released to promote his debut release.

Just bought DJI's Ronin MX after a lot of debate and research and I'm really excited for the initial shipment. I've been eyeballing different gimbals for the past year and the new Ronin looks so badass that I couldn't resist. Expect to see a lot of footage from that. 

Also: I purchased today the Kinotehnik Practilite 602 Smart LED Fresnel which I'm excited to add to my ultra portable lighting arsenal. I've been feeling really limited without a solid single source light and it's great to see the advancements of LED tech happening so quickly. 

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Really excited today because I'm upgrading to the V LOG-L Firmware on my camera which increases it's dynamic range and makes the video look totally awesome, I purchased the K4000s Bicolor LED Light Panel, and I've tested out my 4 foot slider and its amazing. 

Here's the test from that-

I had another opportunity to work on the awesome TV production, Courtside Jones, but this time, we had to overcome a lot of challenges. We were interviewing the NBA All Star, Steve Francis on a private jet which was not only problematic because of how cramped the space was, we had to overcome this nasty hum inside of the hanger and also on the plane with the electronics box that powered the lights. 

Fortunately, I had some sound blankets and was able to place the mic just right to virtually eliminate the hum. 

It was so cool to meet Steve and to see how humble and respectful he was in our presence. He offered me some Rockets tickets, so if you're reading this Steve, email me dude. I got to hear some of his music too, which was pretty cool. If you ever need a music video, hit me up and I'll make it happen.  

Today was a cool day because I was able to go out in the woods and shoot a book trailer for up and coming author, JeanNicole Rivers. It was an early start; we were down in Randolph Park for sunrise but what was great was that I was witness to the coolest woman I've seen in a while.

She was walking along the edge of the woods with feed and she was power walking in a windbreaker suit, scattering the food and talking to the squirrels. Once she noticed our crew there, she gave a happy wave and went right back to feeding the squirrels without missing a step, saying things like, "Good morning babies. Here you guys go!." 

Anyway, for this shoot, I was working with a group of people who haven't worked in video before and It's always an interesting challenge to have to step back and go over the basics with everyone. It's like a good fundamentals check. We wrapped shooting within a couple of hours and now, I begin the painstaking process of editing and color correcting.
The video will be out in March!

Here's a pic of me directing our talent and crew. Working with kids rules because they are supreme actors. 

I'm so pumped that I was able to get in and shoot for the Day For Night music and arts festival here in Houston that is put together by the beautiful babes over at the Houston Free Press. I'm hoping to get to do some more stuff with the Free Press here in the near future as they expand their video department. 

Today, the festival released the Official Recap Video and I'm glad to see a lot of my footage on there. Mark Armes did a killer job with the edit and I think the video really does a great job capturing the energy and excitement of that weekend back in December. I've got the best hopes for Day For Night and I think it will grow into becoming one of the most badass festivals in the world. 

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