Before deciding to move into design and art direction, I dabbled in the film and television world. While I ultimately realized that my passion lay elsewhere, I gained invaluable experience on how sets work, the technical aspects of production, and much more. The following are some of my higher visibility projects that had the largest impact on my career and development.
Laggies is a romcom film directed by Lynn Shelton that premiered at Sundance Film Festival. For this project, I started off as a production assistant on location and in the office before integrating myself with the art director, Emmy award winner Schuyler Telleen. He mentored me and allowed me to design several background props.
Top Chef is a long running reality show that features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. Last Chance Kitchen is the accompanying web series where eliminated chefs fight for the chance to return to the main show. During season 10, I initially worked as a production assistant on set, but was soon recruited to work on the four-member production team shooting behind the scenes content. As a part of this team I had numerous responsibilities, from shooting stills and logging tapes to setting up camera equipment and conducing interviews. This season of Top Chef was nominated for two Emmys and Last Chance Kitchen was nominated for one.
Dancing With The Stars is a reality show that pairs celebrities with professional dancers who then perform dance routines in hopes of winning the title of champion. During season 18, I worked as a story assistant. Assigned to contestants Meryl Davis and Maks Chmerkovskiy while they practiced in Washington state for the finale, I attended their dance rehearsals and took notes on the dialogue that occurred. I also worked with the producers and cameraman to determine best shots and angles, helped out with preparation and take down of the set, and worked as a runner. Meryl and Maks went on to win perfect scores for both of the dances, and went on to win the entire series.