I had always known I wanted to be a storyteller. In college, I suffered a set back when Joyce Carol Oates questioned the 'verisimilitude' of a sex scene I had written in front of my undergraduate classmates. After that, it was a long time before I could even look at a pencil, let alone hold one.
B.A. English, 2000, Princeton University
Certificate in Screenwriting, 2005, UCLA
M.F.A. Creative Writing, 2015, Otis College of Art & Design
Story Producer, MTV
Sometimes the universe rewards 'gutsy'. I had just given 2 weeks notice at my restaurant job—without a plan for what was next. Ill-advised, but I needed a change. Then my car broke down. So I was riding an old bike to work for my 2nd to last shift, when the call came through for the Hills job. It was a Thursday. I interviewed on Friday & started work Monday. Over the next 5 years I got an education in reality TV, ringside, on one of the most popular shows of the time.
Supervising Producer, History Channel
One of my favorite shows to work on was Brad Meltzer's Decoded, for History. We traveled all around the country, from Florida to Alaska, with stops in New Mexico and South Dakota. During this time I was able to prove myself as an apt field general. I can't say that I was "calling the shots" because I had a director and a D.P., but I led the field crew for a portion of principal photography across several states, while we investigated historical mysteries.
Consulting Producer, Sony Pictures International
Sony was packaging formats for international markets. They hired me to travel to Brazil and assist a local production company there in the production of two separate pilots. One of them was sort of like a Brazilian version of "The Hills". The other was a medical show that used amateur actors to act out scenarios that could happen in a hospital. Can you guess which was more successful?
Master of Fine Arts, Creative Writing
For a brief time I left reality TV to get a Master's degree at Otis College of Art & Design in Los Angeles. It was an indispensable exercise, a time when I got to hone my erudite sensibilities and read a lot. For my thesis, I wrote a novel that peels back the curtain on the makings of the genre that had become my main niche, specifically the docu-soap variety of reality TV.
Dark Room Productions
While working on my master's, I started a production company geared towards creating content for brands, social media and non-traditional outlets, as well as sizzle reels for TV. I gained invaluable experience shooting run-and-gun and small-footprint styles of production, working cameras and audio, ingesting footage and editing it myself, soup to nuts. The best thing to come out of this was getting to work with women's surfing legend Keala Kennelly, who played herself in the motion picture "Blue Crush".
Becoming an Editor
When I began in TV in 2005, we still broadcast in SD, and only the editors had access to digitized footage; story producers had to look at it on VHS or DVD. Soon each story producer would have his or her own machine with access to all the footage. I wasted no time learning Avid Media Composer. Every job I worked henceforward, I got my hands dirty on the Avid. And after several years and many projects, I could edit at a level that was at least as proficient as some of the editors I directed. Years later I found myself leading them as an editor myself.
Supervising Story Editor
When the Kardashians opportunity came along, I was still in grad school but I couldn't turn it down. I was hired for season 10, to lead a team of story editors assembling episodes. Also during that time I had a chance to do some development work for Bunim Murray Productions, and learn firsthand from one of the most successful companies in the business. During this time I wrote an oddly ill-fitting essay (here) that found neither home nor readers yet today showcases some of my thinking and raises what might be a worthy question.
Co-Executive Producer, Youtube Red
A few years ago, I attended the Emmy's as a nominee. This was for my work on a show for YouTube. I had been called upon to help define and delineate how the show was to function. I really enjoyed this role. It was the first time I worked on a show that was motivated to make a change as a force for good in the world. Through this experience I learned how critically important that component is to me. That being said, I've worked on plenty of shows that were a delight to work on that didn't have this altruistic spirit. For example "Yoga Girls," which despite being ostensibly about yoga was not necessarily a therapeutic or healthful show. I loved working on it nonetheless.
Supervising Post Producer, TLC Network
About a year before Covid, I moved to Austin, Texas to take what began as a Supervising Story Producer role and evolved into a Supervising Post Producer role on Jonathan Nowzaradan's "My 600-lb Life". Nevermind for a moment that I should've been awarded a Co-Executive Producer role for the work I did on that show. Not everyone who worked on the show loved it, but I sure did. It's a brilliant show. I found that lots of people just wouldn't watch it, but it's worth watching. And it was worth working on too, more so than all the other shows I've worked on. It was a real life and death struggle every episode, and the show saved lives. Not to mention, it was replinishable. It's not clear why the network canceled it, because it was still doing well when they did.
The Charity Network
While working under the banner of Dark Room Productions, did a bunch of projects for an entity known as the Charity Network. We did some cool stuff with celebrities for charity. Shortform web-based stuff. Around the same time I was hired by Will Smith to cull through a bunch of footage he had shot that he didn't know what to do with. I also worked for a guy named Benzino, for the Love and Hip-Hop fans out there, and once had Erik B. in my living room.
My "why"
My daughter asked if she was going to be included in the webpage. I said, "Er, yes of course, my dear, I would never leave you out." And then you could hear the quick pitter-patter of my feet as I vanished in order to upload a picture of her and her sister post haste. I kid, but the truth is they're the biggest part of my "why". The other part is that I love being creative and collaborating with others.
