“The details of my life are quite inconsequential… very well, where do I begin?” – Dr. Evil
from Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. (1997)
I’m a Motion Pictures and Film, and Web Content Professional with over 25 feature film credits in Editing, Visual FX, and Production Technology, as well as the Writer/Producer/Director of several smaller works which have garnered absolutely no critical, or any other, acclaim whatsoever.
I started out doing TV lighting on Sitcoms, Soaps and Game Shows in the early ’80s, but got sidetracked into another life, where I was an Information Systems Consultant and Programmer and had my own consulting company for a number of years.
Sometime in the late ’90s, I realized that Hollywood was calling me but, since I had left that phone off the hook in the late ’80s, Hollywood had been getting a busy signal. Who knew? So I went back to school (New York University, Center for Advanced Digital Applications), re-tooled my skill set, and moved back to California where I started working my way up from the bottom of the ladder.
Well, close to the bottom. I managed to skip the whole Craft Services/PA-thing, which was a bonus.
It’s been a wild roller-coaster ride, which ranged from scary-as-hell hard times, to over-the-top inspirational experiences, but I’ll save all of that stuff for my memoirs. (Which I’ll never write, ’cause nobody would read them and playing WoW is enough of a time suck anyway.)
For the past few years, I’ve been working for the VFX company of very large, privately-owned, film studio established a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…from Los Angeles. It’s a blast. I work with scary-brilliant people who are as diverse in their talents as they are creative in their fields, and really nice to work with as well. Every day is a roller-coaster ride, and a constant learning experience.
As a writer, I’ve written for The Home Reporter and Sunset News and The Spectator, in New York, as well as Drum Corps News, Drum Corps World, Eastern Review, and, most recently, Editor’s Guild Magazine.
I’ve been a photographer ever since my Dad stuck his Voigtlander 120 camera into my hands as a 4-year old, and later gave me a Kodak Instamatic 126. Through many years, and many cameras, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at life through a lens, and regardless of what role I play creatively or technically, it all stems from my interest in photography, and love of creating visual imagery.
In 2008, I decided to take a plunge into the exciting new world of New Media Content creation in the form of Webisodic video and related tie-in websites. This has opened new opportunities including work as a VFX Supervisor on an amazing little Web series called The Guild, and a Streamy Award nomination in 2009 for Best VFX in a Web Series … A wonderful experience creatively, professionally and personally. One through which I’ve met a whole new circle of creative and brilliant friends.
I’m interested in exploring New Media in all forms, especially transmedia creation and leveraging social networking strategies, through my content production company, TurboMandala. We are experts in creating optimal web-based content, and promotion strategies that will engage audiences in an interactive, community-based, approach. If you are interested in finding out more about TurboMandala’s Production Services, please contact me, and I will get in touch with you offline.
Currently, TurboMandala is focusing on startup and launch of a new web portal for 2012. It is called Geektastic Nebula, and will be a one-stop interactive media hub for all things related to Geek Culture.
Where this adventure is going next is hard to say, but production, production technology, creative geekery, and the creation of words, images, and stories is my passion. This web site is my way of connecting with, and sharing that passion, with others.