Cinematic athlete
His work: “I make my living doing physical filmmaking. One day I’m taking hits as a stunt performer or working underwater with a camera rig, and the next I’m behind a monitor shaping light, color or digital worlds. I move between physical action, technical craft, and post-production wizardry – sometimes on the same day. My work lives everywhere from the ocean floor to Unreal Engine, and I love the challenge of weaving all those skills into a single creative voice. When I’m not working on a project, I’m training for the next opportunity.”
At Duke: Back in the day, Duke had a Froshlife Film Festival where every first-year dorm created a film about the freshman experience. I directed Brown’s with scenes at Marketplace, the Stacks, the East Campus bus stop, and more. I pulled my first all-nighter in editing it with Lawrence Evalyn, and found I didn’t care much for making it to pre-practice football meetings at the Yoh that day. It would take another year before I fully shifted from athlete to what I now call a “cinematic athlete,” but that night lit the spark to my work-hard-play-hard career. It also led to acting as president of Freewater Productions my junior and senior years learning every facet of filmmaking, which still defines my approach today. But it was at Duke’s Common Ground retreat where I realized not just what I wanted to do, but why.”
Authentic success: "Authoring an idea that travels farther than I can, one that nudges culture – and maybe even policy – toward something better. If my work can do that, and inspires others to follow the path that calls to them rather than the one prescribed, that would feel like success.”