JOURNAL
Documenting life and work.
”I don’t know what I think until I write it down”.
— Joan Didion, me, and many others.
The Creative Practice: Flying Blind
One day in September I opened up the house and saw — nothing. Not the town in the valley to the east nor the ocean beyond the cliff. I knew what that meant…
Leave a place you loved any way except a slow way
I did not document leaving Siargao Island, my home of three and a half years, because I wanted to be present and enjoy every last moment to the fullest, just in case…
Mastering brand collaborations as a filmmaker
There is great satisfaction seeing a creative project and one’s own ideas come to fruition but a collaboration also always means that…
Designing a personal website for yourself
We live in a time where we can do anything with an app and it’s possible to create a whole brand and run a business without a website. That is pretty amazing.
Living in Tune With Nature (on a small remote island)
The force of the waves at high tide makes my house vibrate. It is a distance of about 20 metres but my house is more a hut or a cabin, built on stilts onto the ground that is basically part of the reef. During the stormy season it can be so loud that it wakes me up.
Where Ideas Come From and How to Turn Them Into Projects
The toaster was at least twenty, possibly thirty years old. I was visiting a very old, very lovely lady who sold me her barely used car of similar age. As I sat at her kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee and I looked at this piece of retro equipment, I thought:
Dumb Idea: Making a Film in an unknown place
It occurred to me for the first time when I returned from a mad road trip through Morocco. What the heck was I thinking (which will be the title of my memoir btw)?! Making a film with just my DP and a photographer/talent, in a country I had never been there before. After I returned home
Happiness is the Sum of Small Moments (or: go outside!)
A moment in nature is never wasted. Why is it worth going outside, even if it’s just briefly and even though the weather may be rubbish?
How to Stay Creative in Difficult Times
Free Mini Course /// For someone who makes a living of ideas and creativity, this is a big one. How do you stay sane and productive when you’re broke, sick, burnt out or experience a change or loss of any kind
The Story behind the Film: Layers of Our Lives
A look behind the scenes and learnings of making this series of mini films in numerous locations across greater Sydney and (much greater) Mumbai…
The Importance of Storytelling
Some of us are born storytellers. Others have to learn the craft. And a worthwhile craft it is. Stories are the glue that have held mankind together since its beginnings. If you’re picturing Vikings sitting around a fire talking while skinning a dear or thinking of Greek myths and ancient fairytales you‘re not wrong.
Relaunching This Website and Life in General
Sitting on my bed aka “The Boffice” writing. It’s the rare occasion where I am wearing a long sleeved sweatshirt. Pets have gathered around me. As I write this, storm Auring, the first typhoon of 2021 in the Philippines is raging outside
Video Content that Engages Your Audience (archive)
I few weeks ago I was asked to speak at "The Future of Video and Digital Content" conference hosted by the Digital Industry Association of Australia (AIMIA). Here are three of my main slides from my talk
How to make branded films that don't bore your audience to tears
There are numerous talented filmmakers out there who are struggling to find funding for their films and there are companies wasting their marketing budgets on videos that no one cares about. Bringing the two together to create something that's both worth watching and contributes to forming a positive brand personality is what I am passionate about. Here are some tips to get you started:
Filming Humpback Whales in Tonga (possibly the best week of my life)
When a 36 ton, 16 metre long Humpback whale decides to take a turn and check you out from close up, it feels like someone has pressed the pause button on time.
Blade Runner and the Importance of Memories (archive)
My first ever memory as a child is of visiting the cockpit and talking to the pilots on our flight to Spain when I was two years old. The next thing I remember is floating in the hotel pool face down. The bottom of the pool was tiled with a mosaic of a dragon.