Movie Making is in My Blood

As far back as I can remember, my brother and I have loved going to the movies.

There’s something about the big screen that makes life seem so much bigger, brighter and better. Some people get chills from reading a thriller. For me, it’s all about seeing it on the screen. I love a great story, but it’s the set, the lights, the direction and the sound that bring it together for me. There’s nothing like the anticipation I feel waiting for the shock that’s coming… and you always know it’s coming by the music.

I remember sitting in the theater watching “Jaws.” I was very young, too young to have gotten into the show on my own, but they let us in. As a young boy, the opening scene grabbed me right away. What boy’s interest isn’t peaked with a girl running to the ocean to skinny-dip? Then it happened. The music started, dum dum… dum dum… dum dum dum dum dum dum… and there was that girl, swimming under the moon light. You knew something was coming. You knew something bad was about to happen. I didn’t want to watch, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I couldn’t even blink. To this day that music makes me pause when going into the ocean.

I was recently in Florida on vacation. Standing on the beach, all these years later, looking out over the surf, I still heard that music in my mind – with my heart starting to beat a little faster. That’s how a good movie can impact you. I knew then as I know now that I wanted nothing more in life than to be a filmmaker. I want to tell those epic stories, to grab people by their spine or heart strings, and make them feel whatever I desire.

At night I go to sleep thinking of shots I’d like to take, of equipment I would use, and what visual effects would make the shot better. In the morning, I often wake with a story or commercial idea on my mind.

It’s just in my blood.