EDITOR’S REEL 2024
Social Media Edits
My time as a freelance editor has taught me the value of fast-paced, snappy editing. Below I showcase my ability to deliver eye-catching information quickly and efficiently, all while representing each brand effectively.
Import Alliance: Summer Meet 2024
Editor
With Import Alliance, I have the amazing opportunity to showcase hundreds of automobiles in the largest imported car show in America. Armed with amazing footage from a team of talented photographer and videographers, I’m tasked each show to drum up excitement for the meet and to encourage attendance.
Originally, I was scared to use copyrighted materials in my reels for an official company. But after I was given the go-ahead by my supervisor to use any music that I deemed fit, I decided to let loose and use a family-friendly version of Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us.” A reel meant to demonstrate the fun from the latest show, I wanted this particular video to have as much content as possible. When I realized I wasn’t going to get enough footage in time, I ran outside the media center and used my phone to shoot some footage myself!
Summer Meet, Reel 2
Editor
Another reel from Import’s Summer Meet 2024, I wanted to utilize the vertical landscape as much as possible. To borrow an artist’s term, I wanted to “take up the entire canvas.” I had several examples of cars drifting along the same track with the same angle. Put back-to-back, I felt the footage would look repetitive. But lining each shot up vertically, I was able to show how much drifting was taking place in a more exciting medium. Additionally, one shot was cut short by a fence post. I opted to use this footage in addition to a wipe transition so as not to lose the shot altogether.
Import Alliance: Reel One
Editor
For my first edits with Import Alliance, I was tasked with making several reels in a timely manner to post on Instagram. After traveling to Atlanta, Georgia, I was given access to excellent footage courtesy of the talented team working with Import. I made it my goal to excite their audiences at the beginning of their Spring Meet 2024.
Import Alliance: Reel Two
Editor
In this clip, my color grading abilities were put to the test. A rainy day meant white-washed skies and dreary scenes in need of some glamor. To drum up excitement, I leaned heavily into bright saturation and made a flashy reel indicative of the incredible automobiles on display. A coincidental, colorful glitch - flickering purple caused by the corruption of a video file - made for a seamless, flashy transition.
Brenan Sharp’s Art Show
A talented artist local to the Nashville area, Brenan Sharp teamed up with Jessica Bleu to present a collaborative art show in the historic Village Tavern. With footage from colleague Molly Suess, I was tasked with showcasing the event for social media.
Due to the large amount of great interviews and amazing art, I was challenged with condensing it all into a social media-friendly run-time.
May 4th Event
Audio in a bar can be a tricky thing. Continuing with footage from Brenan Sharp’s show, I aimed to mask the background chatter with quick and exciting cuts.
Captions are a great aid for social media, and keep the viewer’s attention, too!
VILLAGER TAVERN PROMOTION
A Timeless Venue
A historic site in Nashville, Tennessee, the Villager Tavern has served happy customers for nearly a century. I was honored to work with the bar’s current owner using more footage from Molly Suess.
Due to the bar’s dark interior, I needed to find a way to keep the viewer interested in the bar’s history by changing to plenty of new and exciting visuals. Exterior shots, clips of the band, and a music change towards the end all keep the viewer engaged with the information spoken aloud.
NoBaked Cookie Dough
Investors Reel
I was afforded the opportunity to direct and edit a video to promote to NoBaked Cookie Dough’s investors. With help from fellow videographer Molly Suess, we produced a short video detailing the company’s growing sales and delicious products.
Short Films
BRAIN FREEZE
Much of my education included hands-on learning. For Brain Freeze, I served as writer, director, had a hand in editing, and even made a quick cameo at the end!
The creative process included hours of planning, from storyboarding to location scouting, to cast tryouts and obtaining meals for cast and crew. It taught me great communication skills, how to direct and shoot in a timely manner; how to keep a set organized with shot lists, and how not to leave tables unattended in random parking lots.
This project was nearly six months in the making. Starting with storyboarding and shot lists, I had to navigate budget constraints and limited time windows. Acting as my own producer, I was in charge of location scouting, communication, props and wardrobe - all while directing my actors and crew with the help of my director of photography Lillian Keen and my asistant director Anne Marie Rocconi. As an added challenge, we were instructed to shoot in black and white - this affected lighting greatly!
I have many talented folks to thank for this one. I’m very grateful for all their hard work and dedication and I’m quite proud of the end result.
Tricycle, Bear, Kevin
Strange name, stranger concept.
Another product of my time in film school, I was challenged to adapt an oddball script written by my professor. With little to go on in terms of character motives or a solid ending, even the genre was mine to choose.
I have a whimsical sense of humor. The chance to imbue the project with my own brand of goofy dialogue and imagination allowed me to showcase what sets me apart as a writer, director, and editor. The offputting setting and concept ensure a special place in my heart for this project. Hope you enjoy!
PHROGGER
A collaborative process during Huntsville Alabama’s 72 Hour Film Festival, Phrogger is the culmination of three day’s hard work. As a group, several colleagues and I were randomly assigned a story topic: home invasion. With a time limit of 72 hours and several competing teams to beat, our next task was to write, shoot, and edit a complete project. Though I had a role in the conception and writing phases, my primary position was as the team’s editor. Working in tandem with our director, the competition taught me to make important decisions quickly under dire time constraints.
YOUTUBE SHOWCASE
Featuring a wilder and wackier side of the creative process.
SPRING BREAK: TRAILER ONE
An absurdist mocumentary project
When a group of friends decided to take off on vacation in the spring of 2022, they did not expect the end result to become a feature length mocumentary. Using footage captured during the trip, I decided to edit a three part series with a fictional storyline and increasingly high stakes and excitement.
Spring Break quickly became a passion project for me. Though the budget was through the floor, I was able to showcase my storytelling ingenuity and sense of humor. I used the project as an opportunity to demonstrate my artistic abilities to the fullest and adored the entire process.
This first trailer is a taste of that humor and excitement.
SPRING BREAK PART THREE:
The First Three Minutes
By the time Spring Break reached it’s third and final chapter, I had blown the story up to monumental proportions. By leaning into the low budget effects and the absurdity of the story, I aimed to create as many laughs as possible.
The opening section serves as a prologue to the final chapter. Before AI software had been released, I painstakingly transformed images of myself using face changing software frame by frame. The process took weeks, adding to the total of six months it took to perfect the Spring Break series. The result is an uncanny image of myself as a younger child, adding to the absurdist horror element I had created for the project.
When I devote myself to a task, I give it my all. The first three minutes of Spring Break: The Third Part demonstrate my commitment to art no matter how small the project may seem. I am immensely proud of this series and take the chance to share it whenever possible.