Hi, I’m Joe.

Writing! For the screen! What a concept. My experience with this facet of artistry tributes back to my youth. Unfortunately, at 30, I have yet to get rich doing it (never say never.) But I’m great at it. I promise. I’m uncompromising when it comes to the stories I tell. Like, uncompromising. My feature length script The Missouri Runs Red was accepted into the semi-finals of the Austin Film Festival, the most prestigious screenwriting competition in the world. The script is a brutal odyssey about a half-white half-Osage prisoner named Ed freed under the condition that he help a duo of waspy bounty hunters hunt down Ed’s former commanding officer across an America sizzling with pre-Civil War tensions.

Eventually I was lucky enough to land a three year writer’s assistant job to Tony-winning, 3x Oscar-nominated screenwriter John Logan (Michael, Blood Meridian, Skyfall, Gladiator). I would conduct extensive research for his variety of projects.

On a smaller note, my short script (and later, short film) Honeymoon Missouri won various screenplay awards across Los Angeles. I’m currently working on my fifth feature-length script, and second TV pilot. I’ve also rewritten scripts for Radical Media.

So, here’s the deal. I find it borderline impossible to write about myself as a director without feeling like a major tool when I read it back. So, I’m just going to talk about the various things I’ve directed recently!

Most recently, I directed a short film called Honeymoon Missouri, about a lone traveler who’s night at a hotel veers into sinister territory when she’s given a suite reserved by another customer. It was an unsettling story that had been floating around my head for some time, based on my own experiences staying at remote roadside hotels. I raised 15k for it and got to work. I’m extremely proud of the resulting film. I was able to flawlessly capture my vision of liminal anxiety through effortless collaboration with my badass team of actors, cam ops, and set designers.

Another project I’m very proud of is a fan made music video I directed for Alvvays’ After the Earthquake. The song fills me with nostalgia— something I wanted to depict. So, I got my dad’s old camcorder, sourced a bunch of era-appropriate clothing and vehicles, and even hired a local hairstylist to do up over a dozen of my hometown friends with enough hairspray to choke a cow. I filmed a pool party to the song and it looks as if it were ripped straight from the nineties. I can confidently say there isn’t a single inaccuracy in the wardrobe or props.

These two projects and more are available to view on the portfolio page. My capacity to direct has been informed over time by my various professional forrays into crafts like editing and special effects, the many short films I made with friends in film school, and just because I love it. I’m present from conception to execution to delivery. Hell-bent on bringing my vision to a reality. As you can see, I write, work with the actors, work with the various artists and craftspeople, edit, and sound design. The director’s role doesn’t end when the shoot wraps.

During my first job after college as an assistant editor at Unbridled Media, I refined my skills in Adobe Premiere. I have since edited every single item in my portfolio, and more.

I design the audial landscape for all my projects. Ominous footsteps in a hallway, the metallic clink of a cocking handgun slide, breathless wind whispering through the trees—I’ve got a knack for establishing atmosphere through sound, initiated by my six months as a volunteer sound designer (and writer) for Skywind, the largest crowded-sourced project in the history of the Elder Scrolls’ modding community.

While editing for Unbridled Media, I gained extensive experience in live video coverage of numerous festivals and events.

I spent three years as a technician at the oldest SFX house in Hollywood, Special Effects Unlimited, famous for the practical effects of The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Forrest Gump and Pirates of the Carribbean. It was here I honed my SFX proficiency. After obtaining my pryotechnics license, I worked on numerous SFX teams, for productions including Euphoria, The Offer and How I Met Your Father.

I am rabies vaccinated.