It’s my last day with the University of Florida!
For the past 4 years, I’ve been serving at UF as a video producer for their main marketing department. And while it’s taught me so much and I’ve gotten the chance to work alongside and create so many amazing memories with the best team ever, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things.
Immediately after graduating with my bachelor’s degree back in 2017, I got to move into full-time freelance work as a DP/cam op/editor/younameit. And it was during those years that I realized that is the space for me, behind a camera telling honest and engaging stories visually. So I’m going back to it with all the skills and experience from my time at UF under my belt, and I couldn’t be more excited .
If you need a DP or want to work together in some capacity, now’s the time. My schedule just freed up 😉
It’s always a blast working for the @franklinsports crew alongside @mattpendletonphoto (who prioritizes the BTS shots 🙌🏻)
Some frames from our first setup and then swipe through for some of the BTS snaps.
Slide 3: The cam op face is always sexier in your head 😂
A very special project of mine is premiering today!
Two years ago when I got word that a team of UF researchers was set to make scientific history by performing their own experiment in space, I knew that I had to be there with a camera. Not just to create a flashy hype video but to tell the story of two humans who have worked diligently for decades to reach this moment. And that’s exactly what we did 💪🏻🎥
Our two main characters, Rob and Anna-Lisa, are incredible human beings who I hope you fall in love with as much as I did. They are the best of academic research truly. And I still can’t believe that I got to experience and document such a profound moment for them and their work. It ended up being quite the career highlight for me as well.
Shoutout to @spirit0518 who was wielding the second camera for the entire journey and did a kick-ass job on the sound design and mastering of the final film. And thanks to @examoseley for holding down the fort back at the office, making it all possible.
The final 27min film airs tonight on our local PBS station, WUFT-TV, at 9pm and is posted on @uflorida ’s YouTube channel (check my insta stories for the link)
What a trip and what a team!
I’ve spent the last 3 weeks traveling from Portland to St. Louis as a part of a very special project. We’ve been interviewing people at various @larcheusa communities. Our list of questions for the interviewees began and ended with “what do you hold sacred?”
As we hoped, the stories that have emanated from that single question have captured glimpses into our shared humanity that we were lucky enough to capture on camera. On this trip alone, there were over 200 hours and people(!) interviewed. From these recordings, @everablefilms will put together a series of interview films from all this material.
What got us safe(?) and sound to each of our filming stops was a vintage 1985 Foretravel RV that was affectionately named “John Candy.” Depending on who you asked and what the evening’s campsite required, “John Candy” was somewhere between 30-38ft. We still don’t know for sure.
Traveling by RV across half the US might not sound like the most efficient means of travel, but the idea was built into the project scope from the beginning. @michaeljosephmcdonald wanted to ensure that everyone on the team could breathe in and discuss the things we were seeing and hearing with each other in real time as we commuted, and out of this collaborative witnessing there would come the seeds of the second stage of this project: a feature-length film that will commence next year.
As you can imagine, assembling a rag tag team of creatives and forcing them to live on the road together for over a month led to some made-for-tv moments and countless clever quips. The sleep was little but the stories are many.
Some key takeaways: roadtrips are the move, the Oregon coast is insane, this country is huge and complex, good vibes go a long way, and Balkan food slaps.
Thanks y’all for such a fun and nourishing experience.
Keep a lookout for round 2 of the journey at the end of the summer when we take on the East Coast!
So happy to confirm after ten years that the real deal exists. It is both expansive and lived in— think old leather, think coming home, think shedding the layers that have encumbered. It’s the feeling that things are possible in a world that feels the opposite.
It can just keep getting better. You can still like each other and yes, he is still my favorite person. Also, aging is 👌✨. Cheers to us, @zachread
Note: Pictures are mostly of me but it’s not my fault because @zachread is just fulfilling his role of relationship documentarian.
My bias notwithstanding, I’d like to think that those who have met Lexi know immediately that they’ve met someone special.
You’d be hard pressed to find someone who is as unique as she is. She is the kindest soul with a sardonic wit in her holster at all times. She obsesses over both the beauty and absurdity of life and tries to share that with everyone she encounters. You can feel her earnest concern for others and her desire to help people live their best lives in any way that she can. And she has a superhuman way of making whoever she talks to feel like the most important person on the planet.
Her unique blend of honesty, empathy, humor, intelligence and creativity doesn’t even feel real half the time. That was certainly my initial reaction when I fell in love with her. And here I am, nearly 10 years later, and I still find myself in awe of the person I’m with more and more with each passing day.
Lex, you’re the best person I know, a wonderful partner and wife, and a force for good in the world. Celebrating you for the last nine years has been my greatest privilege. Love you. Happy 34th birthday!
