When Eddie Met June

So this little dab of noir was created this past summer during a directing class I took at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. We were given just a few days to write a script with the following constraints: no more than 2 pages, which translates to about 2 minutes of viewing time, 2-3 characters max, and it had to take place in a bar. I was watching and reading a lot of David Mamet and so I was obsessed with manipulation and backstabbing and hatched this little triple betrayal vignette. It was an incredible thrill to audition and cast "real" actors who live and work in New York. I had to prep the actors, talk them through their motivations, question my own writing when a particular character's decision didn't quite make sense to them, come up with a shot list, props, costumes, and I had to learn how to work with a (very talented) DP.

And I had to direct.

I will never watch a film the same way again. Forget what it takes to be a start-up CEO, being a writer-director has got to be the most incredible rush ever. You watch these characters you just dreamed up in 10 minutes come to life in front of your eyes. You watch how each subtle change an actor makes in response to your feedback can transform the entire piece. And the feeling on a set when you're working with actors who take their work seriously is magical. At the end of the last take, the entire crew burst into spontaneous applause. We were blown away by John Hart's (Jake's) performance and I just stood there dumbstruck - did I just write this tiny and temporary world into existence?

Health 2.0 Opening Video: A Brief History of Medicine

This incredible short film was born out of a collaboration that truly reflects the spirit of web 2.0. I had seen Michael Wesch's The Machine is Us/ing Us at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco in early 2007 and was very moved. I wanted something similar to start the Health 2.0 conference with, so I sat down with my business partner Matthew Holt and we came up with a story concept and some examples of how Health 2.0 developed on the heels of innovation in web technology in general and how as a patient movement it arose as a natural chapter following the health activism of the 70s and 80s. We hired Scribe Media to go from there and Alexandra Lerman and Michael Cervieri did a brilliant job further developing the story board, coming up with the structure and text and producing a visually and intellectually compelling journey through the history of medicine. Even the soundtrack reflects collaboration in the age of the internet. The song is a remix of "Drunk" by Luxxury produced by London's Jamie De Winter under his Janus alias (see myspace.com/luxxuryremixes for more info).

Holy Monkeys!

Shot near the temple on Chamundi Hill in Mysore. The hill has been a destination for hindu pilgrims for over 800 years and is thought to be where the Goddess of Mysore, Chamundeeswari descended. It also houses a few other curious beings.

The Proposal

We captured the day we got engaged on video. For most of this short film, I have no idea what's about to happen. The last shot is me calling my parents to tell them the news. The soundtrack is "Valentine", music and lyrics by Baron von Luxxury.

Deep as Roses

A photo essay tribute to my mother who passed away when I was 2 yrs old. The poem is "Somewhere I have never traveled" by e.e. cummings. The soundtrack is by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Berlin and Evil Dreams

Our dreams really were different in Berlin. A city of deep contrasts where history and the future come together in a nihilistic blur. The soundtrack is "Go!" by Tones on Tail.