As an artist I had always loved the ideas of wizards and elves. The idea that magic could exist on this world. That adventure did not have to be limited to a trip to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

I had read a lot of fantasy novels from Alan Dean Foster, Margret Weiss, Toilken , Piers Anthony, and Tracy Hickman as a young teen. I loved the color it created in my mind.

I had also loved the limited fantasy movies that I had seen during that time. Influenced by Jim Henson's " The Labyrinth " and  " The Dark Crystal " as well " Legend "  , " Conan " , " Braveheart " ,  " Willow " , and even a " Deathstalker"  and " Beastmaster. "

    The one thing that did irritate me about most of these movies was the lack of substance. Most of them were predictable and not really very deep.

At an early age. I had decided. that movies were something I wanted to create. Now believe it or not. A simple camcorder was still quite costly during the mid 80's. So access to was really limited. Local schools and even the video class that I took in College did not allow a lot of access to the equipment. It was not until my dad got me my first Cannon 8mm that I had a lot of freedom to explore the world of video. Of course I was 22 at that time. A little late to be getting into the video end of things. ( And in the middle of my party years I might add. ) I had that camera going almost all the time. Most of it being kind of a historical archive. The rest. Small comedy skits, some amateur porn, documentary and music videos. I never released any of my work. Although I aired a lot of my comedy stuff on Public Access.

The rest was just... practice.

    One day a fellow named Kevin Hall and myself were talking over some beer. When we plotted out the story for a feature. ( Which meant he said. " So what happens then? " and I made shit up. )  A fantasy of course entitled " The Virtues " I really thought I knew everything about video at that time, and with a " how hard could it be? " attitude. I decided I would give shooting the movie a try. I posted an ad for actors in the local rags and started to plan my movie.

    I was still going to the local college for the fine arts. ( I do still to this day. Carve wood and paint with oils. I still consider myself an artist first and foremost. ). So I had asked to use the school auditorium for auditions. The school agreed and I set about scheduling people to read for the parts. All seemed well.

    Then the first problem. Some prick contacted the local police and the school. They said that I was doing child pornography. The school almost shut me down. The police came down and questioned me. It was a mess. I was really pissed. Both the school and the police found no substance to the allegation The police and the school never told me who made the complaint. To this day. I don't know who the scum bag was ( Karma will get you! ).

    Despite all of that. I went forward. I of course was completely unprepared. I had no costumes made. No sets constructed. The script was not even finished. I had my blinders on. So I went ahead with the project anyway. The cast and crew made the costumes. I kind of blew through the whole thing without a clue.

    Me and a friend of mine Mark Beechwood did manage to shoot the entire movie on a Hi-8 camera, and then I stupidly tried to edit the damn thing on a couple of consumer grade VCR's.

    The poor actors who had helped me that summer were quite disappointed. The movie looked like hell. You could not hear most of it. The special effects were poor at best. I aired the thing on Public Access and hid in shame at my apartment for two years.

    During that time. I self taught myself computer animation on a program called " Lightwave 3d ", Got stoned a lot, worked at McDonalds, and masturbated frequently.

    I did create a LOT of animation during that time, despite my extra activities. I figured I would try to get a job animating.

    I talked my parents into giving me a loan for an editor called a " Video Flyer " edited all my animation clips together, and believe it or not managed to get a job. I worked for a virtual reality company in Queens, NY doing logo work and some piss poor video production.

    This was by the gig. I made a few grand. then the work dried up. So I started looking for other work online. I happened upon a company named " Second Nature " ( Now turbine entertainment. ) They hired me as a character animator at $50,000 a year. I was in my glory. . The company was sold. They moved from R.I. to Mass and then they ran out of money. Although most of the original founders were really cool. They were weeded out and corporate america moved in. It was time to leave.

    I had squandered my money and despite having stock in the company. I had to move back home with the parents.  I mooched off of them for a few years trying to find my way. During that time I was still smoking quite a bit of weed. I decided to try my hand at being a hippie. I started touring with a local band called " Desert Rain. "  I approached them, and offered my services as a videographer. They let me tour with them. Recording the gigs. I made a few music video's for them and a two hour long TV show.

    Then the woman stepped in.

    I met this girl...  She was HOT. The thought occurred to me. I could shoot another movie. She could star in it. We could make a fortune on her sex appeal alone.

    So I sold my stock. Saved my money. We both moved in together. Then I started planning.

" The Silver Tree " is a project started in 1999. After a visit to " King Richards Faire " in Carver, Mass. I realized that I was not the only person who loved this stuff. There were THOUSANDS of cars parked in the lot in front of this place.

    I thought. " That's our target audience! "

    With that in mind. I started writing the script.  It took me a year from concept to completion. Once done. I realized how big the project would be. I got cold feet. Unsure if I could actually make this epic with what we had.

    After a lot of soul searching. I decide to give it a go. I planed to shoot a promotional video on Hi-8 and see if I could sell the concept.

    So we began casting.

    A good friend of mine John Giudice after a LOT of reflection. Decided he would attempt to give me a hand. I sucked the poor bastard into the project. He is trapped now, and seeks me dead I am certain. So I sleep with one eye open.

    I would not have been able to keep this production going without him. He started to assist me with my technical short comings. 

    Now the world had changed since " The Virtues ". We tried casting for all the roles, but had a problem keeping the leads. We spent an entire summer shooting and casting. In the end. We DID get a lot done, but discovered that we had some technical and environmental problems.

    Our camera didn't have a white balance. Sounds like a small thing doesn't it? It's not. NOTHING MATCHED.

    We also had to deal with those damn planes flying overhead every five minutes.

    These two big things along with problems with actors and crew almost shut us down.

    But I am a stubborn bastard. So we took our footage, and cut together " Seeds of The Silver Tree "  It was a promotional video pitching the story and the project.

    The result was phenomenal. The traffic to this web site increased tenfold. As of  March 2002. We had 90,000 hits per month.

    We decided to try and shoot the entire movie ourselves. John went out and purchased a Cannon XL-1 digital camera ( With a white balance! )

    We held another casting call. I studied entertainment law. Drew up contracts for the cast and crew and cast the remaining roles.

    I rented some studio space from a local slumlord who refuses to maintain his own property. I hired some local help to assist me in building the first set.

    It was then I met Kayte Klewin. A sexy young lass with a passion. She started out as a gofer and in a matter of three months. Was promoted to the assistant director position. She and I built the Silver Tree. Her passion for the project has kept me going through the worst of the adversity.

    Once the set was completed. We began shooting.

Things looked great. The footage was killer. The acting phenomenal. The quality beyond that of any other local indie movie.

    Then after four months of shooting. We had a huge setback. The former lead. Breached her contract and left the production.

    This event blew the cast and crew apart. All that work down the drain. Some people left and recasting had to be done.

    Three months of auditions later. We resumed shooting. With much less money, but with renewed vigor and determination.

    OH! But that's not the end of the adversity. So shooting goes well for a while. We capture some KILLER footage.  We need to edit the stuff together, see what we are missing. Do the pickups and build the next set. Well. My dear friend dropped the ball. John took his toys and the master tapes and went home. Leaving me in the lurch. Shooting stopped almost totally. No editing could be attempted, and dear John seemed to forget how to use a phone.

    So Stephanie and I decide. We have to get the tapes back and purchase the same camera. Continue shooting on our own.

    We saved our pennies and had more than enough money for a new camera and tripod. Then the Saturn died. We had to either get a new car or learn to run real fast. I can't run like that anymore. So I was lazy and we purchased a used Hyundai. It still runs after sixteen months. I'm pretty happy with it, but nix one camera. Sigh.

    Luckily enough thanks to a friendly " leasing " company. We were able to get an editor and a new camera.  Even a tad bit of money to spare. We get the new gear and I immediately secure the master tapes from John and start editing the footage together. We shoot our pickups and move on to the next scene. Killer stuff. I mean phenomenal.  Donald Kerr shines in the role and performances overall were excellent.

    I get this napkin handed to me. That says " Call me. " I call.  A production company want's me to pitch the project to them. Great. I go balls out. Create a promo to impress. I get one letter of interest. I get a second pitch meeting with different folks. I again work to the wire to polish everything up nice. Pitch meeting goes well. I get a second letter of interest.

    The strife continues. So now we get word back from the companies. They say.  Well you have a great thing here. Except for the girl playing the princess. So no dice. Now I'm like. " Then the hell with you! I love Clara. " they say good bye.

    So now my mind gets to wondering. Well maybe we can still get this done on our own, but I better get a second opinion.

    So I take Clara down to see Lynn Britt. A 70 year old acting teacher from Old Saybrook. The woman SAYS she knows EVERYTHING and everyone in the industry. I guess she taught  SIR Anthony Hopkins, and a bunch of other famous people.

    So I get the review. It's not good.  So Lynn gives me a choice. I can either keep doing the movie with Clara and risk loosing distribution. Shoot the whole thing over with another actress, or keep pitching for funding. Doing a short 20 minute piece. With an actress she had trained.

    Now I still to this day LOVE Clara to death, but since she has had her baby. She was not going to be able to clear out time anytime soon. Nor did she look quite the same.  So I brooded over it for a week, but decided to go with the last option. Lynn tells me that she has 10 BIG money people to pitch to. Including someone at Tri-Star pictures.

    Now for those of you who don't know how the industry works. If you don't know anyone and try to submit to a company or production house. It's called UNSOLICITED. That means they don't want to see your product or ideas, because they or someone they know did not ask for it.

    Lynn makes us solicited. I get cracking on " 20 minutes of SilverTree " so far so good. So $5000.00 later. We get it all done and Lynn and her angry Lesbian PA ( Who desperately needs some dick. ) Decide to back out. Take the money we paid her to the bank. So long BlackStripe.... So we sued the miserable duo. ( For more on the story of Lynn Britt and her Lesbian sidekick Sandra Click Here! )

    Well. I needed some time off. I thought perhaps I was doing something wrong.  It was time to help some other people build dreams of their own ( I before E? )

    So during the next few months. I work a lot on my still photography, reading lots of books, and help out with other productions.

    I ended up working quite a bit. I did most of the lighting job on " House Party " a music video shot in East Hartford. " LandFall " a short dramatic comedy about men trapped in a mine, and most recently " School of Horror " a feature horror movie.

    On top of that I somehow ended up managing 20 year veteran comedian Sparky Schneider, and a ton of other less seasoned talent.

    SilverTree is still being pitched to investors, but go figure. I want to do more video work myself. Well since " SilverTree " was a bit more than I could chew. How about a comedy showcase for Sparky and a series of shorts that take place after the whole SilverTree trilogy takes place... TOTEM was born. 

    Our first shoot date was October 3rd at about 7:30 pm. Paul Falcone a genius DP from the " School of horror " shoot and I had scouted the location, and had been doing some preparation for the event.

    TOTEM went off without much of a hitch. We shot a 12 minute short in four nights.  We still had some small problems. It got very cold at night and the fog machine didn't like that.  Some bozo parked a crappy old truck in the path to the shooting site, and we were a bit rushed as the season of fall was ending. ( Leaves falling off trees can be a continuity nightmare. )

    Overall though. I am quite pleased.  TOTEM went to post. Stephanie, Rachael, and I. Went to EAMONS road.

    EAMONS Road was a horror movie shot in ashby,Ma. Now I can shoot quickly. I mean we had just finished shooting 12 minutes in four days. Now my spidey senses started tingling when I heard Eamons Road was to be a 90 minute movie. Shot in four days.

    Now ANYTHING is possible. " Getting out of Rhode island " was shot in an evening. That's a 90 minute film. It was pretty good for what it was as well. " Blair Witch " was shot loose and campy. 

 Rachael got me into this... So I blame it all on her.

    Janelle Morrisy was the director of the project. I talked with her quite a bit before the shoot went down. I voiced my concerns. She tells me that everyone knows what they are doing. I just have to light the place up.

    I get some new news. RACHAEL is PREGNANT! DOH!! She's not going to any of the shoots.  Now I still love Rachael, but this re-establishes my loathing for pregnancy. She was a major character in " TOTEM " and we had a story arc, but AH HA! I shot it as episodic so I could change the script around adversity. The " TOTEM " problem was inherently solved, but Eamons road...

    So now I have to drive back and forth for the four day shoot. This in and of itself is not so bad. Until my brakes cut out halfway to the first shoot..... Sigh.

    Then I show up at the first shoot to find that we are taking an hour to an hour and a half for each shot..... EACH SHOT!

    This was being shot like a hollywood movie. The DP was composing each shot himself. Three was no shot log, and we had a crew of like 20 people who had no idea what was going on. This does not bode well. I talk to Janelle. She says that the line producer will be there tomorrow and will have everything moving on schedule.

    Now I try and prep the gaffer and leave my gear. Return the next day. Same problems. So NOW I talk to the Line Producer. A swell guy named Terry. I like him a lot. He tells me honestly. " I have never done this before. "  OK. So now we have a 90 minute film. To be shot in four days. Two days are done and we have if we are lucky 20 shots. Maybe 3 minutes that will make it to screen. Everyone is blaming me for the hour and a half shot setup.  NICE.

    Keep in mind. This is NOVEMBER. We are shooting in an unheated barn. Snow on the ground. Everyone is freezing. The DP is getting more aggravated by the minute. We nearly send an actress to the hospital with hypothermia, and still. I'm trying to help.

    So NOW.  I'm still in. I leave my gear for the crew to use and leave. Intending to come back the following day.

    Never happened. The brakes gave totally. I had to get them fixed. I borrow my dads car and return the following day. Now the tune has changed a bit. Now plans for a February shoot. Two more weekends. I find that none of the lights I left had been used.  The shoot was over an hour after I arrived. I pack up my lights and go home. I write a letter to the director. Which you can read HERE!

    With Eamon's road behind me. I'm working on revisions for " TOTEM " : CYCLES.

    2004 was a constructive year despite the adversity, and boy am I excited to do the next short.

    So that leads us to the present day. We have a cast and crew that is stronger than before. A production in the making.

    Lots of great video has been shot. Much more to be done.