FILM & MULTIMEDIA PRODUCTION

In addition to my photography, I’m now working with my life and creative partner and amazing filmmaker, Dewi (formerly Amy) Marquis, as eight16 creative. Recent projects have included a victory piece we worked on for the 2020 Biden/Harris campaign, a mid-length documentary on equine-assisted psychotherapy, an oral history collaboration with Northen Paiute elder Wilson Wewa, a series addressing stress and trauma for first responders in the context of COVID-19, a series of internal training videos for Crocs global sales team, and a full-length documentary on identity and the impact of colonialism throughout our lives which we’re developing independently. Together we produce, direct, film, and edit client and personal projects.

While still photography has been the primary focus throughout my career, I have also made a number of short films and other multimedia projects for clients and as personal projects for film festivals. My role in these projects is usually as a DP and sometimes an editor, but I’ve played most all the essential roles—especially the more technical stuff—on smaller independent projects. And for a half dozen years a while back I ran Take One Creative, a video and short film production company in Boulder, Colorado working with cause-driven clients including Whole Foods, Wallaroo Hats, Trust for Public Lands, and publishers including W.W. Norton, Rizzoli, and Storey Press.

'The Owyhee Project' (10:16) is an oral history collaboration between Northern Paiute elder Wilson Wewa and photographer/filmmaker Jason Houston. This short film records Wilson’s reflections on growing up visiting the Owyhee Canyonlands in what is now southeastern Oregon, and their importance to him, his people, and as an essential wild place for all of us. A preview screened during a 500 person webinar hosted by the Oregon Natural Desert Association and the premier is at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in 2021. It is also being actively used in classrooms and by organizations raising awareness of the Owyhee’s unique landscape.

A trailer for the newest film made by my partner, Dewi Marquis, which is starting to make the rounds of film festivals, etc. My roles here and over time ranged from cinematography and lighting to story consulting.

I’m not overtly political—outwardly at least. Feels overly simplistic to be so polarized, not to mention bad for our country. But I am. And I definitely take sides. What’s the alternative? And—to be honest—of all the exotic stories I have done all over the world, maybe the greatest magazine assignment moment of my career was photographing 10 feet away from Obama when he made his coming out speech at the 2004 Democratic Convention. I still get chills. And so, come full circle 16 years later, and I was super honored to get to work with Dewi Marquis as one of a few teams across the country helping to make the Biden/Harris Campaign’s victory video.

A short film documenting my daughter and I building a rock climbing wall in our garage in Louisville, Colorado. Premiered at Mountainfilm 2013 and broadcast on Outside Magazine online (~900k views). Official selection at Wild & Scenic Film Festival, EcoFocus Film Festival, Adventure Film Festival, Bilbao Mendi Film Festival (Spain), Brescia Winter Filmfest (Italy), International Festival of Outdoor Films (Czech Republic), Friday Harbor Intl Film Festival, Outside TV, Intl Climbers' Festival, DC Shorts, and Under the Stars Film Series.

A short edit of a longer documentary on artist James Prosek's Ocean Fishes project. This edit was produced for The Nature Conservancy to accompany a cover story for Nature Conservancy magazine and the launch of their mobile app where this video and my feature article were honored as a finalist in the Society of Publication Designers annual design competition. Premiered at Mountainfilm 2012 (where we were recipients of a Mountainfilm Commitment Grant) and broadcast on Outside TV. Official selection at Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Academy of Natural Sciences, National Academy of Sciences/Environmental Film Festival, and New Britain Museum of Art.

A short film on east coast eel fisherman, Ray Turner. Shot in two days and produced with a combination of stills and video. Premiered at Mountainfilm in 2011, broadcast on Outside TV, and an official selection at Wild & Scenic Film Festival, Eco Focus Film Festival, Flickerfest Australia, Environmental Film Festival, Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, and Bioneers.

A brand video for Whole Food's #wholefoodies social engagement program produced in collaboration with Root House Studios.

A short, pretentiously artful, brand video made for the elite east coast coffee roasters, Barrington Coffee Roasting Company.

The first—and worst—film I ever made. We literally bought cameras and mics because we thought the idea was so good and so worth it. But we also thought parody meant religiously following ALL the conventions of what you’re making fun of, including the pacing of real yoga videos … But then Prana picked it up once on their blog and we got 30k views in a few days. Though in full disclosure, almost no one finished it. So far, it’s had almost 200k views—er—starts … go figure.

So, here you go … Log line:

Two cowboys make an instructional yoga video for other cowboys, in painful real-time with painfully real yoga music and painfully fake accents. Written and directed by Hal Clifford and Lou Bendrick; Camera work, editing, and mediocre post-production by Jason Houston. Premiered at the Berkshire International Film Festival in 2009 and played—to our embarrassment—in a handful of other fesitvals. 10 long long minutes.

Message me if you actually finish it. I’ll buy you a beer.