Origins
When I was 11, I brought my 8mm film camera into my public school class to try out movie making. It was love at first shot.
Bold. I shot my first film in 1981 on a garage sale 8mm camera, crashing my sixth grade class. Took most my lunch money to shoot and develop one film reel, and the chutzpah to get all the kids in on it. Our sub was maybe not so amused, but I was smitten.
Willing. My friend Henry told me to learn to the bass for his band in 10th grade. I ended up building four guitars by hand at the MIT Hobby Shop. And, my 12th-grade after-school job was lab assistant to an acoustical engineer. I ended up decades later inventing a handmade boombox that anyone can build and customize themselves.
Versatile. I took so many physics classes in one long Freshmen year it could do Visual Arts double major after transfer to Brown. But is physics and sculpture my best life? I turned to documentary film, then digital media to find my voice and contribution.
Experienced. After a lifetime of on-the-job training in video production in media, tech and marketing jobs, I still greet each project like a new day, like a window into possibility. Each shot is a chance to expose the vision. Each edit a commitment to the message.
… and changed my life path in the process
I co-engineered the first live studios of DemocracyNow!, and also the “Cybercar” for DCTV — shown in this doc on gun violence.
Well, making this promo video of Circuit Launch (Mechlabs) program made me the go-to video guy in this amazing community.
I’ve been prototyping makeboomboxes.com and related beautiful handmade boomboxes since 2016. In 2023 I released it as a DIY boombox kit which meant I had to really learn 3D to make the assembly guide diagrams and videos.
Well, almost… but I did co-found “Changing America” and shot/cut two seasons of magazine style community organizing news mailed out weekly on S-VHS to 65 stations. This is the feature documentary I shot/edited in 2000.
For the monthly public forums of the Hardware Collective, a consortium of Bay Area maker spaces / tech co-working spaces.
We packed Felsen into this little camper trailer, put them in red track pants and added a giant bunny rabbit to the mix…
When I was 11, I brought my 8mm film camera into my public school class to try out movie making. It was love at first shot.
I would love to hear from you and set up a time to chat.