What ins
pires my art, are those around me. If you look at enough of my work, you will start to realize that many of the models I use are people that I know, mostly friends. I suppose all artists draw from their surroundings.
Especially, when I look at my body of film work, I realized that I am not creating a film, but more of a moving photograph of my subject. I don’t try to write a script or make my stars do anything that is foreign to them. I pick my subjects, because I have noticed them doing a certain activity that I find intriguing and then try to capture that same action or gesture on film. My actors are not playing a role, they are being themselves–or a portion of themselves. They are playful, absurd, emotional or sexual—all the emotions that pepper my art. 
I draw from the American film industry way of creating films, where ‘film star’ personalities are always the same character in any film in which they appear. There are no surprises when you go see a favorite American film star. You want to be transported by their usual magnetic and truthful screen persona–which is always the same. Great acting is more of an artistic expression–where the actor convinces you that they are someone else. I believe that the ‘film star’ is a more truthful human portrayal than an actor. No matter how excellent an actor is, they are still acting.
That is why I look to my friends as a source of inspiration and translate that inspiration into art. There are times when I laugh loudly and inappropriately, because I notice one of my friends in one of ‘their gesture’ modes and I am delighted. I am always conscious of the roles we all play in the stage of real life and often step outside of life-dramas as a viewer, while they are occurring.
I have been asked, “How did you accomplish that?” or “How did you make that person do that?” I explain that the person is being themselves or the “self” that I bring out in them. I piece together a loose and changeable story line, review it with my stars, create a supportive setting, leave the dialogue up to the stars or direct them to say something while I am filming.
I usually do all my own film shooting and sometimes edit while I am filming, because something occurs to me in the moment or because some perfect lighting or. background change happened. I use inexpensive film equipment to bring an element of ‘snap-shot’ culture to my work. I think super slick color and lighting would throw me off or I’d try figuring out how to make it look less Hollywood.