RESUME
I didn't go to Cal Arts.
I studied illustration at Cal State Long Beach, and I studied filmmaking in the movie theaters. (I have a degree in one of those fields.)
I was able to use my skills to earn a storyboarding position on The Simpsons. Immediately my education in animation started, training under the great artists there like Rich Moore, Wes Archer and David Silverman.
After The Simpsons, I was able to work on The Ren and Stimpy Show, which provided an education in working on outline driven cartoons. I was hooked. I spent the next years working to develop the skills to be a director, and landed my first job on Duckman.
Since then I have been directing and supervising series, always with an emphasis on putting good acting and good staging on the screen. I work with my crews to always look for what's funniest, what's the most emotionally honest, what's the most exciting... what's the best version of this that we can get on the screen.
STORY ARTIST
Working from a script or outline, I plan and draw all the staging and acting for a scene or show. Special attention is paid to the needs of the material; is it humorous, dramatic, action, or some or all of the above? Nothing is ever an automatic answer, every scene deserves special attention. I like thoughtful staging. I like real acting, no matter what the show is. I don't like
The Simpsons
Ren & Stimpy
Little Dracula
DIRECTOR
In charge of whole episodes, I work very hands-on with my storyboard artists, storyboarding what I can myself. Many new artists need guidance in filmmaking, acting, comedy staging, etc. I also work with designers, timers, editors and sometimes post production to get the best show on the screen.
Ren and Stimpy
Duckman
The Wild Thornberrys
Futurama
How Murray Saved Christmas
SUPERVISING DIRECTOR
Same as my Directing duties, but I also oversee the other directors, serving as the overseer and go-between for them and the writers/producers. Make sure acting, staging and other esthetics are consistent for all episodes.
Baby Blues (unaired season)
Drawn Together
Futurama
Sit Down/Shut Up
Napoleon Dynamite
Clash-A-Rama
Disenchantment
CREDITS - REEL
DISENCHANTMENT
Supervising Director
2016-2018
Working closely with Matt Groening, a new look for this show was developed. He wanted a much richer look for this than his other shows have. Also, a more cinematic approach to the staging and overall storytelling was requested. This meant a lot of work with the storyboard artists and directors to step away from our comfort zone and push the filmmaking further than we had before. I'm very proud of what we accomplished.
I was also able to direct two episodes of the show.
Clip from Episode 107. Directed by me.
FUTURAMA
Director
1998-2003 Seasons 1-4
Supervising Director
2010 - 2013 Seasons 5-9
I storyboarded on Episode One of this series and directed Episode Two. From that point on, this was one of my favorite shows to be a part of. Exciting science fiction concepts along with character driven humor, lots of exciting action and robots. As a director, I was very lucky to get some great scripts. As the Supervising Director I got to work on all episodes with my Directors to figure out how to show Planets narrowly avoiding each other, Space Ship Street Races, 2-Dimensions Worlds, Fractal Worlds, ADD ADD ADD ADD
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Animatic opening for Epsiode 607- The Late Philip J Fry. Storyboard by me.
Episodes Directed
213 Bender Gets Made
302 Parasites Lost
311 Insane in the Mainframe
408 Crimes of the Hot
417 Spanish Fry
102 The Series has Landed
105 Fear of a Bot Planet
110 A Flight to Remember
204 X-Mas Story
607 The Late Philip J Fry
626 Reincarnation
707 The Six Million Dollar Mon
727 Meanwhile
HOW MURRAY SAVED CHRISTMAS
Director
2014
Working with Mike Reiss, author of the book, I oversaw all aspects of this NBC Christmas Special. We worked hard to design a very lush looking show, with a warm Christmassy feel. I love working on musical numbers so this was a lot of fun. I was lucky enough to have our very best storyboard artists be available to work on it. We were to integrate 3D elements to make the sleigh flying scenes look great. There are even some 3D elves in it! I'm very happy with how this show came out.
NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
Supervising Director
2013
Working with creator Jared Hess, and Showrunner Mike Scully, much effort was spent on trying to honor the feel of the original movie. Ultimately the network pushed the show into some other directions, but I still feel we put some nice work up on the screen. While I was not able to direct any of the episodes, I did direct the pilot.
Pilot Clip
DRAWN TOGETHER
Supervising Director
2004 - 2007
A parody of The Real World, set in a house with seven characters from seven different genres of animation, this was a really fun show to do. We all loved working with the different styles and throwing in animation in jokes where we could. Like on Duckman, I found a lot of freedom from the producers to add and push things where we could. I was very lucky with the episodes that got to direct, and am very happy with what I was able to do with them.
Captain Hero Tantrum. One of the housemates is a Superman type character, Captain Hero. In this episode we got to visit his Hero Cave and he faked a tantrum. I wanted a super powered gag, and came up with the idea of him flying back and forth through the kitchen. I was very happy with how this came out.
Storyboard
Clip
Episodes Directed
101 Hot Tub (Pilot)
000 The Other Cousin
000 Super Nanny
000 A Very Special Drawn
Together After School Special
000 Lost in Parking Space Pt 1
000 Breakfast Food Killer
Storyboard
DUCKMAN
Director 1993-1995
My first Directing gig (other than one episode of Red and Stimpy.) Duckman was a well written show, with a lot of opportunities for creative film-making. I worked hard to make every one of my shows special. I wanted to push my staging and acting further than I had been able to as just a storyboard artist, since as a director I could follow ideas through to their end.
The Once and Future Duck. In this episode, through a science fiction gimmick, Duckman is being visited by future incarnations of himself, showing how his future is directly affected by his current actions. His decisions now cause future hims to be a vagrant, a billionaire, a psychopathic killer, or who-knows-what-else. At this point, the future versions are appearing more and more frequently, and he is getting more and more frazzled. I wanted a very active camera for this section and a sense of him being surrounded and building tension leading up to the end. It's one of my favorite episodes.
101 A Room with a Bellevue
101 Aged Heat 2: Women in Heat
101 From Brad to Worse
101 Haunted Society Plumbers
Storyboard
Clip
REN & STIMPY
Story Artist 1993-1995
Director: Stimpy's Fan Club
I was a Story Artist starting on Season Two of this great show, starting with the classic episode, Stimpy's First Fart. I worked for about 9 months at Spumco and then stayed with the show when it went to Games Animation, where I got to direct Stimpy's Fan Club and board more episodes, like I Love Chicken and Ren's Pecs.
THE SIMPSONS
Story Artist 1990-2004
My first animation job. I started on Season Two. I came in very green, but immediately started learning everything I could about the art and mechanics of an animated show.
Episodes Storyboarded
(Usually just one Act. Not complete episodes)
Simpson and Delilah
Dancing' Homer
Bart the Daredevil
Itchy & Scratchy & Marge
One Fish, Two Fish, Blowfish, Blue Fish
Bart's Dog Gets an "F"
Old Money
The War of the Simpsons
Three Men and a Comic Book
Blood Feud
When Flanders Failed
Bart the Murderer
Homer Defined
Saturdays of Thunder
I Married Marge
Homer Alone
Homer Badman
Fear of Flying
Bart's Comet
Homer vs Patty and Selma
A Star is Burns
Lisa's Wedding
The Springfield Connection
Who Shot Mr Burns? Part Two
Radioactive Man
Bart Sells his Soul
The Otto Show
Bart's Best Friend Falls in Love
Kamp Krusty
A Streetcar Named Marge
Sideshow Bob Roberts
Bart's Girlfriend
Treehouse of Horror VI
Lisa Gets an "A"
Old Yeller-Belly
Moe Baby Blues
The President Wore Pearls
'Tis the Fifteenth Season
Diatribe of a Mad Housewife
Milhouse Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Smart and Smarter
The Wandering Juvie
Simple Simpson
The Way We Weren't
Bart-Mangled Banner
Treehouse of Horror XV
All's Fair in Oven War
Fat Man and Little Boy
