Production design
Boot hill
Boot Hill is a proof-of-concept short film that takes place on the Western frontier in the late 19th century, during the Reconstruction era. The story follows a mother and her sick child who leave their homestead to find medical assistance, all while evading pursuit by a ruthless serial killer.
Creating a pioneer-esque homestead was critical to selling the period of the narrative, as well as sourcing the proper supplies they’d bring with them along their journey.
In addition to art and set dressing, I needed to design a scene where a character was buried up to their neck by the serial killer. To do this, I got with our set carpenter, and we drafted up and built a “sandbox” with a hole in the center for the actor to insert their head. We then filled the box with foliage that matched the scene.
Sandbox built for scene where character is buried up to their neck.
The light of pip
The Light of Pip was a short film directed by Ken Merritt for the 168 Hour Film Race. The story followed a homeless man, Jesse, who finds peace from his inner demons when he bonds with a little girl over a guitar.
The story required Jesse to have a homeless camp—somewhere he could crawl back to and find privacy in a largely unforgiving world. In addition to that, Jesse had a makeshift cardboard companion, “Wilkins,” based on Wilson from Cast Away.
My work on this project got a nomination for Best Production Design from the 168 Festival.
