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Resumé:
Prior to going independent with Digital VooDoo, I was a Producer for Inscape (Warner Brothers Interactive). My assignment was the creative oversight of the game design on the CD-ROM, The Egyptian Jukebox, based on the book by Nick Bantock. The CD was not released. Before that I was Line Producer on the CD-ROM, 500 Nations, hosted by Kevin Costner and distributed by Microsoft (1996). The CD is an interactive history of American Indians based on the 8-part documentary. I was also in charge of the localizations of the CD into French and Spanish.
So how does a pencil-and-paper storyteller become a digital designer? You could say my career has been driven by "the force of evolution," although at the times it felt more like "chaos theory" was the guiding principal. After graduating from USC, I began my career in earnest as a Writer / Talent Coordinator for The Merv Griffin Show in the heart of Hollywood. I met with Merv before each show and presented my interviews with the guests. In 3 years I interviewed hundreds of celebrities, authors, artists and statesmen. It was daily live television with all of its excitement, deadline pressures and the instant gratification one gets when you see the results of your work play out on stage. The show ended in 1986.
My next assignment was as an assistant to the President of International Creative Management's television division. ICM is one of the largest talent agencies in Hollywood.
Later on, through that curious process known as "survival of the resolute," I became Director of Development for Second City Entertainment (an alliance between Ron Howard's Imagine Films and The Second City of Chicago/Toronto). I served as associate producer on three television pilots, one of which resulted in a syndicated series for MCA/Universal. The Second City also had a theatre in Santa Monica for improv comedy. We pendled back and forth between the theatre and television stages in a stream of production.
The death of that Hollywood co-venture spirited me into the magical kingdom of Walt Disney Imagineering as a Creative Development Executive. Together with teams of designers, engineers and artists, I co-developed theme park attractions for Epcot in Florida and Euro Disney in France. One of the shows we developed was a video wall presentation with an Anamatronic® figure called the Time Keeper, whose original inspiration was the voice of Robin Williams. I worked in Paris until shortly before the theme park opened in the spring of 1992.
On all of these varied media experiences, the story — and how it is told — is the connecting point. Telling stories is the root of human communication. My job on any project is to help tell the story, to connect with an audience. Additionally, I explore how the digital technologies can enhance that process and re-define the experience for the audience.
Degrees:
Bachelor of Arts in Communications — University of California, San Diego (UCSD).
Master of Arts in Broadcast Journalism — University of Southern California (USC).
Also attended: Virginia Polytechnic Institute (VPI) with a core emphasis in Economics, and
the Universität des Saarland for studies in German.
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