Bio
I have spent my life immersed in the things I love. It’s tough because there are too many adventures in life, and not enough time. I’m trying though.
My family is absolutely my foundation. They ground me. I’ve been happily married for over 30 years and have 3 awesome kids. They teach me something new about myself every day, and continually inspire me want to be a better person.
2014 – Now
I currently work for Deck Nine Games, who develops narrative adventure video games. Think modern 3D game graphics meets old-school “Choose Your Own Adventure” books. I was the Co-Game Director on the game Life is Strange: Before the Storm, the Performance Director for Life is Strange: True Colors (nominated for 4 BAFTA awards), and the Performance Director for Life is Strange: Double Exposure. I am studio’s Motion Capture Director responsible for making sure all the cool custom-integrated systems and technology are working at peek performance. My job is a perfect blend of creativity and technical expression, and I love it.
2004 – 2014
In the 10 years before I went into the video game industry, I owned a video production company called Bassline Digital, LLC. I also simultaneously worked as a freelance cinematographer, director, editor, VFX artist, and colorist on a variety of short and feature length films. So, I was making commercials, industrials, and new media projects during the day, and then making films on nights and weekends. Along the way I was honored to win a variety of awards for my work including a Rocky Mountain Emmy, Addy, Telly, Communicator, EMPixx, and Davey awards. At the 9th annual Phoenix Film Festival I was awarded the “Arizona Filmmaker of the Year,” an honor I hold very dear.
During this time I also volunteered with IFP Phoenix, a non-profit organization to support filmmaking in Arizona. I enjoyed participating in their 48-Hour Film Challenges, giving workshops and seminars, and from 2011-2012 I served as the Executive Director of the organization. Somehow, during this same time I also taught Film Production and Cinematography classes as an adjunct professor at Scottsdale Community College Film School and The University of Advancing Technology in Tempe. Busy times, for sure.
1995-2005
In the 10 years before I went into the video and film industry, I worked for a company called Rodel, which eventually was purchased by the Rohm & Haas Company, which was then purchased by DuPont Chemical, and ultimately now Dow Chemical. After a short stint working in the R&D department developing database-driven applications for their lab, I was quickly transferred to the I/T department. I was like a kid in a candy store! I got to work in a time where client server technology was surging, and I had the opportunity to install the entire Windows Server infrastructure for the company from the ground up, including making an epic trip (literally) around the world to set up our remote offices in South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Germany. With on-job experience, I quickly got my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE+1 NT4), and it was awesome. I set up new servers, and integrated a wide variety of systems including Exchange, SQL, VPN, Firewalls.
During my time in Delaware, I had implemented an idea, which was relatively new at the time, called an “Intranet”. So in 2001, I was relocated to Phoenix Arizona where I was put into a new department, eBusiness. I got to build the infrastructure and write the code for a custom content management system that became the basis our public website, Intranet, and Extranet. Writing code is so satisfying, plus it was also satisfying to say I was a “Webb Developer.”
1990-1995
Before I started at Rodel, I was a graduate of the University of Delaware with a bachelor’s degree in music education. I studied the upright bass during the day, and jammed out on the electric bass on the weekends with the local heavy metal band Seven Wishes. I meet my wife, Sharon, at UofD. Good times, good people, and lots of crazy nights at UofD.
Before 1990
What can I say. I was a nerd. I loved designing video games on my Commodore 64. I was a hardcore Star Wars fan and owned all of the action figures, including the rare Blue Snaggletooth. I lived in Media, PA, which was a small suburb outside Philadelphia. My Mom was a bookkeeper and administrative assistant, my Dad was a film and video editor. I have 2 older sisters who kept me from doing stupid things, which they were only somewhat successful.
