VFX
ANIMATION
LURKS LESSONS
YouTube Channel for novice sports enthusiasts, that provides viewers detailed sports educational content through high quality video, animation and modern design.
RECENT VIDEO
MEET THE ARTIST
Since 2009, I have proudly created motion design videos along with documentaries, a feature film and short digital narratives that have received awards and recognition.
I am currently employed full time with Northview Church as their Video Producer and Animator, creating content for thirteen different church campuses throughout the entire state of Indiana. I also do contract work as a freelancer with multiple clients spread out across the country and teach animation/video courses at the IUPUI University.
My goal is to be highly skilled in motion design, 3D modeling and visual effects. I own and have experience with the current Adobe Creative Suite along with 3D modeling programs of Maxon’s Cinema 4D and Autodesk’s Maya. My plugins range from Red Giant’s Trapcode Suite to VideoCopilot’s Element 3D to Rowbytes Plexus and more.
I’m extremely proud of how far I’ve come, but am eager to see what I’ll learn next.
2009
The Beginning
In May 2009, I graduated with a BA in Film Production from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. My studies and experiences included creating a short film from concept to completion, shot composition, screenwriting, and film theory, just as the motion design industry was exploding.
It also capped my most ambitious project to date, a feature length documentary titled A Tribute to the Black Swamp Players. The film follows a community band over the 80’s and 90’s that experienced tremendous success and incredible tragedy.
2012
Sci-Fi Film Project Begins
The growth in wanting to learn motion design and visual effects came to its peak and I knew that in order to learn it quickly, I needed a project to apply the techniques. Thus began production on my first narrative feature length film Gauntlet. I purchased my first copy of Adobe’s Creative Suite (CS5.5) and filming began later that summer.
Thus embarked an incredible exhausting, frustrating yet rewarding journey of self-teaching the intricate capabilities of the software. I stretched myself to learn new camera techniques, green screen production flows, third party plugins and so much more.
2013
Cross Country Video Editing
I had the privilege in being hired for Live Music Showcase’s video editor and videographer in Nashville, TN. My responsibilities were to film the showcase at the Hard Rock Cafe downtown and put together a highlight video of the artists performing. Soon, I began editing all of the highlight videos of the showcases across the country and in Toronto Canada.
2015
West Coast Client
The networking from the owners of Live Music Showcase got me in touch with Nina Kotova, a Russian American cellist, and Barrett Wissman, principal owner of IMG Artists and founder of many arts events including Festival del Sole, Divino Tuscany and the Tuscan Sun Festival. I began editing video footage to help promote the festival’s Mr. Wissman was putting on and creating a small documentary for Nina Kotova.
This year I also added Autodesk Maya to my toolbox; my first dive into 3D modeling.
2016
Southeast Opportunities
My move to Jackson, MS has helped me in obtaining more clients in the local area where I have been an asset to their respective projects. Direct Care Dental, the Morgan White Group, the Omega Food Group and recently Super Shakes have all been satisfied with my work.
With my recent purchase of Maxon’s Cinema 4D software, I am immensely eager to continue improving my skill set while investing in my clients relationships and networking.
2018
New Client and Bold Moves
I’ve had the opportunity to add another client to our growing list, Mississippi Sports Medicine. Located in six different locations in Mississippi, I worked alongside with Mississippi Sports Medicine by creating videos and shareable content for their social media platforms and advertising. My work included videos of highlighting certain Doctor specialists to videos of patient testimonies.
This was also the year I took the leap in creating a YouTube channel. Using modern animation design and techniques, I created Lurks Lessons, a channel that helps people new to sports to become fans of professional or collegiate team.
2021
Indie Feature Complete and Move to the Midwest
In 2020, my family and I moved back to the Midwest during the height of the pandemic. However, I was finally able to complete my indie film in 2021 after 10 years of hard work and dedication. A private premiere was held for cast/crew and family. We’ll see what doors this project will open in the near future but incredibly grateful to finally see it finished, let alone on the silver screen.
In the midst of all of this new change, I was able to begin a great working relationship with BigStuf ministries out of Atlanta, Georgia. Working with them has allowed me to experiment with new and edgy animation techniques to grow my personal skillset.
2022
Video Agency Client and Streaming!
2022 was a crazy year, full of incredible opportunities and amazing accomplishments. The year began by working as a freelancer with an awesome video agency called RVRB in where I worked on an animation project for the App called Fetch. It continued with an awesome chance to create lyric animation for the musical artist Omar Apollo’s Coachella’s performance through Signal Productions. The year closed by doing fun animation videos for the local Heartland Film Festival in Indy.
Then to close out the year, Gauntlet was taken to FilmHub to begin distribution negotiations and the day after Christmas, the film was picked up by Amazon Prime Video! An incredible accomplishment to close out the 10 year long journey to the indie film. Excited to see what doors will be opened as the film continues to be selected by more streaming platforms.
Our Clients
Working as our Video Editor, Jeff has a fantastic work ethic and provides incredible results. He consistently produces his work in a timely manner, always going above and beyond as well. He is extremely organized, and detail oriented, which helps in keeping up with the many events that are taking place. Jeff has proven to be an amazing employee, and consistently produces results above expectations.
