When I was 4, my parents divorced and I went to live with my Mother. One of my earliest memories growing up was watching Saturday Night Live with my Mom and my younger sister before bed. I loved watching the cast do different characters and skits every week. From Matt Foley "living in a van down by the river", to Hans and Franz trying to "Pump...You Up!" I would try to replicate them the best that
I could to make my sister and my friends laugh. Fast forward to when I was in Junior High and High School. I would jump at any chance to write sketches and scenarios that could be acted out in the classroom setting. I wasn't one to act at this point, more the writing and behind the scenes stuff. I also had an old-school camcorder that I used to record video of my friends skateboarding, and goofy sketches that we would film—again, just to be silly and make each other laugh. While my peers were playing sports, I was watching VHS tapes of recorded SNL episodes for writing/camera editing inspiration. After high school, I took a few classes at my local community college. At that point, I didn’t think I could make a career out of filming or screenwriting without moving to some place like Los Angeles, so I waited and did the next best thing. I moved to Chicago with some friends when I turned 21, and enrolled in classes at the Second City. This was where most the SNL greats got their start. I was surrounded by hilarious writers. Things seemed to be going great, but all of my peers were writing sketches that made mine look amateurish at best. Finally, my teacher pulled me aside and told me that I needed to go out and experience life for a few years, and to come back once I did. Needless to say, I was crushed. I felt like a complete failure. All my life until then was making people laugh and writing comedy. I decided that a college degree was what I needed. I moved back to Omaha, and after a few years I earned my B.F.A in creative writing. While I was in school, professional grade cameras started becoming available to consumers, and I bought the Canon T3i. Again, just like in high school, friends of mine and I would make sketches and skits and post them to social media. It still never clicked that I could do video production as a career. But now, I found myself more and more fascinated with video production as a whole. Everything from Pre to Post and in between. Slowly, I started getting into marketing as well, offering to film for my friends who had their own businesses. The day I started interning for a local production company, I knew this was what I was meant to do. I was sold. Setting up the camera to get the best angles, figuring out where the lights would look best, deciding whether to use a shotgun or wireless mics, I was hooked. From there, I knew what I wanted to do. I decided to start my own video production company: Frame 83. Two months later the pandemic hit. Even through all of that, I’m right where I want to be. I live and breathe video production. I’ve been writing and filming since I can remember. And I wouldn’t change it for anything.
