Film

When a friend initially asked me to edit the Angel City Zen Center interviews, they thought they would get just the one main pitch video, and that was it.

I ended up finding a lot interesting stand-alone clips in the footage they’d shot, which they’ve been releasing on their YouTube channel over the past month.

Among them are the following interviews with Zen author Brad Warner, on what drew him to Zen, the impact of his books, how people really change their lives, and the founding of Dogen Sangha Los Angeles.

If you’re interested in learning more, watch below.

What Drew Brad Warner To Zen

How Books Really Change Lives

How Dogen Sangha Los Angeles Was Founded

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If you appreciate this work, please donate to Angel City Zen Center here.

Watch More: Angel City Zen Center

I shot, and edited this interview with local Virginia artist Malcolm Hughes:

Malcolm is a really talented artist. He’s been working steadily since I was in high school. In fact, it was running into him at a party that lead me to go to the University of the North Carolina School of the Arts film school, since he mentioned the place, and said he knew others who’d gone.

To my knowledge, no one else has put together an interview like this with him. The piece was shot in a little over an hour and edited that evening. It’s a good example of how you can do a lot in a short amount of time.

One of the reasons I do short projects like the recent Night at the Arcade series, or the earlier short doc My Dad & the Drudge Report is because those skills translate into the paying work and larger projects I do.

This video went as quickly as it did, because I’ve been doing documentary interviews and editing for close to decade now (yes, since high school). I’d be very easy for me to repeat this process and create similar videos for other people’s websites, events, or projects.

Malcolm Hughes is will be showing his art in Charlottesville, VA on Oct 24, 2015. For more info, go here.

Watch more: Angel City Zen Center

I edited this short video to help raise money for Angel City Zen Center:

When it comes to the importance of this project, I’ll say this…

Nothing has changed my life more then zen.

I have been meditating on and off for close to ten years. I discovered zen meditation in high school, through Brad Warner’s books. When I moved to Los Angeles, I began meditating with his group, which is now forming Angel City Zen Center.

Meditation is the foundation for all the other things in my life I’ve done. It’s been the gateway drug to the best practices, ideas, and experiences I’ve had. The film project I’m currently working on would not exist without the support of my meditation practice.

Supporting this Zen center will introduce more people to the practice of zen meditation, and give the teacher who introduced me to it a home to teach.

Please donate to Angel City Zen Center here.

Note: If you’d like to learn how to do zen meditation, you can do so here. Be warned – the practice of meditation could change you life. It might also bore you out of your mind – literally.

Learn to meditate here.

Yesterday, I took a day-trip down to Yogaville, one of the strangest places in central Virginia, and took some video. Though not quite a full film, I thought sharing this would be more fun then just posting still pictures. Consider this the cinematic equivalent of a doodle. Best viewed fullscreen HD.

For those unfamiliar, Yogaville is home of the LOTUS shrine (Light Of Truth Universal Shrine), a monument to the idea that “truth is one, paths are many.” To get there you have to take several unpaved roads, and walk through nearby woods. It’s in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by the mountains of Buckingham, VA. An odd place for a massive mixture of traditional Indian architecture and 70s hippie design.

The ashram is considered by many to be a cult. Though their guru is dead, residents will tell you his spirit still watches over the ashram. I wouldn’t suggest joining, but if you’re ever driving through Virginia, Yogaville is worth a visit.