I first came across Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer through their Kickstarter campaign for 

. I cold-emailed them after watching their pitch, and we connected right away. I was a few years out of film school, and eager to work on a feature.

The film was made on a microbudget, with most of the financing raised through that same Kickstarter—an incredibly scrappy, DIY production from start to finish. We shot in Los Angeles, CA during the spring of 2013. The talented crew included my cousin Elie Smolkin, and film school friends Chloe Weaver and Charlie Panian, all of whom I'm lucky to work with to this day. 

 is a horror film starring Alexandra Essoe as Sarah, a struggling actress in Los Angeles whose desperate desire for fame leads her down a chilling path. The cast also includes Noah Segan, Amanda Fuller, Fabianne Therese, and Shane Coffey. 

The film had its world premiere at South by Southwest, and grew a cult following for its haunting visuals, intense performances, and biting commentary on the darker side of the entertainment industry.

(About Film)

Starry Eyes

 in Brooklyn, New York over the course of twenty-two days in the winter of 2016. Writer-director Brian Crano and I had worked together on his short film 

, which we shot in 2013. That collaboration taught us a lot, and we were eager to bring those lessons into the feature.

With only a few weeks for prep, we knew we had to make the most of it. We spent the first few days gathered around Brian's dining room table, breaking down each of the film’s three acts. At his insistence, we weren’t allowed to talk about anything technical or practical—no shots, lenses, or logistics. It was purely about story and character motivation.

When time is tight, it’s easy for the practical concerns to take over while the creative conversations take a backseat. Brian was intentional about carving out space for those essential early discussions. That approach gave us a solid narrative foundation that carried through prep and into production. It’s a process that’s stuck with me ever since.

Permission

Tribeca Film Festival 2017 Official Selection

"I Will Follow You"

Director

Writer

Producer

Production Company

Distributor

Editor

Production Designer

Costume Designer

World Premiere

 is a feature-length drama written and directed by Brian Crano. The film stars Rebecca Hall and Dan Stevens as a long-term couple who decide to open their relationship before settling down. As they each explore new connections, their bond is tested in unexpected ways. The ensemble cast includes Jason Sudeikis, Gina Gershon, Bridget Everett, François Arnaud, Morgan Spector, and David Joseph Craig. Permission premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2017.

Colorist

Post House

Camera

Glass

Camera House

Mood Reel

Official Trailer

, it seemed like an overly elaborate dick joke: twenty-seven cars in a high school faculty parking lot had been spray-painted with phallic graffiti. In the aftermath, two student documentarians try to get to the bottom of “who drew the dicks?”

Honestly, I couldn’t quite make sense of it, but I was curious enough to sit down with creator Tony Yacenda. Tony was interested in me because of my work on 

an all-too-real true-crime documentary. In that meeting, he explained that 

wasn’t a mockumentary, it was a fake documentary. There’s a difference. For the student filmmakers inside the story, this investigation into spray-painted dicks was a deeply serious piece of journalism. I signed on.

We spent a lot of late nights figuring out how to stay true to a fake documentary without slipping into mockumentary territory. Tony and I built a strict set of visual rules to stay grounded in the reality of our high school documentarians. We shot on dozens of different cameras to reflect a true mixed-media look, and developed a technique we called “pivot-point coverage.” This was essentially two camera operators attached at the hip, each on a different focal length zoom, allowing us to simulate the jump cut-heavy rhythm of real documentary footage, even though our scenes were scripted.

 developed a cult following, and Netflix picked it up for a second season. This time, our fictitious student filmmakers had a bit more budget to work with, which allowed them to incorporate dramatic re-enactments into their visual language.

The series went on to be nominated for an Emmy and won a Peabody Award, with the committee recognizing its authentic portrayal of the modern high school experience.

In the end, this elaborate dick joke turned out to be one of the most unexpectedly rewarding projects of my career.

American Vandal

Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series

Peabody Award Recipient for Excellence in Storytelling and Cultural Impact

"Who Drew the Dicks?"

Created by

Streamer

Studio

Showrunner

Produced by

Executive Produced by

 is a true-crime, fake documentary series created by Dan Perrault and Tony Yacenda for Netflix. Produced by CBS Studios, the series stars Jimmy Tatro, Tyler Alvarez, Griffin Gluck, and Melvin Gregg and follows two student filmmakers as they investigate high school scandals. Shot in a grounded, observational style, the series blends documentary realism with scripted comedy. It won a Peabody Award in 2017 for using humor and genre parody to examine reputation, truth, and social dynamics in the digital age.

House

“Who Drew The Dicks?”

Turd

Burglar

“Post Office Pies”

Creative Agency

Executive Producer

Creative Director

Director of Photography

In the summer of 2020, I directed Discover’s #EatItForward campaign, created to support Black-owned restaurants hit hard by COVID-19. Discover committed $5 million, starting with grants to three standouts: Cheryl Day’s Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, John Hall’s Post Office Pies in Birmingham, and Rodney Scott’s BBQ in Charleston.

With pandemic restrictions in place, I directed remotely from Los Angeles, working over Zoom with local crews led by my friend and brilliant cinematographer Carmen Cabana.

Special thanks to Zoe Kessler at Grey, and to Dal Wolf and Alex Aguilar at Picrow. And most of all, to the chefs and their teams — it was a privilege to help tell their stories.

Color House

Discover

“Rodney Scott”

"Cheryl Day"

“John Hall”

following in the footsteps of season one cinematographer Xavier Grobet, ASC, AMC. Continuing his visual signature for the show taught me so much. It was truly a formative experience.

We filmed primarily on the CBS Radford lot where the show's standing sets were built, and I learned a tremendous amount about lighting for stage work. Xavier shot season one on the Panavision DXL2 and Primo 70s. I had never worked with that package before, and I fell in love. He also shot at a very shallow stop to bring us further into our characters' POV. The combination of high sensitivity and a nearly wide-open lens meant we were lighting scenes at very low levels, which was as exciting for me as it was challenging.

Showrunner Kit Steinkellner and producing director James Ponsoldt assembled an incredible team of directors, many of whom James had found through his work at the Sundance labs: Chinonye Chukwu, Ry Russo-Young, Azazel Jacobs, Millicent Shelton, Hanelle M. Culpepper, Rose Troche, Kat Candler, and Jenée LaMarque. Every new episode was a new collaboration and an amazing learning opportunity. 

The series, led by Elizabeth Olsen, streamed on Facebook Watch and received widespread critical acclaim, earning several award nominations for its performances, writing, and quiet emotional power.

Sorry For Your Loss

Toronto International Film Festival 2018 Official Selection

"Say Something Funny"

 is a drama series created by Kit Steinkellner for Facebook Watch, directed by James Ponsoldt and produced by Franco Bario and Big Beach. The series follows a young widow navigating grief, identity, and healing after her husband’s sudden death. It stars Elizabeth Olsen, Kelly Marie Tran, Mamoudou Athie, Jovan Adepo, and Janet McTeer.


"The Comic"

"Something Stronger"

"I'm Still Here"

"A Wild-Winged Buffalo Walks Into a Bar"

Food Stylist

VFX House

VFX Supervisor

This Buffalo Wild Wings spot, directed by Tony Yacenda for SMUGGLER with creative by Anomaly, marked the launch of a new brand character: Hank, a winged buffalo voiced by 

’s Beck Bennett. Inspired by westerns, we leaned into an anamorphic look—shooting on Cooke lenses paired with the RED V-Raptor. Since the launch, we’ve continued building out the world with new installments featuring NFL stars Sauce Gardner and Jason Kelce.

Buffalo Wild Wings

"You Up" with Jason Kelce

“Twenty Bucks”

"A Wild-Winged Buffalo"

“Hank’s Song”

“Roughing” with Sauce Gardner

 is a genre-bending feature that swings between romantic comedy and paranoid thriller. Written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski, we shot the film in just 18 days on a tight budget, but I’m really proud of how it turned out.

Within days of meeting BenDavid for the first time, we were in prep on his film. He has an incredible talent for establishing tone. Even though he had pre-visualized extensively, he was always open to collaboration. It was a thrill to jump on board and get moving so quickly.

To give the story an otherworldly, sci-fi quality, we chose detuned Panavision G-Series anamorphics and incorporated an anamorphic optical zoom to give it a voyeuristic edge. 

We pulled it all off thanks to our first-rate crew. The film was lit by Gaffer Chris Faulkner and Key Grip Randy Garcia, with a camera team led by 1st AC Charlie Panian and beautiful framing by operators Chloe Weaver and Joel Marsh. Its final look was brought to life in the grade by colorist Shane Reed.

Happily

Tribeca Film Festival 2020 Official Selection

"Keeping Up Appearances"

 is a dark comedy thriller written and directed by BenDavid Grabinski. The film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and stars Joel McHale, Kerry Bishé, Stephen Root, Natalie Morales, Paul Scheer, and Natalie Zea. Filmed in Los Angeles, CA in April 2019.

"My Martian"

"Be Smooth"

“Keeping Up Appearances”

"Better Get You Some"

This Papa Johns campaign was directed by Dave Meyers for RadicalMedia with creative by The Martin Agency. I grew up watching TRL after school, and Dave’s music videos, especially Missy Elliott’s “Work It,” were iconic. So when the opportunity came to collaborate with him on this campaign, I jumped at it. 

I worked alongside Scott Cunningham, ASC, who shot the live-action elements, while my team handled the food cinematography. We shot on the RED V-Raptor and Phantom Flex 4K, capturing high-speed practical effects—exploding tomatoes, airborne ingredients, and a custom-built spherical pizza moon. The spot features an original track by Big Boi of Outkast.

Papa Johns

"Gimme That"

"Crave Court"

“The Battle of the Bags”

, reunited me with director Rami Hachache, years after we first worked together when he was a Prettybird intern and I was a camera assistant. Shot in August 2022 at Paramount Studios, the campaign featured Charles Barkley, LeBron James, Jayson Tatum, and A’ja Wilson.

Produced by Megan Porche for Prettybird with creative by The Motive Group, we photographed the spot using the RED V-Raptor and Panavision Primo 70 lenses.

Ruffles

"Subway Did What?"

This Subway campaign was a collaboration with Fatal Farm, frequent creative partners I’d previously teamed with as a DP. This marked our first time co-directing, which was a great experience. I handled the tabletop food cinematography, working alongside the Dentsu Creative team to bring bold, brand-green visuals to life. With a Bolt motion control arm operated by the team at Camera Control, we captured precise, dynamic movement to contrast with Fatal Farm’s signature quirky comedic tone.

Subway

"Coffee"

"Where Flavor Gets Its Wings"

, was my first collaboration with Fatal Farm (Zachary Johnson and Jeffrey Max). Directed by the duo for Leo Burnett and produced by Picrow, the spot was filmed in January 2019 at Optimist Studios in Los Angeles. We used a Phantom Flex 4K mounted on a Bolt camera robot to capture chicken wings in extreme slow motion—hurtling through the air and spinning on power drills at 1,000 frames per second.

Wingstop

"Lisa"

"Louie"

“A Little More Automatic”

This Citi Custom Cash Card campaign was directed by Matt Spicer for division7 and Publicis One. I reunited with Rashida Jones for this series of spots, filmed on the Paramount lot using sets designed by Peter Benson. We shot on Panavision B Series anamorphic lenses with the RED V-Raptor, pairing classic character with modern clarity.

Citi

“More Automatic” with Rashida Jones

in Atlanta, GA, collaborating with director Maurice “Mo” Marable on every episode. Created by Joel Church-Cooper (based on a character by star Hank Azaria), the IFC series follows Jim Brockmire, a once-legendary baseball announcer trying to rebuild his life and career after a spectacular on-air meltdown.

Working alongside Mo was a total education in timing and tone—his style shaped how I approach comedy. Jeffrey Waldron shot season one, and I learned a lot studying his work before stepping in. He'd done amazing work world-building and always maintained a cinematic look in the midst of non-stop jokes. The incredible supporting cast included Amanda Peet, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Richard Kind, Linda Lavin, Martha Plimpton, Tawny Newsome, Utkarsh Ambudkar, and J.K. Simmons.

This was my first time shooting a scripted television series, and it was a masterclass in efficiency and adaptation, filming across Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham, and Orlando. Funny or Die produced, and the experience remains one of the most formative of my career.

Brockmire

“New Orleans Crawdaddies”

Network

 is a half-hour comedy series created by Joel Church-Cooper for IFC, based on a character developed by star Hank Azaria. I shot seasons two and three with director Maurice “Mo” Marable. Produced by Funny or Die, the show was filmed in Atlanta, New Orleans, Birmingham, and Orlando. The cast included Amanda Peet, Tyrel Jackson Williams, Richard Kind, and J.K. Simmons.

“Spring Training”

South by Southwest 2014 Official Selection

"Hail Astraeus"

 is a horror film written and directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. Starring Alexandra Essoe as an aspiring actress in Los Angeles, the film follows her descent into a cult-like underworld after landing a mysterious audition that promises fame at a devastating cost. Premiering at South by Southwest, Starry Eyes gained a cult following for its unsettling blend of body horror and psychological dread, and was praised for its bold visual style, Essoe’s breakout performance, and its sharp critique of ambition in Hollywood.

I first read the pilot back when it was still called the “Untitled Jean Smart Project.” I fell in love with the characters, the story, and the world. The opening oner was written right into the script, and I could see it so clearly. It was both the funniest and most visual thing I’d read, and I was desperate to shoot it.

 tells the story of Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian played by Jean Smart. From the start, the showrunners, Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky, and I were on the same page: just because it’s a half-hour comedy didn’t mean it had to look like one. We were free to build a visual language that felt character-driven, naturalistic, and expressive.

I wanted a sense of nostalgia, a subtle nod to Deborah Vance’s heyday. To help evoke that, I partnered with Guy McVicker at Panavision to rework the modern Primo 70s into something more period-inspired. Director Lucia Aniello and I had been referencing films like 

, and I passed those along to Guy as visual touchstones. He engineered a custom lens treatment that softened the highlights, added a bit of bloom, and gave the flares a warm, vintage glow.

Five years later, I’ve shot every episode of 

 four seasons. What started in Las Vegas has since expanded into a much broader journey, following Deborah through new cities, new stages, and new chapters in her career. It’s been such a joy to collaborate with Lucia, Paul, and Jen and evolve the look of the series as the story continues to unfold.

Hacks

Emmy Winner for Outstanding Comedy Series

Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Cinematography for Single-Camera, Half-Hour

American Society of Cinematographers Nominee for Single-Camera, Half-Hour

American Film Institute Honoree for Television Program of the Year

Golden Globe Winner for Best Television Series, Musical or Comedy

"Evil Woman"

 is a half-hour comedy series created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky for Max. Starring Jean Smart as Las Vegas comedy legend Deborah Vance, the show follows her unexpected partnership with a young writer, played by Hannah Einbinder, as they navigate generational divides and career reinvention. The series has received widespread critical acclaim, earning 48 Emmy nominations, including the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series in 2024, and a Peabody Award for its nuanced exploration of ambition, identity, and creative collaboration. Its cinematography has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and three ASC Awards.

“The Opening Oner”

"Shredded to the Bone"

"The Click"

Deborah

Vance

"Breakfast Manifesto"

This McDonald’s breakfast campaign marked my first time shooting for the brand and my first collaboration with director Malcolm Venville. Produced by TBWA\Chiat\Day and Anonymous Content, we shot in March 2019 at the McDonald’s Production Studio in the City of Industry, CA. The goal was to highlight the fresh, delicious appeal of McDonald’s breakfast by contrasting it with a series of bleak, vending-machine mornings. We mixed formats, pairing the epic scale of the ARRI Alexa 65 with the texture of 16mm on the Arriflex 416. 

Film Stock

McDonald's

“Morning Symphony” 

"Our Egg Design"

"Clearing the Air"

"Making the League"

This Google Pixel 8 campaign was a chance to reunite with director Tony Yacenda and producer Benjamin Gilovitz for SMUGGLER. We featured comedian Druski alongside a lineup of top athletes, including Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Kelsey Plum, Richard Jefferson, and Jalen Green. The campaign blends humor and attitude to spotlight the Pixel 8’s standout features, with Druski leading the charge in his signature style. We shot in Los Angeles and Milwaukee on the RED V-Raptor with ARRI Signature Primes.

Google

this was my big break. We shot the pilot at chef Ben Shewry's restaurant Attica in 2014, and since then I've traveled the world with the show. I've been chased by moose in the woods north of Moscow, spear hunted for mud crabs in the mangrove swamps of Australia, and been lucky to do it all with a crew of close collaborators who have become like family to me. 

The visual foundation of the series was shaped by creator David Gelb's documentary 

, which redefined how food could be captured on screen. Its slow-motion, high-resolution macro photography set a tone we carried into the series and continued to build on.

, I had limited documentary experience and no experience shooting food. I'm still surprised I got the job. But in some ways, that naiveté shaped the visual style. I lit dishes like I would light actors in a grounded film — motivated, natural, and simple. In vérité scenes, I realized it was often more about which lights I turned off than what I added. 

My closest collaborator is director and executive producer, Brian McGinn. For our tenth episode together, we profiled Jamie Oliver as part of the 

 series celebrating a decade of the show.

In that time, it has become Netflix’s longest-running original series, earning two Emmy nominations for cinematography, an ASC nomination, and a James Beard Award.

Chef's Table

Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Documentary Series

Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program

American Society of Cinematographers Nominee for Documentary

“Angel León and the Salt Flats”

 is a documentary series created by David Gelb for Netflix. It profiles chefs from around the world, exploring their creative processes, personal stories, and culinary philosophies. The series helped redefine food television with its cinematic style and global scope, and has become the longest-running original series on the platform. It has earned two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, an ASC Award nomination, and a James Beard Award for Visual and Technical Excellence.

“Dough in his DNA”

“Frozen Road to Fäviken”

“Journey to Yan Ta Khao”

Global

Food

"Gordon Ramsay"

Lead Creative

For this MasterClass series with Gordon Ramsay, I worked with Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim (

). The project was produced by Nekisa Cooper, with creative led by Aaron Rasmussen and Ava Herceg. We filmed in Ramsay’s home kitchen in Los Angeles in October 2016, using the ARRI Amira and ARRI Alexa Mini.

Lens

MasterClass

“Gordon Ramsay”

"Cornell Haynes Jr."

I shot this campaign for Burger King with director Neal Brennan and producer Tova Dann for Caviar. The creative came from David The Agency, and the concept was all about keeping it real—literally. BK had just banned 120 artificial ingredients, so our stars dropped their stage names and gave us the real Nelly and Anitta (aka Cornell Haynes Jr. and Larissa Machado). We shot on the Panavision Millennium DXL2 with Panavision Primo 70 lenses.

Burger King

"Larissa Machado"

 and loved how we approached the fake documentary format. When we met, he pitched an idea for a new series—a mockumentary about a heightened version of himself, told through a student film his daughter is making for her NYU application. We connected over the challenge of merging 

 stylized camera work and formal structure with the looser, voiceover-driven mockumentary style Kenya had developed on 

, a comedy series created, directed by, and starring Kenya Barris. Rashida Jones co-stars, with guest appearances by Ava DuVernay, Tyler Perry, Issa Rae, and Lena Waithe. Ken Kwapis (

) directed the pilot, with Rashida, Kenya, and Brennan Schroff directing the remaining episodes. 

We shot the series in Los Angeles during the summer of 2019 and traveled to Fiji for the series finale. Most of our exteriors were filmed at a mansion in Encino, while the interiors were recreated nearly to scale on stage at Raleigh Studios. The glass-walled set, complete with a courtyard pool, posed a unique lighting challenge—but it gave us the chance to craft something bold, clean, and visually dynamic.

Adam Bricker

Starry Eyes

2014

(Narrative)

Starry Eyes

(About Film)

Official Trailer

(Description)

(Awards + Nominations)

(Credits)

(Tech Details)