ROLE: Production Manager (Art, Story, and End Credits)

Brave is a 2012 computer-animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The film stars the voices of Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd, and Craig Ferguson. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film tells the story of Princess Merida of DunBroch (Macdonald) who defies an age-old custom, causing chaos in the kingdom by expressing the desire not to be betrothed. When Queen Elinor (Thompson), her mother, falls victim to a beastly curse and turns into a bear, Merida must look within herself and find the key to saving the kingdom. Merida is the first Disney Princess created by Pixar. The film is also dedicated to Pixar chairman and Apple co-founder and CEO Steve Jobs, who died before the film's release.

I worked with Brenda Chapman on this film for many years at Pixar. I was so thrilled to be working on a film that centered around a female protagonist and was also directed by a woman. Starting in creative development, I was the only production person on the film with Brenda, Steve Purcell (writer/co-director), and Irene Mecchi (writer, see also The Lion King) writing the story. As the film was getting its legs and we were able to bring on a story team, my role changed to the story/script coordinator. Later, I became a manager of the Story and Art departments, where I got to work with some of the most amazing artists! Steve Pilcher was the Production Designer, and Steve Purcell (Sam & Max) was the Head of Story. It was a fascinating place to learn how to tell a story, both emotionally and visually. Luckily, I attended every Braintrust meeting on this film - like a fly on the wall - I absorbed all that was said from the likes of Steve Jobs, Brad Bird, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter, and Pete Docter, among others. The interminable Katherine Sarafian led our faithful ship as Producer extraordinaire.

Brave is Pixar's first film with a female protagonist and the first animated with a new proprietary animation system called Presto. Originally titled The Bear and the Bow, the film was first announced in April 2008 alongside Up and Cars 2. Chapman drew inspiration for the film's story from her relationship with her daughter. Co-directing with Andrews and Purcell, Chapman became Pixar's first female director of a feature-length film. To create the most complex visuals possible, Pixar completely rewrote its animation system for the first time in 25 years. Brave is the first film to use the Dolby Atmos sound format. The filmmakers created three original tartan patterns for the film for three of the four clans. Patrick Doyle composed the film's musical score.

Brave premiered on June 10, 2012, at the Seattle International Film Festival and was theatrically released in North America on June 22, 2012. Receiving generally positive reviews, it was a box office success, grossing $540.4 million against a $185 million budget. The film won the Academy Award, the Golden Globe, and the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Feature Film. Preceding the feature theatrically was a short film, La Luna, directed by Enrico Casarosa.

Brave is the first Pixar film with a female protagonist and Pixar's first film to have two credited directors. (from Wikipedia)

ROLE: Screenwriter | Director | Producer

“What if you could turn around and see your blindspot?” NM

The idea for UTurn was to start a dialogue about gender issues in the tech industry. Nathalie Mathe (creative director) and Justin Chin (creator, cinematographer, editor) came to me with this project in the early stage of development to give life to the characters, come up with the storyline and later to piece together the direction of the actors in the tech start-up environment. It was unique challenge writing two parallel story lines, one of a fictional female coder and one of her male boss at a crisis point for their fledgling tech startup. We utilized first-person perspective and embodiment, which, from a writing standpoint was a very interesting way to tell a story. The two perspectives can be viewed separately, yet the action in each world unfolds in a linear fashion at the same time. Synchronization was the biggest battle, having to consider the story’s timing, the length of the lines written, and the individual timing from the actors line delivery. There are also moments in the story where the two sides intersect, reminding the viewer that there is another side to check out, and those all needed perfect timing to match up with the other side.

With clever use of audio design, each world unfolds in a 180 degree space and you only have to turn around to land in the other sides’ shoes. Much like directing a play, there were long takes where everyone had to the hit their choreographed marks. We did a lot of testing and

Synopsis: UTurn - The Tech Startup is a pilot of a 5 episode Virtual Reality narrative comedic series. When a young female coder joins a male-dominated floundering startup deep in an identity crisis, she must muster the mansplaining to get her company closer to the funding it needs to survive. With a comedic twist, UTurn is an immersive live-action VR series where you experience both sides of the gender divide.

https://www.uturnvr.com/

Accolades & Awards:

Winner Special Jury Prize: Jump into VR Fest, NYC 2017, USA

Nominated Best Interactive Experience: FIVARS (Festival of Intl Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality Stories), Toronto 2017, Canada

Nominated Best Cinematic Narrative Experience: Raindance Festival VRX Awards, London 2017, UK

Cannes International Film Festival, XR Arcade, Cannes 2019, France

Women Deliver Film Festival, Vancouver 2019, Canada

360 Film Festival, SATIS, Paris 2018, France

Nuit Blanche, SAT IX Immersive Symposium, Gaite Lyrique, Paris 2018, France

Colcoa French Film Festival, Los Angeles 2018, USA

Seattle International Film Festival 2018, USA

Cleveland International Film Festival 2018, USA

Nantucket International Film Festival 2018, USA

VR Days International Festival, Amsterdam 2017, Netherlands

UN Women Global Voices VR Festival, San Francisco 2017, USA

San Francisco International Film Festival, VR Days 2017, USA

Mill Valley International Film Festival 2017, USA

Tacoma Film Festival 2017, USA

Oculus Connect Conference 2017, USA

Samsung Developer Conference 2017, USA

Viewer Reactions:

“UTURN is a beautifully crafted VR film that tackles gender politics in a way that is both nuanced and effective.” – by Rene Pinnell, KaleidoscopeVR festival founder

“Nothing like this has ever been done before.” – by Colum Slevin, Oculus Head of Experiences

role: Director | Screenwriter | Production Design

This project stole a little piece of my heart in the best way. I created it at a time in SF when the possibilities seemed limitless, the vibes high - before Google buses were a thing and iPhones stole all of our attention. A time of wildness in the city wilderness. Besties that never let you down, endless champagne, and when saying, “Yes” meant going down unexpected rabbit holes of adventure and damn good times.

the deets: SanFranLand is a 12-episode (4 on Amazon) comedy web series that follows the misguided lives of three women living in San Francisco.

about the story: Southern gal Bobbi’s plans for a predictable suburban life suddenly implode when she finds her fiancé in a diaper with a dominatrix. Encouraged to join her two best girlfriends, Coco and Tara, in San Francisco, she leaves small-town Georgia behind for the big city. Over the next year, the three friends navigate their social lives at a dizzying pace, and Bobbi begins to discover what she wants in life and love. SanFranLand is a story about picking up and starting over, about reinventing yourself in a city where you truly can be anything.

on the name: Through our years of living in SF, we’ve learned that the people here tend to be blessed with Peter Pan syndrome…you know, that “I won’t grow up” mentality. That’s life in a city where every event is attended in costume, most nights include a sing-a-long, laughter (among other things) is heard through paper-thin Victorian walls, sunrises and sunsets can get confusing, dance parties erupt behind a bicycle with a boombox, rules don’t like to get followed, and risks are constantly being taken. San Francisco is a place where people can truly be free. It is a place that embraces diversity and celebrates individuality. San Francisco is to adults what Disneyland is to kids. Hence the name, SanFranLand.

sanfranlandseries.com

awards & screenings

Winner Best Directing, Best Editing, Best Ensemble, Best Comedy Series, Best Editing - Trailer, LA WEB FEST, Los Angeles, CA, 2014

Winner Best Screenwriting, Miami Web Fest, Miami, FL 2014

Winner Best Trailer, Rome Web Awards, Italy 2015

Winner Platinum Award, International Independent Awards, 2014

Nominated Best Cinematography, Miami Web Fest, Miami, FL 2014

Hollyweb, Hollywood, CA 2014

Austin Web Fest, Austin, TX 2014

Atlanta Web Fest, Atlanta, GA 2014

Bushwick Film Festival, Brooklyn, NY 2014

Raindance Film Festival, London, UK 2014

Urban Media Makers Film Festival, Atlanta 2015

Broad Humor Comedy Festival, Los Angles, CA 2014

ITV (Independent Television) Festival, Vermont 2014

San Francisco Web Festival, 2015

ROLE: Production Designer

Afterwork Films. We made many short films in the off-hours while working at Pixar. It was a fantastic place to test new ideas and roles and be creative in a capacity that wasn’t my production role at the studio. I collaborated with the Director, Carlos Baena, and the Cinematographer, Tiffany Tiara, to achieve the desired looks for the film.

WINNER: Audience Award: Favorite Family Short - Arizona International Film Festival

WINNER: Audience Award for Best School & Family - Durango Film Festival

WINNER: Best Live Action Short - Phoenix Film Festival

WINNER: Best Short Film - Wine Country Film Festival

NOMINEE: Best Short Film - Sedona Int’l Film Festival

NOMINEE: Work for Kids and Families - San Francisco Int’l Film Festival

Role: Writer | Director

Logline: After a serendipitous meeting with a psychedelic healer, a once-famous artist takes a subconscious trip to confront the man who destroyed her career.

Synopsis: Tessa isn't living life. The art world thinks she's dead. She is at constant odds with her family because of a mysterious illness that turns her into a pill-popping drunk. But after a serendipitous meeting with a psychedelic healer, she takes a subconscious trip to unravel her traumatic past and confront the man who destroyed career and left her for dead in her heyday in NYC during the late 1990s.

More Background: T.REX is a modern-day story about a woman overcoming PTSD through psychedelic-assisted therapy. Recently, psychedelics, considered schedule 1 drugs, are making a comeback in neuroscience and psychiatry after being publicly and politically demonized since the '70s. Privately-funded research and robust clinical trials have been underway at well-regarded institutions, like Johns Hopkins University and NYU, with promising results in treating mental illnesses. Millions of women have rape-related PTSD, and psychedelic-assisted therapy could benefit these survivors, making T.REX's s underlying theme that psychedelics can heal so relevant.

Sexual harassment and assault have led women to leave their careers, as Tahani does in the film. She cannot remember the period of her life when she worked with Paul Lasson, her mentor, sponsor, and abuser. But with the guidance of Gabriela and the healing powers of psychedelics, Tahani finds new agency in her life. There is also an unspoken theme of healing intergenerational trauma in the film. Tahani's mother and even her grandfather are shown having unresolved trauma that gets passed down to Tahani. I genuinely believe psychedelics have the power to heal across many generations. These are themes we want to explore in the movie. T.Rex is both Tahani's graffiti nom de plume and, later, a metaphor for her extinction as an artist. This is not a female-rage revenge tale, but Tahani's subconscious demon slaying and the subsequent ego 'death' during the funeral scene help her rewrite her past and find her identity again. Tahani is no longer a victim but a survivor.

T.Rex was Sundance Development Lab Finalist in 2022

ROLE: Art Director

I came onboard the Airship after the initial concept and buildout of the upper wooden ship, but it’s cloud and balloon design wasn’t working so well aesthetically or for the crew. It wasn’t an easy set-up or breakdown - quite dangerous actually! Also, the DMV (department of mutant vehicles) at Burning Man was not impressed with the way we covered the base vehicle. So we took some time to redesign (and fundraise) a new concept. I loved the idea of a Steampunk Ship flying through the clouds and imagined it as an immersive experience - that passengers on the ship could be transformed into an intergalactic Victorian-era cyberpunk ship floating on clouds complete with a 50k watt sound system to keep us bobbing along well into the evening. It holds about 40+ people on the roof top deck (the main floor) complete with a cuddle puddle in the hull I fabricated and sewed - large enough cushions for 10-12 people to snuggle on complete with Victorian-era fabric, of course.

About Airpusher: We're a passionate crew that come from all backgrounds. Based in the SF Bay Area, our passion lies in creating memorable experiences with our art and our music. Whether at events like Burning Man or with small intimate gatherings we want to celebrate life and love. We celebrate love, art and music. This collective of visionaries believes in the power of community and creativity, of collaboration and inclusion, of fun and silliness.

http://www.airpushercollective.com/

ROLE: Development & Story Manager + Lighting Production Manager

This project started as a short film that hooked us all with the nostalgia of toys we played with in the 80s and with the blessing from the studio - we turned it into a half-hour TV holiday special. I was there from its inception in creative development with Steve Purcell, the writer & director, and Derek Thompson, Head of Story. We worked on developing the story for a couple of years with a fantastic team of storyboard artists. As the production became more concrete, I followed the pipeline into the Lighting Department, where I, as the Production Manager, oversaw +40 technical directors in collaboration with the Director of Photography, Erik Smit, on lighting the film. The world of the Battlesaurs was moody and otherworldly, in the imagination of these toys, that is, so we reflected that in the lighting design, but when we’d go back into the mind of the kids playing with the toys, it was like they had never left the playroom. The team brilliantly used lighting to achieve this effect.

Toy Story That Time Forgot (titled Toy Story: That Time Forgot on Disney+) is an animated Christmas television special produced by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Television Animation that aired on ABC on December 2, 2014. Written and directed by Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell, the special was produced by Galyn Susman. Michael Giacchino composed the music for the special. Most of the regular cast from the Toy Story series reprised their roles, including Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, Kristen Schaal as Trixie, Wallace Shawn as Rex, Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants, Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, and Joan Cusack as Jessie, with Kevin McKidd and Emma Hudak joining as new characters Reptillus Maximus and Angel Kitty, respectively. It was nominated for several Annie Awards including Best Outstanding Animated Production and a P.G.A. Award for Outstanding Children’s Program. (stolen from Wikipedia)

ROLE: Production Manager

This short film was based on the villain from Brave, the mythic beast, Mor’Du. In Brave, the legend had it that Fergus, Merida’s father, had lost his leg in a duel with the horrific bear, and since then, he had haunted the forests around their village.

This tale was floating around the story room for years while we worked on Brave (I remember some being totally absurd and hilarious renditions of what happened to him). Once the story team had disbanded, Brian Larsen (director), Steve Purcell (writer), Scott Morse, Louis Gonzales, and I worked on bringing this story to life. It started as more of a passion project (as the studio didn’t know we were doing it), and we worked on it after hours and on weekends. After storyboarding it in Pixar’s proprietary storyboarding software, Pitch Docter (named after Pete Docter), the shots were fleshed out and colorized in Photoshop with layered PS files to give it that comic look. Later we brought on Andrew Jimenez, a brilliant After Effects artist, to do the camera work and 2D animation. Once the studio saw how amazing this short looked, it was approved for us to move forward with it. We were able to add the bookended 3D-animated scenes with the Witch (voiced by Julie Andrews) to tie up the narrative. This was Pixar’s first short that told the backstory of a villain - new territory for them - but it was rendered beautifully. Music by Patrick Doyle. It was released on the Brave DVD.

ROLE: Story Manager

Radiator Springs 500 1/2 was a short film that aired as part of the TV mini-series Tales From Radiator Springs. It was directed by Rob Gibbs & Scott Morse and written by Rob Gibbs, John Lasseter, and Jeremy Lasky. These were fun little shorts that were created by the story team spitballing ideas in the story room, and then we’d pitch them to John Lasseter. Out of all the ideas, 4 of them became short films.

This one was special because it is the longest of the 4, and it was directed by my amazing friend, Rob Gibbs, who is no longer with us. This was the only project at Pixar we got to work on together. Rob was my champion at Pixar, a great mentor, and a friend. He is dearly missed. This was also one of the only shorts with Owen Wilson voicing Lighting McQueen.

The animation and effects were done at Pixar Canada, the studio that handled most of Pixar’s ancillary work. Where Development, Story, and Editorial were done on Pixar’s main campus in Emeryville.

Synopsis: A leisurely drive turns precarious as Baja racers descend on the town and challenge Lightning McQueen to an off-road race.

ROLE: Story Manager

Bugged was a short film that aired as part of the TV mini-series Tales From Radiator Springs. Bugged was directed by Jeremy Lasky and written by Rob Gobbs, Nick Sung, and Jeff Pidgeon. These were fun little shorts that were created by the story team spitballing ideas in the story room, and then we’d pitch them to John Lasseter. Out of all the ideas, 4 of them became short films.

The animation and effects were done at Pixar Canada, the studio that handled most of Pixar’s ancillary work. Where Development, Story, and Editorial were done on Pixar’s main campus in Emeryville.

Synopsis: Red gets a little buggy visitor while tending to the firehouse garden.

ROLE: Development Assistant

This was my first job at Pixar, and it couldn’t have been a better film to start my filmmaking journey. My responsibilities were primarily assisting with casting and assisting directors/writers in development, like Pete Docter (UP), Andrew Stanton (WALL-E), Brenda Chapman (Brave), and Michael Arndt (Toy Story 3).

ROLE: Story Manager

Hiccups was a short film that aired as part of the TV mini-series Tales From Radiator Springs. Hiccups was directed by Jeremy Lasky and written by Rob Gobbs, Nick Sung, and Jeff Pidgeon. These were fun little shorts that were created by the story team spitballing ideas in the story room, and then we’d pitch them to John Lasseter. Out of all the ideas, 4 of them became short films.

The animation and effects were done at Pixar Canada, the studio that handled most of Pixar’s ancillary work. Where Development, Story, and Editorial were done on Pixar’s main campus in Emeryville.

Synopsis: When Lightning McQueen gets the hiccups, everyone in Radiator Springs thinks they have the cure.

ROLE: Story Manager

Spinning was a short film that aired as part of the TV mini-series Tales From Radiator Springs. Spinning was directed by Jeremy Lasky and written by Rob Gobbs, Nick Sung, and Jeff Pidgeon. These were fun little shorts that were created by the story team spitballing ideas in the story room, and then we’d pitch them to John Lasseter. Out of all the ideas, 4 of them became short films.

The animation and effects were done at Pixar Canada, the studio that handled most of Pixar’s ancillary work. Where Development, Story, and Editorial were done on Pixar’s main campus in Emeryville.

Synopsis: Guido turns sign spinning into an incredibly fun art form at Luigi's Casa Della Tires!

ROLE: Producer

White Rabbit is a narrative feature film directed by Bill Kinder, produced by Ryan Lynch, and written by Kevin Warner. Starring Carla Pauli, Eric Michael Kochmer, and James Anthony Cotton.

Coming home has never been so hard. After three tours in Iraq, Kerryann Terkel is traumatized and adrift. Struggling to connect, she falls in with a corrupt cop and his Tea Party accomplice, who seize on her military training as the key to a big money heist. A taut thriller with political overtones, White Rabbit, is the story of what happens when War Comes Home. A "must-see" film, according to the San Jose Mercury. Official selection at Cinequest and Sacramento International Film Festival.

As an indie film with little financing, we were a fast and agile crew making the most of our pennies. It was a learning experience to get a film in the can and up on reels about a subject (PTSD in veterans) that hadn’t been discussed that much at the time.

ROLE: Production Manager

Dolby approached Pixar to make a trailer to showcase their new technology, Dolby Atmos. While Brave was the first animated film to utilize Dolby Atmos, this was a small showcase to sell this new sound system. It premiered with Brave at the Dolby theater in LA.

I worked with the Dolby Team, Steve Pilcher (production designer extraordinaire), and Andrew Jimenez (2D Animator, cinematographer) from concept to final render. It is truly spectacular to HEAR it in a large theater.