Over the years, I have recorded digital photos and film to help preserve memories and events, but it was with my first camcorder, the Samsung SCD27, that I created my first 20 minute film on the comical adventures of an orange cat. From there, I continued to produce over a dozen other humorous and entertaining films, upgrading my camcorder to a Panasonic GS250. Today, I use a high definition Canon HG10 camcorder and work on a number of projects, including documentaries on family history as well as more entertaining films.

     This film, produced in three separate and distinct parts, is my most ambitious project to date. Too often I have heard people say they know little of their ancestors and almost nothing of where they are from. For myself, at least, and my family, I hope to change this. Fortunately, I began this project when I could still obtain personal recollections - an essential part of putting together a detailed and meaningful film. From interviews, photographs, letters, and audio and video recordings, this will be family history at its best!

     As a series, these films will trace the activities on the farm where I grew up, dedicating each episode to a different pursuit. This includes making cider, applebutter, honey, and sauerkraut, all of which will include interviews and the background surrounding these events.
     For this episode I decided to take a more historical approach in an attempt to explain the complete history of the farm, beginning with the construction of the house in 1854. While I have some information from the earlier years of the farm, the majority of the film takes place from 1975 to the present, beginning at a point when my parents first puchased the house. To say that the house was in an extreme state of disrepair would be an understatement, and this film shows what had to be gone through to restore the house to its present condition. I have made the full film available for public viewing - Enjoy!

Watch Full Video ~70 minutes:
(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Additional Videos:
(Video Preview ~2 minutes)

     This was a fun film to make and it turned out to be very popular. It's organized into three different rounds, with the winner named as the Cat Wrestling Federation Champion. It stars myself as the announcer and several cats as the combatants.

Watch Full Video ~20 minutes:
(Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

     This was one of my more ridiculous films, but entertaining none the less. This film served as a backstory to The Adventures of Kitty series. Loosely based on the original Superman film, the movie begins with the arrival of a cat on Earth. The plot builds as a tragedy arises and the cat is forced to use her superfeline abilities in an effort to save the world. As I already stated, ridiculous ;) As a sidenote, in the original The Adventures of Kitty series, the cat does not have superfeline abilities. I only decided to introduce them in this film.
     On the dvd, I included an interview with me as the producer/director, outtakes from filming, pictures from the set, the film preview, the original film preview, and the original unedited version of the film. The original film was over 50 minutes long and included no narration. I re-edited the film, added narration, and trimmed the length down to about 20 minutes. Even though I included the original version on the dvd, the fully edited film is the final product.

     This was my first film. The plot follows the comical adventures of an orange cat.

Watch Full Video ~22 minutes:
(Part 1, Part 2)

     With this second episode, I gradually worked on making my films better, both in entertainment value and quality.

Watch Full Video ~24 minutes:
(Part 1, Part 2)

     This episode pretty much consisted of material I had left over from the previous film.

Watch Full Video ~26 minutes:
(Part 1, Part 2)

     There was a large gap between this film and the last, but that was mainly because I had expanded my amateur filmmaking into other areas.

     As my first attempt to create something more serious in the form of a wildlife film, this was not one of the best productions I ever made, but it was definitely a learning experience. Later episodes turned out much better as I learned from my mistakes and continued on with the series.

     This is an instructive and entertaining tale of a group of ducks hatched from eggs and raised to live in the wild.

Watch Full Video ~16 minutes:
(Part 1, Part 2)

     It didn't take long to put this together, but fortunately, it turned out well. The title is self-explanatory as it's pretty much just a nature film.

     This is my special effects film, even though it is much more than just special effects. It has a solid story with a definite beginning, middle, and end.

     This was my first animated film. Even though my drawing skills are not the best, it turned out well. The film is suitable for all ages, and provides an important moral at the end.

     This was an experiment that turned out all right, but one that could have been better with more preparation. The film is both instructive and entertaining.