How did Young Guns get on your radar?

I learned about Young Guns organically through following other creatives that I admire, like Sean Wang, Mah Ferraz, and Stefan Sagmeister, to name a few. Stefan was ADC’s first-ever Young Guns winner and, coincidentally, my dad is his accountant (I didn’t get the math gene).

When he found out that I was a finalist, he sent a congratulatory email which was really meaningful. Even his email font is cool. I’m honored to now be a part of this community that I’ve admired for so long.

How did you end up in the creative field?

I’ve always loved to edit. In school, I was the one volunteering to cut my friends’ projects, and I made a hobby of ripping videos from YouTube and re-cutting them to very unfitting music. I wish those still existed, but they’ve all been rightfully removed due to copyright reasons.

If I really psychoanalyze it, I think I’ve always been a little addicted to the feeling of sending over a first pass. Everyone who works on a project before it gets to me is taking some sort of gamble that their vision will come to life in post. It’s a unique feeling to be the one who gets to show them the outcome.

“I’ve always been a little addicted to the feeling of sending over a first pass.”

Why did you decide to enter this year?

When I first started working in commercials, I had trouble finding my own style. I leaned heavily on references or the director’s previous work. A friend and mentor of mine, Jesse Heath, told me to trust my instincts.

Jesse brought me work when I had few projects on my reel beyond the taken-down YouTube edits. His vote of confidence was the extra push I needed to find my creative voice. This year I felt I had a solid collection of projects that relied on those instincts.

You only get to submit six projects. How did you decide what made the cut?

There’s definitely a correlation between the jobs I had a good time working on and jobs that I feel are my best work. I had a really good time working on these projects.

What was your reaction when you found out you won?

I was pumped! I was at work, and not much work happened after I found out. Knowing how talented the Young Gun winners that came before me are, it felt really nice to get the recognition.

In what ways does where you’re living right now inspire your creativity?

Cutting my teeth in-house at a commercial production company in New York has given me the chance to work on a lot of projects in a short amount of time, which means I’m constantly meeting new creative teams on all sides of the industry.

The people I’ve sat next to in the edit suite are who inspire me most, from the director to the colorist and all the creatives in between. I find inspiration in the collaborative nature of the work.

Now that you’re part of the Young Guns community, are there any past winners you admire?

So many! Brandon Kapelow (YG22) is a past winner that stands out to me. I love Brandon’s films (his short Dewhorn is what first drew me in) and I’m proud of the work we’ve done together.

I’ve also been following Raphaël Ajuelos (YG19) for some time. His work inspires me to always push sound in my own projects from the very first pass.

Name a dream project you’d love to make next. Who would you collaborate with?

I love Lance Oppenheim’s work. My college film program took us to Sundance in 2020, and I was blown away by Some Kind of Heaven. I would love to work with him one day.

Will we see you at the YG23 party in NYC in January?

Yes!