I’m excited to share my first directing project—a short film exploring the quiet ritual of making coffee late at night–the only time our protagonist has to do meaningful work that makes him happy.

 

The look stems from a city at night, the packaging colors of Stumptown Coffee’s Founders Blend, and the color of coffee itself. The blue and gold Founders Blend palette works well with the warm light of the city as it penetrates through the windows of our protagonist’s apartment, and a blue glow, here and there, is motivated by workstation accents and screens. Coffee brown is the base, used for table tops, backgrounds, and surfaces.

 

The pour over process of making coffee sets the whole evening in motion. I started practicing this method years ago. After seeking out ways to make better coffee at home, I settled on a method established by Tetsu Kasuya (2016 World Brewers Cup Champion). Using his method requires patience and attention to detail. In idle moments between water pours, I found myself captivated by the visual details—steam, condensation, bubbles, drips, sounds. When approaching this film, I wanted the audience to experience these nuances in an immersive way that could trigger phantom sensations of taste, smell, and desire as the protagonist approaches and indulges in his inspiring first sip.

 

This piece is part of a directing portfolio I’m currently developing, focused on finding poetry in everyday moments which can translate into authentic brand storytelling.

 

After a career of bringing other people’s visions to life, I’m now taking time to explore my own creative voice. The satisfaction of crafting something entirely from my own perspective has been profound—and this is just the beginning.

 

More details coming soon.