I got to escape the city this month. A Pharmacy renovation show called "TransPharmation" dragged me out to Long Beach to film, you guessed it, the transformation of a family owned Pharmacy in the town of Oceanside. The weather was a little chilly but I still took full advantage of being near the beach and squeezed in some sand between my toes on a totally desolate beach. On one of our company moves we made a detour to visit the Amityville Horror House. It is such a beautiful little street filled with picturesque houses and manicured lawns...except for one demonic red coloured house on a street just around the corner! It's hard to believe anything evil could take place in such a serene setting. But I guess that's why it's all the more horrific!

So the movie geek in me needs to enlighten you to a few facts. Like firstly, the real address of the Amityville house was located on Long Island at 112 Ocean Avenue, Amityville, New York. However, the address has since been changed to 108 Ocean Avenue in an effort to deter tourists from visiting the location...didn't work on me.

However, the movie was not shot using this location. Although the exteriors in the 1979 Amityville Horror movie look similar to the real Long Island home, the house used for the movie is actually located at 18 Brooks Road, Toms River, New Jersey. They actually built a superstructure around the outside of the home to make it look more like the actual house.

Next adventure sent me off to Fairbanks, Alaska for a series of REI promo events with one of my roommates, Patrick! And of course I managed to squeeze in some fun in between work events. First stop being North Pole, to visit the Santa Claus House. Lucky for me Santa was home and I had a heart to heart chat with him about the Naughty & Nice list. He was actually honoured to see me as I have been son good that my name is actually etched into a sold gold page of the list and my name is studded with diamonds. Yep, I've been that good! I don't like to brag so I inquired about a few other friends and family members and I can't say that I was all that surprised to discover that my father, Neil, is at the other end of the spectrum. He has been so naughty that his name is permanently banished to the naughty list. I had a lovely cup of tea and enjoyed some of Mrs Claus' cookies before hitting the road again.

Because I'm crazy, I really wanted to film something and take advantage of the Alaskan landscape. I brought along a script that is a twisted tale about a hitch hiker and I thought the forest rimmed roads of Alaska would be a perfect setting for this dark comedy. Dark being the operative word. The script is set at night time...and here we hit the first obstacle, sunset. The does not set until 11:30pm at night and it really doesn't set, there is still a haze of light before it rise again around 3am. So at 11:30pm Patrick an I headed out to a secluded road only to hit our next obstacle. Mosquitoes. Think Jumanji, taping on the glass, massive mossies! We attempted to film the scenes that were in the car and at one stage had to run outside to swap seat and we were mugged by the bastards! And with great regret I conceded defeated. Later we found out that the locals refer to the mosquito as their State Bird.  

Determined to film something, Pat and I headed down to Denali National Park for a hike and an impromptu short film making the most of the isolating and gorgeous Spring landscape. I have no idea how I am going to edit this film but it was a fun experiment. The melting snow, rushing rivers and budding plants offered a spectacular vista that will always be etched in my memories. That night we pigged out at a traditional Salmon Bake, indulging in BBQ salmon and steak as well as a myriad of delectable side dishes!

With one final day of adventure, Pat and I ventured out to Chena Hot Springs where we ran into a moose on the road, well we didn't run into it we stopped so he could cross the road. At Chena Springs we played with Alaskan Husky Puppies (so adorable, I tried to sneak one home but Patrick sad no pet's in the apartment). I then went on a ATV (Quad Bike is an Aussie term apparently), with a fellow photographer so we had a blast tearing up the terrain and then stopping to take some snaps of the stunning location. And finally we bathed in the slightly sulphuric scented hot springs, very soothing for the cold muscles.

On our way home Patrick spotted an abandoned car on the side of the road and was inspired to put on his director's cap and film a quick short called "Nut Ella". Inspired by an argument we had over breakfast when he judged me about the amount of Nutella I placed on my waffle. I am interested to see how it edits together.

As a final farewell we went to dinner with Glenner who is the local morning host of The X-Rock Morning Show live from Crapper Creek, Alaska. He's also a stand up comedian and coach of the local Ultimate Frisbee league. He and his wife are extremely energetic characters and have lived an amazing life. Poor Maria told me an amazing and yet heart breaking story about how she thought  'LOL' stood for 'Lots Of Love' which lead to a few miscommunications in the social media world that lead her to retreat from Facebook. They were telling us about all the amazing activities you can do in the summer and winter months in Alaska. I can't wait to get back some day soon in particular to go dog sledding and witness the Auroras! 

I have worked as an art coordinator on a spec commercial for Stoli, as a 2nd AD for a documentary called The Witness, worked a 20 hour day for an IBM commercial (but it was OK because we ended the day shooting in the shoe section of Macy's) and as Production Assistant to Selena Gomez on an Adidas commercial, shot at the lovely Milk Studios and on the Highline where poor Selena was plagued by a dozen paparazzi buzzing drones.

I also escaped the city into New Jersey for a day and did some behind the scenes photography for Spanish racing car called Silver Car! And of course momentum is continuing for PENT UP, however, it's proving surprisingly difficult to get the actor's to set on time...despite the fact the actor's live at the location! But the show must go on. We had the please of filming an episode about how awkward it can be when a man has to apply chapstick...thank you Seinfeld for proving that there is humour in a show about nothing!

This month I also had a visitor which allowed me to play tour guide! One of my favourite things to do in this city! My amazing friend Kate visited from Cali and we crammed in a New York extravaganza of activities including Roberta's Pizza, a Yankee's Game (where we almost froze to death), Comedy Cellar, The Museum of Sex, Dylan's Candy Store, a super sized sundae at Serendipity 3, some monkeying around at FAO Schwarz, Meatball's at the Meatball Shop, Crack Pie from Milk and an entire roommate putting for an Aussie injection of Meat Pies from Tuck Shop at Chelsea Markets and finally followed by a voyage on the Staten Island Ferry. Oh and cupcakes every chance we had!

If you would like a personalised tour of NYC, I'm only happy to offer my services!

I think time may have frozen. This winter has been brutal here in the city. I have only had a couple of jobs, fun jobs but far too few. My first job was a field producing job for a Facebook and Budweiser which involved following some social media celebrities to a Zedd concert at a venue on the Hudson River. But the real highlight of my winter was The Walking Dead promo (thank you to my man, Pablo Diez for hooking...or setting... me up). Check out if you recognise anyone in this little clip! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tLGz7073Vg.

So with way to much free time on my hands, I decided that it was time to get my hands dirty in my own production and my mantra for the year became, No Excuses Filmmaking! Let the stories begin!

Anybody who has ever lived in New York knows the perils of having roommates. So with zero budget, frozen temperatures and too much time, I decided to create a little web series called PENT UP!

You unlock the door to this apartment with the key of warped logic. Beyond it is another dimension: a dimension void of sanity, ethics, and peace of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadowed morality and substance abuse, of things and ideas and misused kitchen utensils. Five housemates and 5,000 mis-adventures. Welcome to the penthouse!

NYC is a constant source of entertainment and my apartment is no exception. Pent Up is a web-mini-series, inspired by the everyday occurrences in my Bushwick penthouse apartment with my four housemates. Part Twighlight Zone / part Dumb and Dumber ...there's never a dull moment!

The first episode was inspired by my first week in the apartment and a rather hairy situation between me and my new roommates. You can watch episodes at https://vimeo.com/channels/pentup.

I hope the Spring brings more work and more opportunities! I'm ready to really work!

Despite the 1st of January being my birthday, it has been quite a fe years since I have celebrated outside of the usual New Years Eve festivities. But this year I decided to splurge with a double celebration. Stage 1, I went to Luna Park on the Harbour (special thanks to my little sister, Holly, who worked there this summer) and enjoyed some tummy churning carnival rides followed by the amazing 9pm fireworks. Stage 2, I ventured out to Bondi for a Skrillex performance on the beach. The atmosphere was electric and I danced my way into the new year.

The start of 2014 was sick. But sadly not the good type of sick. I ended up at the hospital at the after hours clinic and was diagnosed with laryngitis, tonsillitis and gastroenteritis. A trifecta of infections that hopefully meant that I was simply getting all my sickness days out of my system for the year ahead. And thank goodness I had mum to look after me. A luxury that I truly miss since moving to NYC.  

I enjoyed a few more weeks in Sydney, recovering at home and on the beach before swapping out the sunshine for a polar vortex back in New York City. An icy start to the year ahead in the USA!

Better late than never… I guess you can be the judge.

The tail on the end of 2013 was eaten up by a few interesting adventures. Kicking off with an unexpected trip to Vermont and Massachusetts. One of my house mates, Patrick, works as a Promotional Manager and he was in need of a Segway rider to help hand out promotional gear to college students. The chance to escape the city for a week and get paid to ride around in the sun on a segway sounded like a pretty good deal, so I joined him on the road trip. On our time off we managed to squeeze in a visit to the Ben & Jerry’s Ice-Cream Factory – and yes we got FREE samples. We also visited a Six Flags Themepark, my rollercoaster cravings were pretty bad so a dose of adrenalin was welcomed. And we also went hiking at Mad River Glenn and filmed a short film. The script was brainstormed in the car and we pearched ourselves and camera off the side of a cliff. We were plagued by bugs and continuity issues but somehow we made a short film. It’s about the lengths you have to go to these days to be consided a B.F.F. You can check it out at www.vimeo.com/jessicarobinson.bff

Then in September I made the trek back to Australia to celebrate my mum’s 50th Birthday with my family. We travelled down to Melbourne for a luxury hit which included tickets to see King Kong the musical (we had front row seats and it was amazing to see the puppet master’s control the 1 ton King Kong puppet), soaking in the natural hot springs at Mornington Peninsula, overindulgence at the Melba Restaurant and a divine spa stay at the Langham Hotel. We then returned to Sydney for mum’s Birthday Party at Doyle’s with the wider family and friends. It was an amazing week of celebration!

The time flew by and I returned to NYC for my next big opportunity – my first TV gig. Randall Einhorn (the director from the Macy’s shoot) offered me a role as his Assistant on the FX Pilot, Death Pact, starring Tracy Morgan. The experience was amazing! I got to shadow Randall for the entire process and meet many inspiring people from all different departments. I made some extremely valuable connections with Executive Producers and Writers, that hopefully one day will feature in these tales. Fingers crossed that the pilot gets picked up and you will get to see the show but some of the highlights for me were the special FX meetings (think finger slicing, donut target practice and shooting up a Prius…oh and an auditorium full of mutilated people), I think I managed to get myself blacklisted from ever using a Porsche in any of my future production and I have seen Tracy naked!

Heading into winter and also trying not to slip backwards into the Production Assistant roles…I have seen the light…November was a slow month. And left me feeling a bit lost and kind of invisible. But I took advantage of the down time and headed to the New York City Library at Bryant Park each day to write and in the evening reward myself with ice-skating. I managed to finish the first draft of my feature script called Transplant, a film about a mother who is devastated to find out that her daughter needs a heart transplant but as time runs out, the opportunity to transplant her “mother’s love” to one of her daughter’s friends, seems to be the next best option. It’s a three strong female lead cast that explores friendship, love and the extremes people can go to, to avoid heart break…now if only I can get Toni Collette, Ellen Page and Holly Robinson on board to act in it and bring along some contacts for funding.

I also received some great news about the feature film, Met in NYC. It was accepted into the Seville International Film Festival and premiered in November to sold out crowds. Sadly, I couldn’t attend but the director Dani, Producer Carmen and many of the cast were there to walk the red carpet. Hopefully, it will have a chance to premiere in NYC in 2014. You can watch the trailer at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iChJsKzBZaI (you can turn on English subtitles).

In December I headed back to Oz for Christmas with a quick stop in LA to see a couple of friends and indulge in Pzookie (fresh baked cookie with ice-cream), standup comedy and Universal Studios (of course)! Then I proceded to waste my time down under and destroy my three year sickness free record and be plagued by tonsillitis, laryngitis and a mystery virus. Silver lining of course being home to enjoy the Aussie medical system and the priceless care from mum.

This year I am determine to hit the ground running so I flew in to NYC last night and had my first interview for Director’s Assistant role for Ed Burns’ new pilot called Public Morals. So, finger's crossed my new nickname will be Smithers soon! Excellent.    

What a roller coaster ride this year has been, some of the highest highs and the lowest lows. I will simply try to entertain you with the highlights…and let’s face it lowlights, which offer some self-deprecated comedy.

So, I left you last time with the tales of working on my first feature film. Then the realities of needing money kicked in and I worked on a several commercials, kicking off with a Holden commercial with an Aussie Director. The highlight of this project was filming in Bryant Park and having our holding area in a Karaoke Bar. I also worked on a New York Stock Exchange commercial which was also fascinating and we got to film at some wonderful locations, including Webster Hall and of course, Wall Street and The New York Stock Exchange. I was lucky enough to get to be the Behind The Scenes Photographer on this shoot too. What an amazing feeling to get paid to do something I love! …Ok, self plug here…check out my website and feel free to contact me if you need any BTS photography or videography on your set…I will travel anywhere in the world!

I also worked on a Food Network promotion at Waterfront Stages with the most amazing view of NYC just south of the Williamsburg Bridge. I got to meet Rachael Ray and Guy Fereri, who gave me a high five for my amazing cue card writing and holding abilities. I also got to meet Florence Henderson and Vanilla Ice on that shoot! Next was a Citi Bank commercial that filmed all over the world – sadly I was only part of the NYC portion but still fun! Next up was a Macy’s commercial which was my silver lining for the summer – but more on that later.

I have also been out and about enjoying life to the fullest with horse riding adventures, ballet tickets at Lincoln Centre, chocolate tours, ghost tours, trips to Long Beach, hiking up Bear Mountain, camera operator-ing in upstate NY for a Festival Show Pilot and just general city exploration. My favourite discovery being the free tennis courts on the Hudson River. I was also excited to have my high school buddy Siobhan come and visit me for a few days where we went bike riding in Central Park, caught the cable car across to Roosevelt Island, tuckered into some serious chocolate at Serendipity, hit Times Square for some Broadway theatre, gallivanted around Governor’s Island at the Antique French Fair and indulged again with extra hot fudge on our Sundae at the Hard Rock Café!

On a personal note, I also kind of, sort of fell in love in this year for the first time in my life. I’m not going to bore you with the details but I met someone who swept me off my feet unexpectedly and managed to woo my heart with a series of “movie moment” experiences that I have no doubt will inspire my stories and scripts in the years ahead. Only in NYC could I have fallen in love like that! …Sadly in NYC style, the demands of work and life didn’t allow it to last too long but I have no regrets and I guess I experienced my first broken heart too.

NYC and I get along tremendously 11 out of 12 months of the year but without fail NYC loves to put me through my paces with a testing month to see if I really am tough enough to call myself a real “New Yoirker!”

So in July, unfortunately I became ill with a severe cold and chest cough, which lingered for the entire month. I persevered through work and also embraced an opportunity to write and direct a music video for a friend I met through my commercial production work. I worked day and night to pull together a concept for the music video and met a magician and rehearsed and planned and invested in my own equipment, which was exhausting but exhilarating too. My DP had to leave the project due to a clash of work so I became Writer/Director/Producer and DP, and I loved it all! And despite feeling ill and almost losing my voice, I had a fantastic crew and cast who made the shoot day a massive success! But sadly, despite all the hard work, the band did not like the end product. The bad luck started to swell around me and within one super hot week of July with over 40 degree temperatures NY hit me with a series of cold blows. Firstly, I began working on a Macy’s commercial which started so well when I drove a 15-passenger van into a car park that was too low and proceeded to scrape the roof of the vehicle as I desperately tried to escape! The Producer then would introduce me with that story in toe to everyone I met from that moment on.

The job was also long hours and had me working 14-16 hour days. One evening I had asked to leave early for a meeting to discuss the music video with my editor and the band to try and salvage the project. The meeting was set for 9:30pm and I was stuck in the office until 9:50pm. As soon as I could escape I ran outside to try and grab a cab and of course mother nature was washing away her demonic heatwave temperatures with torrential down pour (American Rain as my dad would say as it always pours in the moves and never just lightly sprinkles) and it was impossible to grab a taxi, so I ran/swam through the streets in the rain to my meeting. At the meeting I fought valiantly for my vision and we had some ideas to try and re-edit but sadly I left feeling defeated and secretly knowing that all my hard work was for nothing. I trudged to the subway to head home and of course I just missed the train and had to wait 20minutes for the next one. I boarded the next subway feeling cold and wet with the air conditioning sending the temperature to artic conditions. Now, long story short (and to be fair it ended up being a “miscommunication”), but I found out through a stranger on a train that my relationship, my first love affair was over…

Now I think there is a hierarchy of ways to break up with someone, ideally starting with a face to face situation, then phone call, then some form of written communication, email, Facebook, SMS and probably about 20 other form before we get to from a stranger on a train. I left the train feeling numb.

Also in that same week I had a bunch of quarters thrown at my head while walking home, I illegally swiped a friend into the subway station at 11:30pm at night in the middle of Queens with no one around and we got threatened with arrest by a police woman who took all of our details and threatened to cuff us and take us down to the police station for finger printing because we didn’t have US identification on our person.

And finally, for the first time ever on a production, after delivering 100’s of coffees over the past few months alone, I had an order for one single coffee that I managed to spill completely down the front of myself. It happened in slow motion as it slipped from my fingertips and scolded my tummy and legs. I searched to find some comic relief in the situation, which was delivered as the Starbucks staff surrounded me before the cup even hit the ground with two bright yellow “Caution” signs and began to mop up the mess. They had no idea how ironic those signs were. But NYC – I survived! And I look back and laugh…smile…well, grimace at least!

Thankfully, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. I met the director Randall Einhorn on the Macy’s commercial. He has directed Wilfred, The Office, Parks & Recreation, Nurse Jackie and has many other accolades to his name. He has also lived in Australia at Mission Beach! Again, long story short, he is the first director I have worked with and I have true respect and admiration. We had many conversations and I mentioned to him that I wanted to develop my own directing skills and move over into the TV and Movie world. And amazingly, he offered me a job on his next pilot with FX called Death Pact starring Tracy Morgan.

Well, that’s just a high/low-lights list of the past few months. Next update I will tell you about my Vermont and Massachusetts expedition (hopefully have a short film to show you), my trip down under for my mum’s 50th Birthday and the tales from my first TV production gig!

April 2013 will forever go down as one of my favourite production memories.  I worked on my first feature film as a Co-Producer and AD. The journey began in January 2013 I had my first Skype session with the amazing Spanish Director, Dani Zarandieta (who I met at NYFA – in fact he was the very first person I ever spoke to at NYFA via Facebook about 6 months before I set foot in the USA). Anyway, since January we talked weekly about his plan to film his first feature in Spain and our beloved NYC.

Dani Zarandieta wrote the story inspired by his own experiences in NYC. We follow three Spanish friends who are lost in life due to the economic situation in Spain and they are desperate to find where they really belong in this world. When the opportunity for adventure surfaces, they embark on a journey that will change their lives forever. You can checkout his production blog in Spanish and English here.

After months of planning, location scouting, apartment hunting, prop sourcing, scheduling, etc. with Producer Carmen Simon and Director Danni, somehow I found myself on the bus to LaGuardia Airport with DP Doug Lennox about to shoot the first shot in NYC! We met Dani and the Spanish actors, Andrea Dueso, Hector Gonzalez, Oscar Ibanez Fernandez, and Tappy Comico. The drama began immediately with our glamorous lead actress misplacing her passport between immigration and the baggage carousel! After checking her handbag three times, suddenly it miraculously appeared and there was a huge sigh of relief!

From 9-24th April we filmed all over NYC! We filmed at LaGuardia Airport, a Stand Up Comedy venue, the Financial District, under the FDR, Staten Island Ferry, Union Square, Flat Iron District, Upper East Side, Tudor City Park, Roosevelt Island, Broadway Junction, many subway cars, Central Park, outside the Metropolitan Museum, Belvedere Castle, the Great Lawn, Columbia University, two apartments in Brooklyn, two bars, Transmitter Park, Bryant Park, Times Square, Court Square Subway Station in Queens, Greenpoint streets, Brooklyn Queens Expressway, Washington Square Park, The High Line (kind of…), and Hudson River Park. I think that’s it!

I loved every single moment on this shoot but my favorite shooting days were probably Roosevelt Island when we filmed on the cable car across to the island and then under the 59th Street Bridge. By the end of the day we had a crowd of French tourists/fans watching us film.

Without giving too much away, shooting some of the apartment scenes were hilarious! Tippy and Oscar end up in some rather compromising predicaments, which were extremely funny to watch!

I also loved the scene we filmed on the subway station at Court Square. There were a number of elements that made this so memorable. Firstly, cinematically it looked great with the Chrysler and Empire State buildings hovering in the background. The chemistry and interactions between the three male friends was particularly intriguing and finally the logistics of timing shots between trains as an AD was oh, so much fun!

And then finally the evening that we filmed in Bryant Park. This scene is just magic. Two characters are talking about the way NYC has capture and inspired them. The lighting in Bryant Park was just spectacular and the Empire State building glows through a slight mist in the background. We then headed to Times Square and filmed on the iconic red steps, surrounded by people, lights and noise, the atmosphere was electric!

There were a few minor hiccups during filming, including shuffling a few shoot days due to rain and then on the very last day of filming we were kicked off the High Line. Trying to negotiate with the ranger proved useless so we bumped production to the Hudson River Park and shifted the final scene south to pier 45. And kind of serendipitously, it ended up being better than we though with downtown views of the new Freedom tower looming. And it was FREEEEEZING!!! I had to resort to old tactics of running on set just to keep warm!

In fact the weather was quite schizophrenic the whole time. Jumping between Spring and Winter temperatures each day. This also caused another problem for our sound mixer, because with the warmer weather came the cacophonous chant of ice-cream trucks all over the city…they began to haunt us…I have never felt so torn, it was hard for my brain to comprehend hating a truck that delivers on of my most favourite foods in the world. Not to mention it’s really hard to take a dramatic scene seriously when such chipper music is playing in the background.

The film was mostly in Spanish and definitely challenging sometimes communicating with the whole crew. But such an amazing group of people. There we so many laughs shared on set. Somehow our senses of humour aligned and despite the language barrier, at times, we shared a common bond. I have to do a shout out to all of them including:

Dani, our fearless leader and a phenomenal director…you know how much I believe in you…and I know this is just one of many more projects we will work on together in our lives.

Carmen Simon, producer extraordinaire! You know how much I respect you! Not sure when this gal sleeps, she lives and breathes production and wore a million hats on set. I loved every minute working with you, and you always had my back! I cannot thank you enough!

Doug Lennox, our D to the P! Bringing it everyday on set and the footage looks spectacular! Awesome sense of humour, even if you are an Eeeediot!

(Side note: Now, to explain a Facebook status and preface some humiliating footage that is bound to surface one day. As part of my AD duties I was helping slate the scenes, and for those of you who don’t know, we verbally mark them with a scene number and a letter or letters to identify the shot angle. For example for Scene 1 AB, I would call: “ Scene 1 Alpha Bravo, take 1, mark it!” Geraldine Brezca, is a 2nd Assistant Camera, is known as Tarantino's Camera Angel, she calls out all sorts of words to phonetically sound the camera angle letters – and I take great inspiration from her. I tortured the crew one day with delicious food words and grossed them out with diseases and ailments on another. But one day towards the end of the shoot we were filming at Brooklyn Bridge Park and the scene was Scene 38 DE. Also there had been some friendly banter, quips, theme songs and insults exchanged between myself and our English Director of Photography, Doug. Anyway, so here comes the humiliation. Two cameras rolling and I look straight into Doug’s camera and, clearly without thinking, say, “Scene 38 Dumb…Idiot!” …Just as the word slips from my lips I am mortified as I realize that Idiot starts with an ‘I’ and not an ‘E’. Giving the crew plenty of laughs for the rest of the day…week… and probably the rest of my film career!)

Our three other camera operators! Ayse, Mert and Jaime – professional to the core with a beautiful creative eye. Not an easy task juggling a feature between three camera people and you made it look like a piece of cake! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Pablo Diez, our badass Sound Mixer. Despite the helicopters, ambulances and ice-cream trucks you did a kickass job. Your passion for sound is superb, but please drop the diva act, there is no need to throw your coffee on set! Haha And how many likes has that profile pic gathered so far? J

Nati Bujalance, our make up artist to the stars. The woman personifies beauty as a person and in application! Thanks for making everyone look amazing and just being amazing yourself!

Alex Llana, production angel from overseas. I know you have put in a mammoth amount of work and your support for Dani is unwavering! I hope to meet and work with you face to face one day soon!

Our cast of characters (on and off screen). You are AMAZING! You brought Dani’s script to life and created such intriguing and fascinating characters. Away from the camera you are also awesome people. Bringing so many laughs and smiles to our faces. You all have such bright futures ahead and I hope that our paths cross again sooner than later!

Andrea, you are a classic beauty (love taking picks of you for BTS) and we are kindred spirits when it comes to photography, as our symmetry in Instragram pics attest to! You made the perfect Andy!

Hector, it was a pleasure to watch you work and develop the character Rai. I admire your stamina and chemistry with all the actors on set. You have a confidence and charm that is truly captivating!

Oscar, I even got to act with you on the Columbia scene! Your character Selu and you are very different people. A testament to your acting ability! Such a pleasure to work with you. The scenes between Tappy and you will make me laugh for years to come. And you have amazing taste in hats!

Tappy, I can’t help but feel that once I learn Spanish or you learn English our friendship will blossom – I think language is the only thing standing in the way of our senses of humour. You are a true comedian at heart! And a talented dancer too and I will never forget your Pokémon joke!    

Sally, citizen of the world and a super star in so many ways. And it was nice to have a fellow Aussie on set! Such commitment to your craft, the camera loves you! And a pleasure to work with every single day! I can’t wait to work with you on many more projects to come!

Pep, you make acting look like a breeze. Despite your crazy schedule we cannot thank you enough for being part of our production. It was soooo much fun filming the running and fight scenes with you in Greenpoint! Handsome and professional, an asset on any shoot!

And thank you to everyone else, including Alberto and Mike who helped out with sound on a couple of days! And our featured cameo roles with Ryan Arnold, Patrick Shane and Karola Sanchez! All integral pieces of the story puzzle and amazing people to work with! Thank you again!

As well as AD-ing I had the pleasure of being the Behind the Scenes photographer/videographer. Having such a fun and handsome crew, along with the always cinematic backdrop of NYC, made it easy to capture some beautiful footage. Resulting in record Facebook ‘Likes’ for many of our cast and crew members! You can see some of my work here.

The time flew by but was filled with a million new memories and lessons learned. I remember standing on my balcony at the wrap party just reflecting on the journey…from a random Facebook chat to feature film in two years. And the first of many more!

I also managed to squeeze in a commercial shoot for Holden! A gig with Aussie Director and Producer. This shoot was a lot of fun with some big rigging equipment and filming in the streets of NYC around Bryant Park. Not to mention our holding and production office on the shoot day was a Karaoke Bar!

April was a great month in many other ways too! But maybe I will share more stories another day!

Definitely, a month to remember!

O1 Visa approved!!! Over the moon! 

But...long story short...apparently I had to have my O1 Visa processed abroad. After researching possible US Embassy options, Canada and the Caribbean offered the best options...and the US Embassy in Bridgetown Barbados seemed to offer the soonest appointment and processing times. After over a dozen phone calls and emails back and forward with the US Embassy in Barbados (including a phone call, where after exhausting all possible interview options, I was told there was absolutely no way they could fit me in for an interview to process my O1 Visa in March), I then received an email to say that they could accommodate me on Monday 18th March...this was on Friday 15th March. After a quick sanity check phone call to my mum (at 3am her time, thanks mum), I booked a last minute trip to Barbados.

Sunday morning I set off to JFK with a phone book worth of my O1 paperwork and swimming costume in hand. Happy to swap the snowy and wet NY conditions for some sun. And boy did Barbados deliver the sun. Landing in BGI airport the first thing you notice is the aquamarine blue waters and white sand that surrounds the island. And good bye NY winter jacket and hello 30 degree heat and sun.

While two days were eaten up at the embassy I managed to squeeze in plenty of beach time in the morning and evening. And I cannot describe the rush of relief when I finally held that visa in my hands! Of course I celebrated that evening with a piña colada by the sea. A little sad to be alone but a moment in time that I will never forget! And thanks to Facebook, I at least was able to digitally share the moment!

Barbados is a fun place that centers around the beach. There are lots of colorful characters and friendly faces...some trying to sell you things (like Handy Andy with his aloe vera potion) and some just genuinely keen to wish you well (like Neil who I met taking sunset photos on the beach and we chatted away about cameras until the sun dipped beneath the waves). My first evening I ventured out and while I was waiting for my fish to be grilled (and before I over confidently slathered my meal in Barbados hot sauce ... aka lava), I met Junior who was a young local artist, who had sadly been left paralyzed from the waist down due to a car accident when he was nine years old. His artwork depicted folk stories and tributes to Bob Marley and reggae music.

I booked a day trip on a catamaran to go snorkeling. We sailed across the water with schools of flying fish projecting themselves out of the water and zooming through the air for over 30 meters. We then stopped to swim with the sea turtles. One of our guides jumped in the water with some food to lure the turtles and swiftly they came swimming over. Incredibly tame and majestic. They came close enough to touch and weren't at all phased by us visiting. We then headed to a second site with a ship wreck and snorkeled the spectacular reef there. After all that swimming we worked up an appetite and indulged in a delicious caribbean lunch of fish, jerk chicken, salad, macaroni pie and fruit punch. We then sailed the day away dancing on the decks.

With visa in hand and a smile on my dial I was headed back to NYC to sort out my first tax return, work for a couple of days and prepare for my first acting commercial acting gig, including hair and make up trials.

So, let me back up a little bit and explain how I scored my acting gig. When I first arrived back in NYC and was in visa limbo, a producer friend of mine posted on Facebook that she was casting for "tourists" to acting in a promotional video, commercial and online content for a European company called the Compulsive Traveller. And the shoot would be happening in St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean. Since, I LOVE to travel, I thought I have nothing to lose...and some time on my hands so why not audition. I applied and got an audition the day of the blizzard. So after trekking through the icy streets I had to do some improv around tropical island themes and chat about all my summer activity hobbies and travel stories. I had a lot of fun but after summing up my competition in the waiting room, I didn't really think I had a chance. That afternoon the city went into semi shut down as the blizzard rolled in and covered my world in a thick blanket of white. At midnight my house mates and I headed outside to play in the snow...snowball fights, snow angels and the boys couldn't wait to pee their names into the snow....beware the yellow snow.

Several weeks later I got an email and phone call advise me that I had been selected for one of the tourist roles. I was in the middle of Union Square and I squealed! I couldn't believe it. I think I reread the email a dozen times. We had a preproduction meeting a week later where i met the other three actors (two girls and two boys set up as couples) and had wardrobe fitting. There was my partner, Dean - an ex-airforce pilot turned stuntman (MacGuyver type), Thomas - an actor and school teacher and Heather- an actor and director. Here I also discovered that I would be getting married and what's more, the wedding would end with me swimming in the dress. So I went wedding dress shopping all over the city, trying on about 20 dresses. It was extremely amusing to walking into a bridal salon all alone, and matter of factly try on wedding dress after wedding dress, snapping quick pics with my phone as groups of women around me oo'd and arrh'd their brides as the selected the dress if their dreams. I'm sure I seemed like a bitch to them all. In the end I got a Dennis Basso dress from Klienfelds (the salon featured on Say Yes To The Dress).

Amusingly that night I had a first date (which was terrible) but I had a lot of fun scaring him when he asked about my day and I told him I spent the day shopping for a wedding dress :-p

Sooo....back to where we were...

4am Sunday morning filled me with a partial sense of déjà vu as I headed to the airport with a suitcase and wedding dress in hand. As I lined up at JetBlue the attendant smiled at me and politely asked, "are you getting married?" To which I replied, "Sort of". He looked at me puzzled and asked how do you "sort of" get married. I laughed and explained it was for a commercial shoot. I met the other actors, Heather, Tom and Dean, as well as the make up artist, Nati and we headed to Barbados.

I endured the most surreal conversation between the couple next to me who discussed their marriage issues for the entire journey. I don't think they knew I could hear but they had both cheated on each other and he was a therapist but they were both seeing other therapists. They discussed the physical, the mental and philosophical dimensions of their relationship and aired their mother issues and a million other details that seemed very personal for a max. Capacity JetBlue flight. He had a voice like Kevin Spacey and she was German. And their two daughters were sat just across the aisle. I couldn't help myself, the writer in me started taking notes...definitely intriguing research for a movie scene.

With a 6 hour layover in Barbados we decided to head to Acra beach and found a great tapas bar over looking the ocean. We indulged in some nibbles and then hung out at the Acra Beach Resort. My Aussie accent caught the attention of a fellow Aussie and another man basking on the beach. The other man was the famous Jamaican cricketer, Chris Gayle and the Aussie was his physiotherapist. I had a great afternoon joking around with the bravado of Mr Gayle who was trying to convince me to stay the night and when i explained that i had a call time of 6am he told me not to worry about that and he would get me there on time with a private jet. This even included a phone call to the Prime Minister to St Vincent...which I tweeted about and Chris replied, "how lucky I was" to meet him. Hahaha

That night we jumped on a Liat flight to St Vincent and arrived at the Paradise Beach Hotel in the darkness, unaware of how spectacular the view ahead was. After a quick dinner of a Caribbean version of pumpkin soup with a coconut cream twist and a conch stew, it was off to get some beauty sleep...I was getting married the next day after all. Hahaha

So a 6am wake up call and we were jetted across in a boat to Bequia in the Grenadines. I don't think I stopped smiling the whole trip...it felt like a dream...and I almost left my wedding dress on the boat. Haha

We caught an open air taxi to the resort where we met the crew and sat down to a divine breakfast of cereal, fruit, yogurt, freshly baked bread, meat and cheeses. All overlooking pure white sand and azure waters.

Then the beautification process began with hair and make up. Nati, our make up artist is so talented and just a joy to be around. She made me feel amazing. It was soooo much fun. Although, im sure she was tempted to strangle me with my super long locks. I cannot tell you how surreal it is to prepare for a fake wedding. The ultimate dress up game I suppose.

First scene was me walking with my "father". The father of the bride was actually the agency producer Chris. The scene was walking by the pool, trying to be a graceful and as happy as possible...while mastering the train on the dress and not falling in the pool...yet, at least.

We also filmed the cake cutting and more importantly, eating. Then we set up a fake lunch and toasts. Spent the afternoon joking and laughing with our fake guests. Followed by real lunch where they covered me in napkins to protect my white dress. Haha. Lunch was lobster salad and fresh fruit...star fruit, melon, mango, papaya and pineapple...I'm drooling just thinking about it.

After lunch was the ceremony. A simple set up on the beach edge with the Swedish property owner playing the celebrant. I got married about 8 times...hahaha. Then we moved to the pool where my groom threw me into the water and I performed an underwater "ballet" in the dress. Trying to be as graceful as possible in a dress that felt like lead once it was drenched with water. But I loved every minute...incredibly fun!

The crew then packed up and we headed back to the dock for our catamaran ride back. Watched the sunset over the ocean and the moon rise over Bequia and then spectacular orange, pink and grey clouds roll in to deliver a light shower of rain. I laid down on the front net, feeling the seaspray and rain trickle over me. Trying to absorb and process the day that I had just experienced. I don't know if real marriage is in my destiny but as far as weddings go, this would pretty much be my dream...with a real groom and my family there of course.

The next day Dean and I, along with AD Kim and Camera Operator Marcus headed to Ouia salt pools to film. We were there alone and it was spectacular. We climbed the rocks and jumped into the pool and floated serenely in the water. Not a bad way to start the day. We then caught up with the rest of the crew at La Soufriere, the volcano hike. We met them about 3/4 of the way up just in time to watch the mist and rain move in. A spectacular sight to see the clouds and mist literally descend upon us. We huddled under a small shelter and ate lunch. Then we spent the afternoon filming Heather, Tom, Dean and I hiking different areas of the track.

After our day of hiking, we headed back to the hotel to film cocktails over the sunset. They used the colors in my dress to inspire the cocktails. They looked beautiful...but tasted hmmm...interesting. It was very strange to have all the lighting set up around us, as I'm so used to being behind all the equipment. I cannot tell you how lucky I felt at every moment on this amazing job.

I couldn't resist sacrificing sleep and getting up every morning just before sunrise to go for a run on the beach and through the streets, often being joined part of the way by stray dogs and even a goat or two. And of course cooling off with a swim or snorkel to admire the spectacular reefs on our doorstep. The underwater world is like another planet, so many amazing plants and sea creatures, I could have spent a lot more time under the waves.

Wednesday we headed across the bay to Young Island where Johnny Depp and some of the other Pirates of the Caribbean cast stayed. We were made up to the nines and enjoyed cocktails in the bar and strolls along the various path ways and majestic ocean views. I had a strawberry mocktail that was to die for.

Then it was time to get wet. They had a floating bar on a pontoon out in the water where we had more drinks...some delicious local ginger ale and we indulged in some liming...the art of doing nothing. We were mesmerized by some hypnotic swinging coconuts and then had some fun doing jumps and flips into the water.

After lunch we headed to a place called Montreal Gardens. This place blew my mind. I imagine the garden of Eden looked something like this place. There were endless tropical plants and flowers all the colors of the rainbow with lush green and misty meadows and mountains in the background which them blended into the sea and sky. Dean, who was forever on a hunt for fresh fruit, discovered an orchard of grapefruit trees and began to pick and cut them for everyone with his trusty pocket knife. Im not a huge fan usually but they were the juiciest and sweetest grapefruit I've ever eaten in my life. Dean ate nine.

We stopped at a hilltop bar on the way back to the hotel and watched the sunset over Kingstown. Another amazing sunset, watching the red orb dip below the blue horizon. Dean bought 8 of the best bananas ever from a local vendor for about 70c...and later made comment that consuming that much fruit in an afternoon had consequences on the body.

The next day was a long rollercoaster drive to Dark View Falls. Another breath taking location with two sets of waterfalls. The crew and local production helpers were amazing at carrying all the gear up the step stair climb then more rugged riverbed. We swam in the pool below the waterfall which was great and showered under the falling water which wasn't quite as relaxing as you'd think. The water felt like stones, a rather rough massage. But I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We also filmed a scene where we are shampooing our hair looking like we are about to head out to the daily grind, feeling slightly depressed about the NYC subway journey ahead but then we pull back to reveal the waterfall and all our troubles melt away. In the afternoon we filmed some footage of us crossing a handmade, bamboo suspension bridge.

Good Friday was probably the best Friday i have ever had! Friday's itinerary had us lapping up luxury, starting the day heading to Buccament Bay Resort. We began with some tennis, then changed into our resort attire and had lunch prepared for us. A sushi chef called Santa made us the most beautiful platter with sushi rolls and a sashimi rose. All over looking a multitiered infinity pool which then overlooked the aquamarine sea.

In the afternoon, Dean and I were sent to meet Marcus and Kim at the Botanical Gardens. We got to feed Amazon parrots which are the national bird. Despite the numerous signs saying "do not pick the plants or fruit", dean was on a mission again to find something edible. He found a lumpy looking mango type fruit on the ground and asked our guide what it was. The guide told him it wasn't edible but it did smell delightful, kind of a cross between a pineapple and mango. So Dean cut it open and licked it. He then spent the rest of the afternoon spitting, desperate to get the taste and floury texture out of his mouth. Most amusing.

Back to the hotel for a quick costume change and then sailing into the sunset. There was our captain, Manu our DP and Marcus onboard. They were phenomenal to watch. They sailed the ship, set up GoPros and took still and video photography. It was a lot of fun until I got seasick. I was professional and kept it together with smiles and cheer until the sunset. Then I wanted to die. The journey back I went into a trance, desperate not to let the seasickness win. And I won....just. A quick swim before dinner had me feeling A1 again. The hotel put on an amazing BBQ dinner with fish, shrimp, lobster and steak along with a buffet of salads and sides, the ultimate surf and turf! We then headed out for drinks (including some rum of course) and pool. An absolute dream day!

Then the final day was upon us. Saturday we went to a black sand beach near George Town where the art department set up a volleyball net made out of a fish net. We played volleyball which was extremely hot on the black sand. We then refreshed ourselves by drinking straight from fresh coconuts. Mmmmm! We then moved to Georgetown for lunch and bike riding through the streets and shooting a scene at a rum bar with a local musician.  Ultimately, ending by the beach for a rainbow and sunset, where we were directed to look amazed and contented...no acting required!

We headed back to the hotel for a final dinner and drinks. And then out to a couple of bars and nightclubs for some more pool, dancing and karaoke. I was determine to savor ever last minute so I stayed up the entire night, watching the moon and the stars and eventually the sunrise. There was time for one last morning swim before a final pack and breakfast with the most amazing end to end rainbow across the bay.

The only glitch for the week was having my bag lost on the trip home but with inspiration from a bumper sticker in St Vincent, I decided to adopt the Vincy mentality, considering myself "too blessed to be stressed".

This was definitely the best job I've ever had. Amazing crew, cast and location. I hope it's the first of many more, "best job I ever had's"! :)

Despite returning to the rain and cold, I am excited to tackle my next project which is Assistant Director on Dani Zarndieta's first feature filming in Seville and New York City. I'm in last minute preparations, organizing callsheets and final location scouts and the myriad of other minor jobs that come up...loving all of it!

The goodbyes never get any easier. But NYC was calling! So on 31st January I jetted off back to the big apple.

I returned to a couple of days of production assisting work before my OPT ran out and I entered visa limbo. I managed to keep busy, enjoying the winter activities such as ice skating in Bryant Park almost everyday and even squeezed in a day of skiing at Hunter mountain with one of my production friends, Erika.

Visa limbo also allowed me time to focus on some personal projects. Including prepping and shooting the NYC portion of our Balloon Twister shoot with Matt Falloon. I tried to merge the roles of tour guide, interviewer and filmmaker. We filmed Matt out and about with his balloons in Coney Island (so cold that there was snow on the beach), then we headed to the Staten Island Ferry for a spectacular NYC skyline backdrop and finally Times Square where Matt was in his element. He is such a gifted entertainer and talented artist. It's beautiful to watch him interact with people and light up their faces. I love his passion. And his sense of humour is right up my alley with balloon jokes getting a lower classification than "dad" jokes.

I had a lot of fun filming with Matt, his travel troupe and an amazing crew with Leanne and Garrett from LA and Robbie and Ralph from NY. And of course, mastermind Executive Producer, Lisa who was orchestrating everything from LA. I'm extremely excited to start the editing process in the coming months.

I also invested some money in my own kit, purchasing a canon 5d mkiii with a 24-70mm f/2.8L I I usm lens! I have been enjoying mainly photography with it but stay tuned for some more film later this year. But I'm already in love with it!

I also had the best Valentines Day of my life. After waking up a little grumpy...as you do as a single person on this day. I headed out for the day and got a phone call in the afternoon through a production colleague of a production colleague who happened to be from Guillermo Del Toros studio. An executive needed a Valentines Day gift to Ge sourced and delivered. So I got paid to go shopping for the afternoon in Toys Ar Us and Pet Co. and I made an awesome contact at Del Toros studio who loved my nail polish haha and was ready to line me up for work in Chicago or LA...if I had had my Visa I may have been on a plane that night but I'm sure one day soon that networking will pay off! Then the icing on the cake for the day was, when I arrived home my roommates had bought me a bunch of red roses. The first bunch of flowers I've ever been given from a boy (or three). Thank you Patrick, Rhyan and Nate!

The rest of the month has also been spread with planning for my amazing Spanish filmmaker friend, Dani Zarenieta's first feature film which I am Assistant Directing. Carmen, the Producer and I have been location scOUT and about in the city, confirming all the shooting locations for the film. The film is about three Spanish boys who feel like their life never really began in Spain due to the economic situation. Unfortunately, they have to deliver some bad news to one of their sisters who lives and studies in NYC. They decide that they need to deliver the news in person and embark on a journey where they each rediscover themselves. It's a story that all of us in the crew can connect with. It's a great blend of comedy and drama and ultimately a great feel good film. Dani is an amazing director and one of the most beautiful people I have ever met. He captures the heart of everyone he meets and is one of the most passionate story tellers and filmmakers I have ever met. He gets the creative and he gets the business. Zarandieta is a rising name for sure. And with Carmen Simon along side producing this film cannot fail. Incredibly hard working and always cheerful, Carmen knows how to get the job done. I love working with her. The rest of the crew is also amazing and having worked on several short films with most of the crew, I know this shoot will epitomize why I love filmmaking! It's incredibly exciting and I'm sure I will bombard you with the behind the scene journey on Facebook and Instagram. And hopefully, this is another stepping stone for more projects to come!

December was a mash of production jobs, Visa applications, lies to my mother and travel plans. I had created a web of lies for months about not coming home for Christmas which became a mental nightmare trying to remember exactly why and where I was going to be. But alas, I kept my lips sealed and headed home to Australia to surprise my family. Of course stopping off in LA to catch up with some friends and the obligatory theme park hit... I am a roller coaster junkie. 

The entire flight home I could hardly contain my excitement, riding wave after wave of adrenalin. Now brunch at my grandmother's house on a Saturday morning has been a family tradition ever since I was born. And just to be safe, I had also told my mother that I was sending some gifts home for Christmas and they would be delivered to my grandmother's house between 9-11am and someone needed to sign for them. But alas, she still failed to be there for my arrival...but it turned out to be a lot more fun as I got to surprise all my family members in stages. 

Stage 1. My grandmother... As I pulled up in the cab I was greeted by my cousins who helped me with bags and my Daisy (grandmother) can wandering out looking like a stroke was imminent. After encouraging her to breathe, I gave her a massive hug and we couldn't wipe the smile off our faces. I then saw my grandfather Pete, who greeted me with, "What are you doing here?" 

Stage 2. My mother and sister... after Daisy made a vague phone call to my mother and sister to encourage them to come up as soon as possible ... they still taking their sweet time ... finally my mum and sister Holly arrived at Daisy's for lunch and I came running out the front door where we all instantaneously burst into smiles and tears. Mum claiming "I knew you'd come home!" (She had no idea - but can you imagine if I hadn't?!). After several minutes of rejoicing in hugs and smiles, Holly took a step back and said, "You're Joan"! Now, I had to let someone in on my secret to come home, just incase they were planning to surprise me with a trip to NYC or travel anywhere else. So I had told my other sister Allyce all about it. However, Daisy was buying a Jet Boat ride on Sydney Harbour for the whole family and to ensure I was included on the boat, Allyce had lied and said her husband's friend from the USA (super creative) was visiting and would it be possible for her to join us. Slightly hesitant since it was a family only kind of outing, my mother of course said that it was no problem and asked for her name. Allyce replied, "Joan." Now I have an alter ego named Joan!

Stage 3. My auntie Janette pulled up in the driveway and I hid in the kitchen cupboard. My aunt and I share a passion for scary movies and have a long ongoing history of practical jokes of jumping out of places for the sole purpose of scaring the shit out of each other. As she entered, someone asked her to retrieve an item from the pantry and I jumped out! After more laughter and hugs I exclaimed, "I've been waiting since January for someone to open that door!"

Stage 4. My dad. My dad had been out running errands and finally turned up for lunch. As he walked up the driveway with his head focused on the ground, I jumped out of the front door in a 'Ta da!' type fashion. He gazed up and then dropped his head straight back down. Then he did a double take. His eye's popped out of his head, just like on a Loony Tunes cartoon. Another big embrace and my said, "I'm not easily surprised, but that was a surprise!"

The moral of the story is, if you ever have a chance to surprise your family in the sam manner, DO IT! The month's of guilt about lying to my mother was totally worth it!

The summer was spent catching up with family and friends, I went to the beach just about every single day (happily getting up at 6.30am to wander the sand and waves), jet boating on the harbour, Christmas cooking and New Years Eve at Sydney Opera Bar. I got tickets to the event through my friend Lisa who was the LA Production Supervisor on the Guinness Black Lager commercial I worked on. At the event we met Matt Falloon, an amazing Balloon Twister who captivated us with his charisma and his plans to travel to the USA at the end of the month for Twist and Shout, a balloon twisting convention in St Louis. He intrigued our passion for story telling enough that we decided to film a documentary about Matt and the world of twisters. I followed Matt in Sydney and filmed a preliminary interview with him (thank you to my crew - Narelle and Holly) while Lisa and another colleague Leeann, worked miracles back in LA organizing a crew to follow him in St Louis, Chicago, Toronto, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. More details to come in next month's blog!

We also celebrated my sister's and my own birthday with a luxury weekend of arcade games at the Crown Casino, spa treatments, and the most extravagant Melba buffet at the Langham in Melbourne - where we had M&M naan. The weekend was also plagued with a million fried rice pranks calls between our rooms (small things amusing small minds - so many laughs...). And of course there was a stint of shoe shopping (I stopped myself at 7)! We also visited Phillip Island and indulged in Panny's Chocolate Factory, Go-Karting and saw the precious ferry penguins march up the beach. Then we headed back to Melbourne for some Australian Open Tennis...timing it perfectly to hit the 45 degree (celcius) day (probably 55 degrees on the actual courts)! I got to see Soeda, Tsonga, The Williams sisters, Ferrer, Baghdatis, Sharapova and some other up and comers. Definitely made me keen to get a racket in my own hands again!

All of a sudden the end of January was upon us and time to pack. Goodbyes never get any easier. But the new year in New York holds so many exciting opportunities including being Assistant Director/Co-Producer on Spanish Director, Dani Zarendieta's film! As well as more commercial productions and a myriad of my own projects! Who knows what adevnture are install for 2013!