1. What motivated you to make this film? – I had produced a few features prior to this, and figured it was time to try my hand at directing one of them. I knew it would be low budget—lower than most projects I had produced up to that point—so wanted to think of something contained and unique. SHIFT was born pretty quickly into that process: one room, security monitors, a potential murder. The rest of the world was colored in after that simple premise rose to the top.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film? – It took about two and half years. From script to screen, only about a year, but post we took our time. I think more independent films should take their time in post-production. Almost no one is really asking for it, so there’s no pressure to rush the film except for the pressure you put on yourself.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!? Hitchcock In-Skinny-Jeans.

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film? – The security monitors! Everything on the monitors is practical—we used no screen replacement or VFX to create the effect. We shot the movie twice: silently with the monitors, cut those scenes together, and then played them back live in the room for the actors to react to on set. It was a real song and dance of piecing those together well enough to sell the action when actors leave the room and appear on the monitors. It works really well, almost too well, because no one asks about them and assume it’s really happening. But that was not the case!

5. There are 5 stages of the filmmaking process: Development. Pre-Production. Production. Post-Production. Distribution. What is your favorite stage of the filmmaking process? Post-Production. Everything up until that point is just potential. It’s when you really start to craft the film in post-production that get to write it one last time and adjust your story.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films? – Grade school. My parents took me to the movies to keep me quiet, I think, and from there I always wanted to learn how to make my own. And am now doing so.

7. What film have you seen the most times in your life? Starship Troopers and Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

8. In a perfect world: Who would you like to work with/collaborate with on a film? – Martin McDonagh.

9. Besides movie-making, what else are you passionate about? Reading and Magic: the Gathering.

10. What is your favorite meal? – Mexican.

11. What is next for you? A new film? – I’m primarily producing these days, with the occasional short thrown in. Directing another feature will manifest sometime in the future, but right now producing is where I’m focused.