als

is a custom designed instrument for violinist & muse Eddy Kwon (pictured). The piece is worn and played similar to what would be a two necked viola - one side bowed while the other is plucked. The sound travels up the neck, through the bridge (over the shoulder), and resonates out from around the head. This can be seen in the process video that follows the photos. The project was in collaboration with my father & Luthier, Chris Sisson, who oversaw acoustics & overall construction. I designed & hand-constructed the piece. It was designed off Eddy's own romantic idea of an instrument that resonated "in and around his head". Eddy Kown is a violinist and classical educator in Cincinnati for the prestigious El Sistema inspired program. 

Below the first video ('head-resonator video') is another facet of the project - a second video 'instrumental clothing'. It is a process video done mid-concept of another four wearable instruments. These instruments were never fully constructed however the three instruments in the photos that follow, were. Along with The Eddy 'head-resonating' Instrument, three complementary pieces were made for a show at the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati coinciding with a fashion show at DAAP (College of Design, Architecture, Art and Planning in Cincinnati, Ohio) in which the instruments were featured. 

Press on the pieces & showings:
CAC // Citybeat
GEDDEM.com

is a short film written & co-directed by myself & Pete Ohs (Lauren Edward duo). Charles Watson (from the London band Slow Club) composed an original opening track, and Ólafur Arnalds provided four amazing tracks largely featured in the short.

The film was completed in winter 2014 and is in the middle of a festival & screening run. More information on screenings here. Eventually, the film will be viewable online and on this site but for now, here are screenshots from the film & information on the short. 

The Vision Quest™ is an original fable about two extremely nearsighted men wandering across a mystical land in search of food and inspiration. It is visual storytelling inspired by video game prologues and fairy tales. It was shot at the beautiful Howell farm near Yellow Springs, Ohio. Some trivia about Yellow Springs: The town is the little-known dwelling of comedian, Dave Chappelle (which has nothing to do with the short film). The film stars two, very willing, non-actors, one which the story was inspired by who makes wooden glasses Featherwood Frames). The short was also inspired by the video game 'prologue' (the often epic & cinematic backstory that opens many video games). 

Musicians:
Charles Watson is in the London band/duo Slow Club, formed in Sheffield in 2006. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Charles Watson & Rebecca Taylor. Slow Club is the actor, Daniel Radcliffe's favorite band. Radcliffe is featured in the video for the single, "Beginners". 

Ólafur Arnalds is the multi-instrumentalist and producer from Iceland. Ólafur has been involved with various other projects and his music appear in many films, television shows and advertisements. His song "Til Enda" was used in a trailer for the 2012 film LOOPER, and most recently composed the song "Allt Varð Hljótt" for THE HUNGER GAMES.

The short was shot by Michael DeGrazier & edited by Nayim Saati.

Short video coming soon.
Music by Wild Beasts. 

This is an official trailer for the musical album called The Bush from Italian composer & producer, Diego Buongiorno. More about the album can be found here.

I also contributed a section of lyrics and my voice for one of the songs on the album which can be heard here.

Under the trailer are some photos of the video's star, baby Fonzi. We call him the 'all knowing Fonzi'. 

I directed the trailer. It was shot & edited by both myself & Pete Ohs (Lauren Edward).  

is my first feature-length film. It was made on a Fulbright Fellowship during 2010/11 in Iceland and premiered at the 2012 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, the Reykjavik International Film Festival, and the Video Art and Experimental Film Festival in NYC. We also had a theatrical run at ReRun Theater in Brooklyn, programed by IFP. The film was directed and created by myself and duo partner/husband, Pete Ohs.

<Official Film Site> (& how to see the film)

The film is a hybrid documentary (mixing non-fictional and seemingly fictional elements). For this reason, the film could be called a documentary of the 'imagination' or poetic documentary (documenting emotional and imaginative reactions to real life circumstances).

It is a personal documentation of how I deal with my brother's schizophrenia while being separated from him - me living in Iceland, and he in Ohio. Soon, the island of Iceland itself (with it's drastic and mystical qualities) becomes a model in which I compare to schizophrenia, bi-polar, ADD, and other mental illnesses. This New York Times Review does a great job of painting a picture of the film and the experience of watching it. An audience member also once compared the film to watching an episode of Radiolab.

The images on this page are various screenshots and making-of mood-board showing some of the process of putting together the film.

Press//Links:
*NY Times Review
*TEDx Talk
*Filmmaker Magazine Interview
*Cinespect Feature
*Reykjavík Grapevine
*DocChannel Interview
*VAEFF Post-screening Q&A

*ISYTP on Facebook
*isendyouthisplace.com (to watch)

This first photo is of our producer & collaborator Saul Germaine. It was taken on a recent location scout for our soft-sci-fi feature film, Everything Beautiful Is Far Away. The story is about a guy, a girl, and a robot head traveling across a desert planet looking for a mythological lake.

We'll be shooting Autumn 2014 and have some incredible lead actors lined up (that we're excited to announce when able). 

The film is supported & mentored by IFP (Independent Filmmaker Project) and the script was selected for their Film Week & Market September 2013.  

Collaborators on the project thus far include:

Alan Palomo (Musician) is the mastermind behind acclaimed indie-synth band Neon Indian. He will compose music for the film. With 50K+ Twitter followers, has an obsessive fan base. Most recently, he released a new song exclusively on the blockbuster video game Grand Theft Auto V and has collaborated with a number of artists including The Flaming Lips. 

David Mack (Comic Book artist) will be creating illustrations for the film. They will be featured in the comic book that our male protagonist makes throughout the story. Mack is a NY Times best selling graphic novelist, of Kabuki and Daredevil comics and has created work for Dextor and Amanda Palmer. He's recently created the opening title sequence, credits, and concept art for the yet-to-be-released Marvel film, Captain America. 

Jason Lytle (Collaborator) is front man of the band Grandaddy. The title Everything Beautiful Is Far Away, is the title of a Grandaddy song, and the story is directly inspired. 

The film was written by myself & Pete Ohs and will be co-directed by the two of us as our duo.

All photos are from location & tech scouts. 

A few screenshots & colorways for a so-far, secret and secretly made movie in Los Angeles. Well, that's all I can really say. More photos & info posted here as released.

This is a video we (Lauren Edward, my film duo) made for i-D Magazine Online. The video is a lyrical documentary interview of musician Puzzle Muteson in context of his music video for En Garde, which we also made for him. The video is a collaborative conversation between us and the artist shot at Greenhouse Studios, Iceland.

Puzzle Muteson is a UK artist on the Icelandic label Bedroom Community. The video for En Garde, can be seen here.

Bedroom Community is an Icelandic record label/collective formed in 2006 by Valgeir Sigurðsson, with Nico Muhly and Ben Frost, later adding Sam Amidon, Daníel Bjarnason, Puzzle Muteson, Paul Corley, Nadia Sirota and James McVinnie to the intimate roster.

This music video is pretty different. It's of a hand that dances to the music of Puzzle Muteson, specifically the single, En Garde. It was Directed & created by myself & duo partner Pete Ohs. 

Puzzle Muteson is a UK artist on the Bedroom Community label. The video for En Garde, can be seen here.

A 'making of' the video for i-D Magazine can be seen here.

Bedroom Community is an Icelandic record label/collective formed in 2006 by Valgeir Sigurðsson, with Nico Muhly and Ben Frost, later adding Sam Amidon, Daníel Bjarnason, Puzzle Muteson, Paul Corley, Nadia Sirota and James McVinnie to the intimate roster.

This is a conceptual prototype. I was trained in fashion design, and am always creating fantastical worlds and characters, may it be through film or physical design. This is one of those things. It's a conceptual prototype of a 'sweater-chair' - basically a chair that is worn. When leaned against a type of 'hammock', built into the inside of the chair's form, supports the wearer. I designed & constructed the piece via hand & machine knit.

First set of photos by: Michael Degrazier // model: Elenore
Second set of photos: Rachel Schwartz

This 'Sponsor Title' short film was made to showcase the sponsors of the OFFF festival and conference. 

The OFFF festival began more than a decade ago in Barcelona as a "post-digital culture festival; a meeting place to host contemporary creation through an in-depth program of conferences, workshops, and performances by the most relevant artists of our time." The festival is now hosted around the world featuring artists such as Joshua Davis, The Mill, Lernert & Sander, Julien Vallée, and many more.

This specific event was hosted at the Contemporary Arts Center in my home town of Cincinnati, Ohio. The video was a collaboration between my film duo (Lauren Edward), and the graphic designer, Joshua Mattie. 

This is a 'making-of' video for i-D Magazine Online of Icelandic band, Amiina's video SicSak. That video can be seen here. The making-of along with the SicSak music video was made by myself and duo partner, Pete Ohs.

The video is rather special in that it was filmed almost completely through GoPro-style cameras that are attached to the musician's heads. This means that the video is entirely shot from the perspective of the musicians & band members themselves! This 'making-of' shows the conception and realization of this process.

You can watch the SicSak video here.

This is music video for the Iceland band Amiina's single SicSak. It was directed & created by myself & duo parter, Pete Ohs. The video is rather special as it was filmed almost completely through GoPro-style cameras attached to the musician's heads. This means, that the video is entirely shot from the perspective of the musicians & band members themselves.

A 'making of' this video for i-D Magazine can be seen here. 

This is a suit custom designed & tailored for violinist & muse Eddy Kwon - to fit the specific needs of a violinist. The collar buffers the player's neck, elasticized silk under the arm allows for un-constricted movement while bowing, and the back of the suit holds the violin in a quite whimsical manor.

I designed & hand tailored the suit.  

Eddy Kwon is a violinist and classical educator in Cincinnati for the prestigious El Sistema inspired program. 

This is a corset I designed & constructed. 

The top photo was styled by Summer Skrzelowski; photo by Rachel Schwartz. The rest by Michael Degrazier; model: Elenore