A summary of this self-indulgent page.

I get asked about my background and how I got started a lot. I’ll get into all of it below, but here’s the short version:

I’m an award-winning filmmaker and author, and a visual effects and motion graphics artist based in Seattle WA. I’m on the Board of Managers for the Washington chapter of the Visual Effects Society and play in the band CHEERLEADRRRS. I’m also the creator of the Movies and Computers YouTube channel, which has free tutorials and software training.

Contact me via social media or the contact form at the bottom of this page.

Ok. So here’s the long version of my career story. Feel free to use the chapter headings to skim to the things most interesting to you.

Though I’ve called Seattle home since 2006, I spent most of my life in Riverside, CA, home of Spike and Mike and Spanky's Cafe, and where I started my career in 2000. I was a Psychology student but kept ditching my psych classes to play with a piece of software I just discovered called Photoshop 5.5. 

the beginning of my whole thing.

the conundrum before act II.

I’d always loved art, but I couldn’t draw well enough to place in a toddler art competition. Photoshop gave me the ability to make art without relying on my hands. This presented a difficult dilemma: to continue with my safe plan to become a psychologist, or to walk off the proverbial cliff with a much less stable and conventional career in the art world. At this time, I was married and my wife was pregnant what my first child. So my needs weren’t the only ones to consider. 

Then I had a thought that ultimately helped me make the decision. I asked myself if I would be willing to leave my family on a weekend and go to a far away conference about psychology at my own expense. And that didn’t sound like something I’d be willing to do. But I would jump at the chance to do that for a Photoshop thing. I realized then, that if I chose to be an artist, I would start at a deficit of both skill and talent. But my passion would propel me to catch up quickly. So I picked art and never looked back. 

the protagonist decides.

the meet cute.

In 2001, I discovered the After Effects 5.0 Classroom in a Book and it was like a second reawakening. I was blown away. Photoshop was just an introductory step, as it turns out. THIS was home. I’ve still never loved a piece of software as much as I love Adobe After Effects. Motion graphics were enthralling. Animation was a blast. Visual effects were a dazzling way to play with real footage, like Photoshop come to life. 

I soon realized that teaching gave me an opportunity to spend more time playing with the software. I spent most of my time just reading user guides for these apps, and I have a pretty severe learning disability. So if I can understand something, I can help anyone to understand it. I became an Adobe Certified Expert (then Adobe Certified Instructor) in Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, Premiere, Encore, InDesign, and Acrobat. 

preaching the GOOD nerd.

lynda.

In 2006, I taught my first course for lynda.com- EncoreDVD 2.0. This was HUGE. I’d been a subscriber to lynda.com years earlier when trying to get started with all the Adobe software. And I was a huge fan of Lynda Weinman (the “Lynda” in Lynda.com) and had her book, which was the first book ever written about using images on the internet. While authoring the course, Lynda invited all of the authors that were recording that week to her home. She bought us Thai food. I played Xbox 360 for the first time with husband (and lynda.com co-founder, artist, and author) Bruce Heavin. They were soooo cool. They were warm and gracious. They were clearly successful, but completely open. And they were playful. Bruce had stacks of games he hadn’t even opened yet. He got so excited talking about the art in the games, and really, art anywhere. I was inspired and felt like I’d found a cultural home. I would go on to author dozens of courses for lynda.com and LinkedIn Learning, which later acquired it. 

It was also this time that I tried my hand at writing books. Photoshop had just added 3D and video capabilities to Photoshop, and I had the distinction of writing the first book ever published on the subject: Photoshop CS3 Extended for 3D and Video by Adobe Press. I would go on to write How to Cheat in After Effects and The After Effects Illusionist (both by Focal Press). 

i am complicit in tree genocide.

summoned by the pnw.

I spent a lot of time traveling around the country to teach software classes. In September 2005, I was asked to teach a class in Adobe InDesign in Seattle. I fell in love with the clouds and the cold and all the things Seattleites hate about Seattle. Leaves were turning to pink and orange and other colors I’ve never seen leaves turn. I felt like I was living in a work of art. I was in love. And a few months later, was living here. 

In 2008, I was getting more into video editing and decided it would be a good idea to get on a film set to see the process. I saw a Craigslist ad for a visual effects person for a short film competition. I ended up being asked to do the sound design, and won the award for best sound design in the competition. But even more than that, I realized that I love filmmaking. Many people I met on that set would go on to become dear friends and frequent collaborators. 

learning to filmmake.

the “creating a short film” series.

Filmmaking became my passion and my focus. I spent a lot of time on film sets and met a lot of film school alumnus. They universally suggested that I avoid that path because it didn’t prepare them well for what it was actually like to be on set. So in 2013, I had the idea to make the Creating a Short Film series for lynda.com (and later LinkedIn Learning). I wanted to create an authentic filmmaking training experience, complete with embarrassing failures and improvised bubble gum and duct tape solutions to unexpected problems. I wanted to show the ugly and beautiful truths about what actually happens on a film set. This mammoth undertaking was finally completed in 2021, eight years later. 

In 2018, I opened Houdini for the first time. And just like with Photoshop, and then After Effects, then Seattle, then filmmaking, I’m falling again for a new love. Only with Houdini, the courtship is going a bit slower. Though I’m convinced that this is a relationship that was meant to be. 

smitten again.

i join things so I feel more smarter.

In 2017, I became a member of the Visual Effects Society, and soon joined the Board of Managers for the Washington chapter. In 2019, I brought down the reputation of another globally respected organization by becoming a member of it, Mensa. 

My first love (and first job) was actually music. I’ve always wanted to create a sub-genre of music. To that end, I currently play in a band called CHEERLEADRRRS, which is like the Ramones meets Devo plus there are cheerleaders. 

music.

it finally ends. (?)

So that’s my story so far. I would imagine that no one will ever read this. If you do, you have both my gratitude and my affection. And also kinda my condolences cause this shit was loooooooong.

Thank you for reading my story so far. I hope we can meet each other one day soon. Or maybe even work together. Wouldn’t that be so fun? Can you imagine?? My dream for the future is to do VFX for more films. And to direct a remake of Manos the Hands of Fate that I wrote. I hope you get to see it. Be well, my new friend.

Love,

Chad