Mike and I enrolled in Antelope Valley College in Lancaster and got into a film class along with another friend, Al Williamson. We went in with the idea that we would make a film. And we did. But the class was not what we expected. It was presented like this: "Here are some films. Watch them and then make a film." To be fair, we were provided with some very useful information about the technical aspects of film making; f-stops, colour theory and the like; as well as panning, tilting, et cetera. But there was no in-class work on our projects. In fact, we weren't ever REQUIRED to make a film! The instructor felt that if the students could not afford a super-8 camera, then the student's project could be presented as a slide show. If the student did not have access to a 35mm still camera, then a written report was acceptable. Incredible.

Well, Mike and Al and I got to work on our project. And actual film. We chose to do an adaptation of Harlan Ellison's Deal From the Bottom. I wrote the screenplay and immediately was injured in a car accident and was in bed for months. Mike and Al finished the film. Mike was going to enter the film into a contest and wrote to Ellison for permission to do so. Ellison called Mike at home and reamed him. No Vaseline, either. Helpful hint? If you want to use someone else's work, GET PERMISSION BEFOREHAND! Even if it is not for commercial purposes. Mike wrote a letter of apology, and Ellison wrote him back. He gave his permission to use the film and apologised for being "such a prick on the phone".

The next semester, we conned the college into offering "Special Studies in Art", a cinema class that had three students. Me, Mike and Al. We each made a short film on super-8. Mine was an apocalyptic little number called The Walk. People who saw it said I was a "genius" for having a violent clash take place in a beautiful field of flowers. Actually, it was Spring and the poppies just happened to be in bloom. I did make a note of this happy coincidence for future reference, though!

Next came Mutilation Maniacs. Mike and I were discussing gore effects and wanted to see what we could get away with with no budget. I suggested to Mike that as long as we were making pictures, why not have a story to go along with it? Thus he wrote a script. It was at this time that Jonathan Giba joined us as a third member of Rat Productions (Al Williamson was not part of Rat Prod., but we helped out on each other's projects). Mike and I shared the camera work, Jonathan acted, and I got pulled off of a motorcycle and was ripped to shreds by aliens. The whole thing cost about $250 for a 13 minute film. We've actually been talking about doing a feature length version and have written a script.

After returning from Europe in 1982, it was time for another film. This one was called Elysium and was about a group of soldiers in the not-too-distant future who seemed to be fighting the same enemy over and over again. As usual, I was killed off in the first scene so that I could work the camera. This was our biggest project to-date. We had real costumes, real props, a larger cast of real actors, and I even built a camera crane (actually a 10-foot jib arm). There was a bad scene between Mike and Jonathan when we were getting ready to shoot. It was patched up, but Mike believes that may have caused some bad Karma that manifested itself later.

After spending about a year shooting and editing Elysium, we were ready to put the finishing touches on it and hit the film fests. Mike packed the only copy of the film --the camera original-- into a backpack and headed home. Leaving it unattended, just for a moment, the bag was stolen. No doubt the film was just dumped somewhere. It was of no use to a thief. But many people put a lot of hard work into it, and it meant a lot to all of us. Do not ever... EVER! leave your film unattended. Staple it to your body. Put it in a bag with a dozen ill-fed rabid weasels. Take Mike's advice and protect it with giant man-eating spiders.

After Elysium we didn't work on films for a while. I got a gig as a studio cameraman for a weekly television program called Apple Corps, which highlighted the events in Lancaster elementary schools. An amusing thing about working on this show was that the studio was under the departure flight path of Palmdale airport. B-1 bombers and other military aircraft would leave Palmdale and fly to Edwards Air Force Base. They were so noisy we had to stop taping until they were gone.

In the meantime, Mike, who was now living in Costa Mesa, California, persued intrests in art and music. He really did some excellent work with coloured pencils. He eventually recorded several songs which fused jazz, blues and rock.

After hooking up with a death-rock band called Burning Image in Bakersfield ("Gateway to Fresno"!) we scripted some images to go with their eponymous song and went to work. We had a great time filming the band using a super-8 camera and black and white and colour film and came up with a rough edit. Unfortunately, the band were on the verge of no longer being a band. They broke up and we never did finish the "video".

I moved to Los Angeles and worked for a defense contractor. I also discovered Drama-Logue and started getting the occasional gig on other people's projects. Mike moved to New Orleans (or "The Big Sleazy" as I call it) and eked out an existence as a street musician before getting more stable employment. I sent him a few bucks to help him out on his video, "Alptraum" which he made with Jeff Turick. He had already made "Warm and Bright", a short that won an award at the Dallas Film and Video Festival.

1993. A pivotal year. Mike and Jeff were impressed by the success of El Mariachi and decided to make their own feature-length film. Robert Rodriguez made his film for $7,500. But he didn't have a crew. Mike and Jeff reckoned they could do Cut Up for about $20,000 with a crew. I flew down as Script Supervisor (or "Continuity"). New Orleans is my favourite city. I got there at the end of July. If you've never been to the Gulf Coast in high summer, you're in for a treat! Ninety degrees and 100% humidity. Oh boy. The days were 12 to 16 hours on the set (once we worked from 7:00 PM to 7:00 AM in the Lafeyette Cemetary), but we also had to load the gear in the morning and unload it in the evening. After a grueling day that began at four in the morning, we were sitting on the floor of the "War Room" at midnight smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and mixing up blood for the next day's shoot. In the two weeks I was there, my first trip to the Crescent City, I had three hours to "see the sights".

I returned to L.A. and Mike and Jeff did the pickups and cut the film. By the time it got to a distributor the cost was about $40,000. Not bad for a feature-length film.

A year later I went to New Orleans again, this time to shoot some scenes for Zombie vs. Mardi Gras. Mike used my Elmo 1018S super-8 camera for this feature-length subculture parody. Again, it was summer. I shot the "Ritual" and "Apartment" scenes. Reviewers on the internet almost all hate this film.  They seem to be under the impression that it's supposed to be serious.  They don't understand that the out-of-synch dialog is intentional!  Well, it's a film that some people love and others are offended that they "wasted their time" seeing it.  Whatever.  If you "get it", you'll probably love it.  This film is a crack up. I laugh my ass off every time I see it. You should pick up a copy at www.reelprogress.com. Imagine a George Romero script and a Roger Corman budget. Then have it directed by Jean-Luc Godard in his "Breathless" style. It's a hoot and a half.

I began to get more gigs on short films. I worked as a grip and assistant cameraman. Let me tell you: Arriflex cameras are a joy to work with!

In 1996 I bought a well-used Bolex camera and had it overhauled. I called the nationally-known Bolex expert and he wouldn't touch it. I went to Lloyd's Camera in Hollywood for repair and they sent it to the expert who previously wouldn't touch it! Ain't this a wonderful business? Now, the old Bolex cameras do not have reflex viewing. This means they're a pain to use sometimes. I managed to find a zoom lens with a reflex veiwfinder built in. I now had a great little hand-held camera for relatively little money. I never had a chance to use it for anything but a test roll though because I sold it. (I still have the reflex zoom lens though, if anyone is interested in buying it!)

In 1997 I made a major purchase. An Eclair NPR camera built in 1978 with a 10-100mm Zeiss lens, two magazines, new crystal motor and a battery. I took it to New Orleans to get some Mardi Gras footage. Since the weather was bad I had to wait until Fat Tuesday itself before I could take it out. I loaded some film and plugged in the power. Nothing happened. A nut had fallen off of the power receptacal into the delicate electronics of the new motor. George Zorzoli at Optical Electro House was sympathetic and would repair it gratis. But he was 2000 miles away. I resigned myself to my footageless fate and enjoyed my vacation.

Upon my return to L.A. my camera was fitted with a new and improved motor and it now works flawlessly. I am ready to roll, and welcome inquiries as to my availability to work on YOUR project! Just e-mail me at 

In 1998 I have shot Mike's documentary on the Internet Adult Site industry called Wired For Flesh: Sex on the Information Superhighway. We got some great interviews and footage at the IA2000 convention in Las Vegas.

In September 1999 I shot Mike's Night For Nixie, a very strange Digital Video project combining conspiracy theories, science-experiments-escaped-from-the-lab, and some creatures that would be at home in an Ed Wood film. Undoubtedly the critics will hate it.  Hahahahaha!  From what I saw on the set, this will be a very strange film...

I am currently writing a short dark-comedy called Somebody that will be shot in black and white using the Eclair.  Unfortunately, I'm a terrible slug when it comes to writing.  The first draft is finished; now I just need to go back and clean it up.

So how did I get the name "Heli Boy"?  I am a private pilot in airplanes and helicopters. Actually, I haven't flown an airplane since I took up heli's. The "fling wing" thing is just too much of a blast to wallow around in a Cessna!

So there you have it! That's me.

Now go make a movie.

UPDATES:
In January 2000 the film critic for the London Times had a short project on-tap.  I was DP-ing another project on the first weekend (a parody of a scene from the truly bad film Magnolia), but I did make it to the second half of the shoot as a Grip/Gaffer. Rubdown looks like it will be hilarious, and I'm anxious to see the finished product.

Night for Nixie update:  The film is finished.  It premiered on July 1st, 2001 at The Factory in Bellingham, Washington.  Everyone laughed at the appropriate times and it looked to be a success.  A short "flash" presentation and a couple of stills are available on the Reel Progress web page.