I have years of experience in documentaries, news and promotional videos, as a cameraman, editor and producer. For the last several years I have served as Los Angeles Bureau Chief for Feature Story News serving clients including PBS NewsHour, ITV, ChannelNews Asia, CGTN,SABC and TRT World. I lived in China seven years and am proficient in Mandarin Chinese and I also speak Spanish. I have shot and produced on news, reality shows, music videos and other projects for clients including AP, Bloomberg, the Amazing Race, Scandinavian Airlines and several European Networks. A show I co-created, shot and produced, “Sexy Beijing”, became an internet hit, attracting over 15 million total views on Youtube and other sites, and was covered on the Today Show, the New York Times, the New Yorker and cnn.com among many others places.
Los Angeles-based filmmaker
A variety of experiences
Working for years in a busy news bureau, first as a cameraman/editor and then as bureau chief, I would shoot, edit and produce stories on a daily basis. I am proficient in a variety of camera formats and own a Sony FS-7. I also have an Adobe Premiere editing rig. In addition I am a drone operator and have my own DJI drone. I am experienced at setting up shoots, from identifying interesting topics, to setting up interviews, to hiring crew and renting gear. I can see a production through from conception to post-production. I have been honing my writing chops since the days my career started as a newspaper reporter and have since honed the ability to write in the concise language of video. I have worked overseas extensively, have foreign language skills, and am used to working with people from various backgrounds under challenging conditions.
Notes on some past work
In the early 2000s I did a documentary on post-Apartheid South Africa which ran in festivals and aired on Maryland Public Television showcase hosted by rock legend Joan Jett. I followed that with a documentary about an African soccer team in Beijing, China, which played at film festivals in Europe and China. While living several years in Beijing I started a production company called Goldmines Film and did projects for Scandinavian Airlines, the US Embassy Beijing, Bombardier and many other clients as well as working for networks like VPRO, ZDF and the AP. In Beijing I also started the Sexy Beijing youtube series which got a lot of attention and millions of views. Back in Los Angeles I worked on a documentary on High Speed Rail in California that ended up being incorporated into news pieces on the PBS NewsHour and KCET. I also worked at Young Hollywood, interviewing numerous celebrities, and on videos for Pharell’s Youtube channel. I also did a Silk Road Tour and music videos for recording artist Abigail Washburn including filming a jam session in Urumqi, Xinjiang. During my several years as a shooter/editor and bureau chief at Feature Story News in L.A. I covered wildfires, elections, droughts, climate change, the Oscars, the Weinstein scandal and Me Too movement, BLM, Covid and other stories for several international networks and PBS.
Get in touch
luke@minesmedia.com
510-479-6017