Reel Loud Film Festival Judgement

Thank you to the Film & Media Studies department at UCSB for inviting me to judge at the 26th annual Reel Loud Film Festival. I recall excited evenings at Campbell hall in the late 90s and early 2000s cheering on my fellow Gauchos who both created the short films and performed the live accompaniment music.  Fast forward nearly 15 years since graduating and I'm enjoying the varied avante-garde student films and often exhilarating musical performances as a judge.  With no formal training, I did my best to rank the films and musical performances in various categories, making way for several proud students.

Reel Loud Film Festival 2017 Judges

Reel Loud Film Festival 2017 Judges

NOW in its 26th year, the REEL Loud Film Festival is continuing its tradition of bringing together artists, filmmakers, and musicians from UCSB and surrounding communities to create an evening of expression, emotion, and creation.
The REEL Loud Student Film Festival is not only unique in that it is the longest running film festival at UCSB, but also because it is the only campus event which brings about beautiful collaboration between visual and sonic artists together.
The 26th Annual REEL Loud Festival will include:
  • Screenings of Silent Student films accompanied by live student musicians
  • An outdoor art exhibition space featuring student artwork
  • Live performances by student dancers and musicians
  • Complimentary Food and Beverages

San Marcos Entrepreneurship Academy's Business Showcase

Complete inspiration.  25 high school teams setup booths at a Santa Barbara co-work facility to compete in San Marcos High School Entrepreneurship Academy's first annual Business Showcase event.  The top 5 teams presented their business concepts to a panel of judges in front of a packed room, Shark Tank style.  I am honored that the student's incredible teacher Mr. DeVries invited me to participate as a judge.  

Many of the teams had actually built out their concepts to the point of generating revenues, while others had prototyped or proven a concept with solid demos.  The students were passionate, explained their business models, go to market strategy, marketing plans and actually had good solutions for real world problems!  If this is a sign of America's business future, I am sincerely encouraged. 

Earth Day, Santa Barbara

Since Oniracom's inception in 2001, a major part of our practice as a company is being environmentally friendly. As a result, we are big supporters of Earth Day and several other sustainability projects. This weekend marks our 7th Santa Barbara Earth Day collaboration with the Community Environmental Council (CEC).

Today I had the opportunity to give an interview on our local KTYD radio station to help promote the weekend festival. With little notice, I felt confident representing our amazing team, lead by the CEC, as it is not difficult to speak from the heart about a true passion.