at the point where i met vinay, method was a dormant concept. 

i had tried to relaunch the studio after we finished natasha’s mini-doc, only to be told i was crazy by some collaborators we had at the time. it led me into a tailspin where i kept my stories hidden and rarely talked about a camera. everything i did was in secret, as if awaiting a discovery rather than forcing people to take notice.

vinay and i met through a barter. i wanted to know if there were topical medications that could reverse my bad decisions in my twenties to just let my hair thin. and he somehow discovered some of my work online. i still don’t know what he saw or where he found it. but he did. and that’s a testament to his detective skills.

so we worked out a scenario where i would help him with his immediate story needs and he would help me with my follicular challenge.

this reveal was where vinay saw the first bit of work that came from that initial barter. i did no formal reveal, leaving that part to natasha who had overseen a comprehensive rebrand and web development. i sat at home, terrified, just in case he hated the work i did.

and it couldn’t have been any further from the truth. vinay’s reaction, captured here by natasha on her iPhone is raw. the excitement was palpable. his praise boundless. and most importantly, it was validation.

that initial modest barter turned into a multi-year relationship that saw us explore many different ways of expressing story. a proof of concept that just turned into paid proof.

looking back on it now, i wish i graded a lot of these videos differently. i would have selected different lenses and hidden the mics. 

but the best thing about this portfolio isn’t that it’s about showcasing perfection. it’s about showcasing great stories captured, sometimes crudely, sometimes full of peccadillos that drive someone like me crazy. but it’s in that constant pursuit of better that i hope you see the work steadily improves over time.

and vinay was one of the first people to see that and encourage it.