connecting brands with people, programs, and pixels
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MY ORIGINS STORY
I've spent my career producing work that captures emotional and impactful stories, but when it comes to telling my own, I’m admittedly terrible at it. I either overshare or cut all the good parts for the sake of brevity. Still, I believe everyone has a story that led them to that one inevitable moment: “So… tell me about yourself.” Here’s my best attempt.
TL;DR…
Former child actor turned radio and television Producer, eventually becoming an Integrated Producer. Along the way, I picked up a few advertising awards for my work and discovered a passion for the space where creativity, analytical thinking, and customer journeys converge, whether in the digital world or the real one. Born and raised in Southern California, but the San Francisco Bay Area is home.
ONCE UPON A TIME...
My professional career started as a child actor with small roles in film, television, commercials, and theater productions. At the age of 15, I accepted a part-time job as a board operator for a radio station in my hometown of Palm Springs, California. I was hired to support advertising production teams and run the audio board for syndicated radio broadcasts of the Los Angeles Dodgers, CBS football, and Casey Kasem's American Top 40 Countdown. I was eventually given an opportunity to host my own on-air shows, all while balancing a demanding high school life. My responsibilities in radio later expanded to include Production Director, Imaging Producer, and Associate Music Director.
My background in radio led me to be hired as an audio mixer in the sound effects department at CBS Television in Los Angeles, where I worked primarily on network promos. Occasionally, I was assigned to the television shows that taped on the lot, which at the time included The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and my ultimate favorite, The Price Is Right. I was lucky enough to work on The Price Is Right, or “Price” as the crew called it, back when Bob Barker was the host and Rod Roddy was the show’s announcer. And yes, the rumors are true: Bob Barker could be mean to people (especially the models). He even yelled at me a few times, though to be fair, I was new and didn’t know what I was doing most of the time. Rod Roddy, on the other hand, was incredibly kind. One day during rehearsals, he even used my name as the placeholder in his famous line: “______ come on down, you’re the next contestant on The Price Is Right!” I can close my eyes and still hear him saying it.
I remember my first day working on the show. The SFX mixer area was awkwardly situated next to the space used by the contestant producers, who had the unholy task of telling winners they now had to pay taxes on all the prizes they had just won. A thin faux-velvet curtain was all that separated my area from the folding table and chairs where elated contestants ran off stage after hugging Bob Barker, only to learn they had now become tax debtors. As a teen growing up before reality television, I was fascinated by it all and completely consumed by the drama. Both areas were stage left, next to the audience and hidden behind those famously cheesy red curtains patterned with the CBS eye in a step-and-repeat. This was the game show I would fake sick to stay home from school and watch, and here I was, in charge of pressing the magical buttons that played the sound effects for the yodeling climber in the Cliff Hangers pricing game and the DING after each bid from a contestant in “contestant row.” At one point, the SFX workstation was repositioned next to the music engineer, who hit the play button on the DigiCart tape that triggered the iconic theme song at the beginning of each show. I stared at her finger hitting that play button with the same intensity that other people have when they watch NASA rocket launches at Cape Canaveral. I’m still fanboying over that entire experience, so I’ll stop before I start humming the theme song.
I continued my career in radio and audio while also taking production management jobs in television. I consciously let the acting opportunities fade into the background while maintaining a steady stream of voiceover work to help pay the bills when freelance production work was slow. I eventually spent more time working behind the camera than in front of it, which was more exciting to me anyway. My list of Producer and Director credits exceeds 130 projects and includes digital content as well as a healthy number of national television commercials and broadcasts plus cable network shows for HGTV, CMT, and MTV. I became known for my work in unscripted content because of my ability to take a holistic, user-experience lens and identify strategic opportunities to create genuine moments with customers that allowed them to share their unique stories while connecting with a brand, product, or experience. My work with customers in testimonials is where I led story development, drove the conversation as the off-camera interviewer, and directed editorial and post-production. Here's where you can also view my journey through the art of storytelling.
My career was forever changed when I met Denise DuBarry, an accomplished TV and film actress and the talented CCO of a global direct response company responsible for launching new consumer brands into retail through DRTV, home shopping television, and emerging digital media channels. One day, Denise heard my voiceover work in a television commercial and asked her producing team to “find that voice.” When they eventually tracked me down through my agent, Denise auditioned me and then cast me as the voiceover artist for two of her national television campaigns (Body Vibes and Resolution Clear Skin System). I later worked as a freelance Production Manager for a few of her film shoots until Denise offered me a full-time role on her creative production team as a Unit Production Manager (UPM) and Associate Producer. This opportunity to lead production teams applied my creative production skills to product and brand programs and allowed me to work alongside or direct legendary talent such as Joan Rivers, Ed McMahon, Mr. T, Suzanne Somers, Nicole Ari Parker, Boris Kodjoe, Tanya Memme, Paul Rodriguez, Monty Hall, George Wallace, William “Bill” Asher (Director, I Love Lucy), Barbara Eden, Quincy Jones, and Carol Channing, to name just a few. Denise was a beautiful human whose energy lit up any room she entered. She was a strong leader, a savvy business mind, and a brilliant mentor who helped shape my career in creative production, operations management, brand building, strategic storytelling, and product marketing. I am grateful she was channel surfing that day when she stumbled upon that random TV commercial with my voice.
I later served as an Executive Producer and Production Operations Lead for the largest direct response creative agency in North America, where I directed a team of producers responsible for multi-million-dollar budgets and driving creative / design strategy and production for consumer brands such as Comcast, Rosetta Stone, ORECK, Hoover, Dirt Devil, and P&G Beauty. Several of my broadcast spots were nominated for awards through the Electronic Retailing Association. I was awarded four awards for my brand work and received special recognition from my peers and leaders within the direct response industry.
Behind the Scenes Production Shot: Flavorwave
Dylan (Supervising Producer) with Mr. T (Host) and Darla Haun (Co-Host)
Dylan (Producer/Director) for broadcast spots w/Nicole Ari Parker and Boris Kodjo
Behind the Scenes Production: RosettStone
Dylan (Producer) with Tracy Gallagher (Host) and Duane Sider (Director of Learning for RosettaStone)
Behind the scenes shot of Dylan directing a broadcast commercial shoot w/ David Oreck, founder of ORECK vacuums (on location, Oreck HQ in Cookeville, TN
My uniquely diverse background as a creative, collaborator, and team leader in studio, agency, and in-house environments gives me the perspective to champion systems that serve the work rather than stifle it. I partner closely with creative talent and leadership to align around a shared vision and shape programs, projects, and cultures that protect the space creatives need to think freely, build boldly, and deliver their best work.
Creative & Design
Walmart, Inc.
Creative Services
WB Interactive / Games