Below is a selection of projects that I've written and/or directed.
(many of these I also played the role of cinematographer - one of the many hats you wear on indie/low-budget projects)
(many of these I also played the role of cinematographer - one of the many hats you wear on indie/low-budget projects)
Behind The Door - 2017
Written by Alexandra Sharp & Thomas Meek
Directed by Thomas Meek Story by "Once More For Safety" team: 48 Hour Film Project Houston - 2017 In summer 2017 I put together a team to compete in Houston's 48 Hour Film Project, this was our entry. For a project we turned around from conception to completion in less than 48 hours, I'm very happy with how this turned out. The cast was wonderful to work with and everything just fell into place. One of the big challenges with this one was the location - we filmed the entire short on an actual boat, and at times it was very cramped. However, shooting with the Ronin stabilizer helped take a lot of the curse off of that, we didn't have to worry about being level or the background shifting up and down as much while we shot. |
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"Forced Flat" - 2016
From Stop The Threat - Season 8 - Episode 13
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek Adapting this story to screen was more of a challenge than usual. The story called for a gunman to lean out of a moving vehicle and fire at another person's car. So that's what we did. We secured an area of road (with local police assistance of course), and drove up and down that road with three vehicles - 2 pictures cars and a chase vehicle. One of the big secrets of this is that cars always look like they're moving faster on camera. I don't think we exceeded 25 or 30 miles per hour during the filming of those shots. The other element that was a great experience to work with was the Ronin-M Stabilizer, this was one of the first projects I worked with it on and it really sold me on the stabilizer as a tool on set. It allowed us to be more flexible in our setups, move faster through the shots, and of course kept the camera stable while it was hanging out of a car. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Foiled Robbery" - 2016
From Stop The Threat - Season 8 - Episode 5
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek This episode resonated well with audiences, it tells the story of a store owner who discovers two armed men behind her building while locking up for the night. This episode was awarded a People's Telly Silver Award in 2017. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Party Crashers" - 2016
From Stop The Threat - Season 8 - Episode 11
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek One of the aspects I really enjoyed about working on Stop The Threat was taking an event that had very little detail, and expanding it into a complete story. This one had one of the largest casts I worked with on the show and it had a lot of moving parts. I wish I'd had the Ronin stabilizer as an option on that shoot. This cast was great to work with and I'm very happy with how this piece turned out. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Hotel Robbery" - 2015
From Stop The Threat - Season 6 - Episode 3
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek Filming this piece was a great experience, we got to shoot in a different type of location (the hotel), and the cast was awesome. The action was simple and contained enough that I could focus primarily on directing, rather than one of the many other hats I wore during production on that show. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Defense Handicap" - 2015
From Stop The Threat - Season 6 - Episode 1
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek I was really glad to get to produce this story, as it showed a very different kind of situation to depict on the show. The story was about a wheelchair bound individual who found himself confronted by an armed home invader. The other thing I loved about this episode was the scene with the "bad guy" in the living room - it was lit solely with the flashlight in his hand, and the A7s recorded it beautifully. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Midnight Mugging" - 2015
From Stop The Threat - Season 5 - Episode 6
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek There are a lot of things I really like about this episode. First of all, was that because the story was so "simple" I was able to really work with the actors to make the scene feel real. (Also, having my brother in the cast was great experience). his was actually one of the first pieces I shot with an A7s, and what it allowed me to do with lighting this scene was amazing, and finally the music I was able to find on Killer Tracks just worked perfectly to build the tension. Overall everything came together just right. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Shoplifting Complex" - 2015
From Stop The Threat - Season 5 - Episode 5
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek This one was a challenge to film as we didn't have access to an actual department store to film the interiors, we ended up dressing the lobby of Clear Creek Community Theatre with clothing racks and shooting with a really shallow depth of field. The other challenge to overcome was that during the fight scene, people kept stopping at the side of the road to watch us work. The police officer we hired to have on set ended up having to direct traffic away from us. This episode was awarded a People's Telly Silver Award in 2015. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Kidnappers" (Part 1 & 2) - 2014
From Stop The Threat - Season 4 - Episode 4 & 5
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek Of the reenactments I produced for Stop The Threat, this is one of my favorites. Mostly because we had a story that spanned multiple episodes, allowing for more in-depth characters. It also meant the story itself had to be broken into four parts instead of two. The first two aired as part of "part 1" and the second two aired as part of "part 2". There were a lot of moving pieces to this one as well, with multiple locations in just a single shooting day (with a pickup shoot at yet another location) and a larger main cast than I'd had in most of the episodes prior to this one. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Fighting Back" - 2013
From Stop The Threat - Season 3 - Episode 6
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek While not one of my personal favorites, this story resonated well with the audience - it depicts a family enjoying some time together when suddenly they are set upon by a group of home invaders. The family works together to overcome them and comes away unscathed. This episode was awarded a People's Telly Silver Award in 2014. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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"Home Alone" - 2013
From Stop The Threat - Season 2 - Episode 8
Script adapted from actual events by Thomas Meek Directed by Thomas Meek This story was really interesting to film as it involved a child who shot someone in self defense, which was a lot of weight to put on the child actress. Looking back several years later there are some things I would have done differently as a director, both visually and in how the actress and I tackled the scenario, but at the end of the day I'm very happy with how this one turned out. This episode was awarded a People's Telly Bronze Award in 2013. From 2013 - 2016 I wrote and directed reenactments for 86 episodes of Stop The Threat. Watch more episodes here. |
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