Portfolio
Hearing the Song
Hearing the Song is a documentary short describing the journey that gave birth to Hallsong - a journey from bewilderment to purpose. It evokes the faith that by returning to our shared inheritance of history, myth, and the great works, we can withstand and turn back the disorientation of the modern world.
The Redemption of the NEET
The Redemption of the NEET is the second in a series of video essays, subtitled: a sign-carving discourse for the one who would be free.
It adapts a genre exemplified by historical essayists like Petrarch, Emerson, and Eliot, in which a topic of contemporary relevance (NEETdom) is explored through the lenses of thinkers who have opined on relevant themes (Aristotle, Nietzsche, Pieper, and others).
The woodworking discourses are an experiment in delivering philosophical essays in a format with visual appeal, using woodworking as a metaphor for the themes under discussion.
HABITS (2022)
HABITS (2022) is a meditation on exactly that—the tension between our daily behaviors and our broader, more elevated intentions.
Prior experiments used stock footage, but this was the first to mainly depend on new video recordings, while preserving a focus on tight, energetic editing.
“COURTESY”
“COURTESY” is an homage to the work of art historian Kenneth Clark, known for his 1960s art history TV show Civilisation. It interprets Clark’s lens on civilization, centering (in the words of Talleyrand) “how sweet and gentle life can be.”
As a ‘vibe reel’, “COURTESY” was an experiment in constraining creativity. Limited to a 30-120 second runtime, vibe reels are ‘sensory articulations of spiritual concepts’, or visual poetry.
You can watch more vibe reels here.
“REJOICE”
“REJOICE” is a vibe reel with a more distinctly spiritual orientation. It grapples with polarities—the familiar and the unknown, love and distance, the coziness of Christmas with the emptiness of outer space.
COME ON LET’S GO
COME ON LET’S GO dives deep into archival footage. It leans into the editing-driven musicality of a HABITS (2022) while removing the constraint to a conscious spiritual theme. This was a divergence from the course taken in vibe reels like “COURTESY” or “MAMMON”, and thus an experiment in creative methodology.
PoTpFS
The informatively titled Philosophers on Twitch Playing Flight Simulator was a riff on Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.
Streaming on Twitch, this live interview show hosted influencers and intellectuals from the Twitter scene now known as TPOT. It was an experiment in intellectually oriented content creation, co-created with a living community.
All 30 episodes of PoTpFS can be seen here.
The Archives
Expression is craft plus inspiration—and while inspiration demands aliveness, craft needs time.
Feel free to browse the content that came before Hallsong: philosophy videos, vibey video experiments, community content, and over 35 essays on philosophy, spirituality and media.
