I was raised on a diet of Monty Python, Dr Seuss, Quentin Blake, Monster Munch and CHiPs (the ‘Californian Highway Patrol’ kind).
As a child I used to ask ‘why’ which became ‘why not’ and more recently ‘what if’.
I discovered writing and directing whilst working for Virgin Media. It was there I discovered how to use film, composition and narrative to turn the ‘everyday’ into something ‘breath-taking’.
I also discovered “negative white space”. Whether in photography, spray can art, writing, or filmmaking, I describe it as the gap left for the audience to fill — the pause in dialogue, the moment before the cellar door creaks open, the glance off-camera. Instead of giving the audience 4, I give them 2 + 2, making them active participants, not just observers. Because when we make unexpected connections, we realize: anything is possible.
Whether I’m writing, directing, editing, or behind the camera, my approach is always the same: First, ask—who am I talking to, and what am I telling them? Then, I craft the how—finding the most compelling way to bring the story to life.
I’ll tell you to love what you do because people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
I’ll tell you that life begins outside of your comfort zone, that less is more, to keep it simple, kill your darlings and trust your gut.
I won’t tell you to “say what you see”. Instead, I offset sound, picture, and meaning, creating layers for the audience to fill with their imagination.
I would love to be better at Frisbee and Table football. I wish I had shot City of God.
Do say ‘please teach me how to levitate’.
Don’t say ‘here’s a party balloon for you’. I hate them (they only get worse).
studio@davewaldmancreative.com
+44 797 114 4637
(+31) 61 0491591