A family man,
Living with a passion for the fine arts,
Breaking the stereotypical lifestyle,
As a rare Asian American in the film industry
"Coming from a traditional chinese family and being raised as an American was quite an interesting one. I always had a thing for the arts.
Born and raised in New York City, when I was 3 years old, I already had a love for drawing and the arts. This helped me find ways to tell my stories whether it was drawing on paper or on the walls on my house.
In my early teens, I got into creating comic books and started a whole series of it which made me a popular student in school with the artist talent and even won a few award achievements.
During high school, my brother's friends were filming a homemade movie in my backyard. They asked me to help film their movie that day and that is when I discovered the film making world and fell in love with it.
I moved to Long Island during my senior year of high school and the new school I attended has a TV studio with linear editing systems. I decided to take my friend's film and edit it there. It took me 4-6 months before finally completing the 8 minute short film which the teachers noticed my dedication to this and enrolled me to a film festival which I received my first award as a film maker. This is when I decided to major in film for college.
The first few years was a struggle. Coming from the Chinese background, this is not something my parents would have wanted me to make a career out of. I went through many struggles and hardships during college and at one moment I almost gave up. However my drive and love for the field kept me moving forward and help me start my journey as a Director of Photography.
Throughout college I was known to be the “go to” person for any projects that is in need of help with a creative eye and proper execution. I even had my first paid job as a Director of Photography and created his first music video to be broadcast at BET music channel during my 2nd year at college. By 2006 I shot and edited over 10 narrative films, 15 Music Videos and over 50 cooking television shows.
Today I am currently working on numerous productions, produce and direct a food/travel show going into a third season, have a loving wife, a family of 2 children, a home, and living the dream most Asian Americans struggle. If you put your heart and love to what you want, you can achieve anything."
- JT
Demo Reel
