Portfolio

  • September’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “The Last One,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    Hi guys! Today’s short story was inspired by an article I read in the New York Times about a couple of men who, many years after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011, still go diving every day looking for remains of their loved ones. It’s so sad, they understand I think the futility of the search, but something compels them to never give up, and it becomes a ritual to honor the dead, or sorts, or at least that’s what I thought of it. So as I’m reading this article, of course, I say to myself, “What if…?” and this story spilled out of my head, complete. 

  • August’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “Dakō,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    Hi guys! Today’s short story was inspired by an article I read in the New York Times about a couple of men who, many years after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami of 2011, still go diving every day looking for remains of their loved ones. It’s so sad, they understand I think the futility of the search, but something compels them to never give up, and it becomes a ritual to honor the dead, or sorts, or at least that’s what I thought of it. So as I’m reading this article, of course, I say to myself, “What if…?” and this story spilled out of my head, complete. 

  • I Got to Narrate Bob, the New Middle Grade Book by Wendy Mass!

    Wow. So this actually happened: an author tweets that she likes one of my audiobooks, so I tweet back “thanks,” and one thing leads to another and suddenly I’m in New York City at Penguin Random House Audio, recording the narration for her next book!

    That’s Wendy Mass up there in the photo with me, New York Times bestselling author of middle-grade fiction including The Candymakers, A Mango-Shaped Space, and Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life. She’s teamed up with fellow NYT bestselling author Rebecca Stead on their latest creation, Bob. It’s a wonderful story about friendship, memory, and probably my favorite of all themes, coming home. (Btw, I performed “Bob,” and Nora Hunter performed “Livy.”)

  • March’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “Their DNA Was No Longer The Same,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    Hey guys! I just read an article yesterday, about Mark and Scott Kelly, the twin astronauts, and how Scott came back after a record length trip aboard the International Space Station, and they found that his DNA was no longer identical to his twin, Mark. What an intriguing premise for a story, right? And I’m also a twin, so the idea wouldn’t get out of my head. I decided to make this one a little more like a series on conversations I might have with my twin brother if we were astronauts and something like this happened, so it reads more like a radio play, with nothing but dialog. Enjoy! Check out March’s FREE original audio sci-fi short story “Their DNA Was No Longer The Same” here.

  • April’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “Tick Tick Tick,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    So last week I got a tick on me, and of course I freaked out, and did the whole doctor thing, they have to check your blood, check the tick, etc. And I started thinking: here’s this tiny little thing, hardly even there, and it can bring you to your knees. But what if it went even further? Like sci-fi further? Just how bad could it get? This story veers into sci-fi horror, so I apologize in advance if you have any bug nightmares.

  • March’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “Out of the Blue,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    Have you wondered lately why so much weird stuff keeps happening? The wrong movie gets the Best Picture Oscar? The Cubs win the World Series? Trump defies everyone’s expectations to become president? Steve Harvey announces the wrong Miss Universe? Well, wonder no more. March’s FREE original audio sci-fi short story is “Out of the Blue.”

  • February’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “Purgatory,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    The latest episode of the Listen To The Signal podcast is up! February’s FREE original audio sci-fi short story is “Purgatory.” I don’t want to give anything away before you listen to this next story, so I’ll just set it up by saying our protagonist, Tom, is a desperate guy, at the end of his rope, and that the end of that rope might not be as cleanly cut as he expected. Enjoy!

  • January’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “Horatio Breathed His Last,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    The latest episode of the Listen To The Signal podcast is up! January’s FREE original audio sci-fi short story is “Horatio Breathed His Last.” It’s another story where I woke up one morning with it kind of already formed in my head. I think it’s because I’m working on the sequel to Where the Hell is Tesla?, and I’m delving pretty deep into the characters for the second time right now. Anyway, this story is about Horace Cho, the author of the way-too-popular science fiction series The Horatio Chronicles. After over thirty novels in the series, Horatio the Hero begins to take on a life of his own. Harmless, right? Enjoy!

  • December’s FREE audio sci-fi short, “Quick Fix,” posted to Listen To The Signal Podcast

    The latest episode of the Listen To The Signal podcast is up! December’s original audio sci-fi short story is “Quick Fix,” the tale of two routine, simultaneous repairs aboard a starship that go haywire — leading to the question, “what is real?” This story was originally the pilot for a new low-budget sci-fi TV series called Quick Fix – sort of a mashup of Quantum Leap, Star Trek, and little bit of Where the Hell is Tesla? thrown in. But the TV script is in a temporary limbo right now, so I figured I’d turn it into a short story. If you like it, let me know if this is a story you’d like to see with more episodes!

  • Alphabert! An A-B-C Bedtime Adventure – Available Now!

    Me and my brother Dave have teamed up again – this time with our very first children’s book! Alphabert! An A-B-C Bedtime Adventure is the story of Albert, a kid – like all kids – who just doesn’t want to go to bed. Using the alphabet and his vivid imagination, Albert embarks on various adventures, learning that nothing’s […]

  • The Wrong Unit: A Novel – Now Available!

    I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE HUMANS ARE SO CRANKY ABOUT. Their enclosures are large, they ingest over a thousand calories per day, and they’re allowed to mate. Plus, they have me. An Autonomous Servile Unit, housed in a mobile/bipedal chassis. I do my job well: keep the humans healthy and happy. “Hey you.” Heyoo. That’s my name, I suppose. It’s easier for the humans to remember than 413s98-itr8. I guess I’ve gotten used to it. Rob Dircks, bestselling author of Where the Hell is Tesla?, has a “unit” with a problem…

  • Where the Hell is Tesla? A Novel

    “One of the funniest books I’ve ever read! I loved it. Don’t miss this one!”- Patricia Mick, April 2015 “I loved this book! Hysterical, interesting, cool, just awesome. I flew through it in a few days and laughed the whole way through. I love sci-fi, I love humor and this is the perfect mix of […]

  • Animation: Lincoln vs. Washington

    Abe and George try to find something to talk about other than the Gettysburg Address. Their choice? Bacon.

  • The Artist Brief: Andy Mac

    The second in a series of brief discussions with some of today’s working artists, this time featuring NYC singer songwriter Andy Mac.

  • Doritos Commercial – Rock, Paper, Scissors, Jewels

    Every year Doritos runs a promotion for user-submitted commercials to win a million bucks. I didn’t with the million, but I love this commercial.

  • Animation: Bink and Bonk

    Since we do some After Effects animations for clients, I’ve decided to try my own characters, Bink and Bonk. Today’s episode: Bink auditions for a starring role in his own animation series. “Emotions” is the theme.

  • YummyStock – Royalty Free Stock Footage

    Video is a passion of mine – and I love the idea of being able to sell your own stuff on the Internet. So I came up with “YummyStock,” my own royalty-free stock video brand, which I sell on www.istockphoto.com.

  • UCPN Life Options Mini Documentary

    The third in a series of mini-documentaries highlighting the incredible work of United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau. It’s been our honor and pleasure to help them with pro bono marketing, volunteering, and donations. So we know first hand how critical their services are. And these documentaries help people outside see what we’ve seen. Take seven […]

  • Black Swan 2 – A Spoof Movie Trailer

    This one’s actually a class project for my Cinematography class at NYU. Enjoy!

  • UCPN Agency Mini Documentary

    The first in a series of mini-documentaries highlighting the incredible work of United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau. It’s been our honor and pleasure to help them with pro bono marketing, volunteering, and donations. So we know first hand how critical their services are. And these documentaries help people outside see what we’ve seen. Take seven […]

  • Doritos TV Spot – Puppet Punch

    Every year Doritos runs a promotion for user-submitted commercials to win a million bucks. I didn’t with the million, but I love this commercial, too.

  • The Package. A 45-second short.

    This one’s actually a class project for my Cinematography class at NYU. Enjoy!

  • UCPN Ballerinas: A Mini Documentary

    The second in a series of mini-documentaries highlighting the incredible work of United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau. It’s been our honor and pleasure to help them with pro bono marketing, volunteering, and donations. So we know first hand how critical their services are. And these documentaries help people outside see what we’ve seen. Take seven […]

  • Voiceover for Healthy Directions Products

    Though I wouldn’t call myself a professional voiceover talent, its extremely practical to be able to provide this service when deadline grow ever-shorter! Take a listen and let me know if you think I could do movie trailer voiceovers!

  • Travel Set Infomercial

    I love infomercials. They’re absurd, totally funny, and actually sell real products. Here’s my take on a recent premium item we helped a client sell to customers. Enjoy.

  • The Artist Brief: Doug Reina

    The first in a series of mini-documentaries, The Artist Brief is meant to give a glimpse into the life of todays working artists – including painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, and more. Entire production by myself and my brother Dave.

  • 3D Video – Our Holiday Grab Bag

    For our holiday greeting this year, we sent out red/cyan glasses with our card, and created this 3D video using as many cheap 3D gags as we could find.

  • Neustar Web Video

    For the company’s 2013 campaign, we created a series of bold, challenging messages that could be easily be extended for many uses — in this case a series of videos for expanding web banner ads.