About Me
I’m a twenty-year pro in film and television production, counting my passionate academic years. My expertise with equipment, working crew, and production management extends both in-studio and on-site. I produce and write for work and for fun, and I’m lucky the two are one and the same.
Call me Mike.
I hail from the chimney stack of the Keystone State - Erie, Pennsylvania. I grew up watching movies of the 20th century and taking copious mental notes, fascinated by what happened in front and wondering what went on behind the camera.
My parents did their due diligence of introducing me to the fine arts. My mother was a classical music aficionado and made sure I could play a musical instrument - the cello - and my dad overruled trips to Disney World in favor of exposing me and my siblings to every and any art museum he could.
I believe this edification was not just for our benefit, but also because when you are a Cleveland sports fan you have to find joy somewhere. This background instilled me with both pop culture and high art knowledge, and makes me a fearsome competitor on trivia night.
I studied cinema at Denison University and from there I put in a short stint in Los Angeles where my car was stolen from a legal parking spot within an hour of my arrival.
Eventually wanting to be closer to home, I made my way to NYC. For fifteen years I worked a myriad of production jobs in the city. From location scout to producer, best boy to gaffer, PA to DP; there are not many departments of a film/tv set I haven’t worked. It’s how I earned the nickname “Merlin” on set: take the “M” in my first name and the “erlin” in my last - kudos to the team at HSC for coming up with that one.
Mixed in with that are personal and professional touchstones. There was a waterlogged shoot during the Super Bowl where Prince performed at halftime. I took time off to backpack the southern tip of South Africa. For a few years I enjoyed breakfast burritos with Ice-T while working his reality show. After SuperStorm Sandy I saw the value in knowing how to power things and decided to get my electrician’s degree.
However...
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the pinnacle of these adulting years was meeting my wife, Erika. Even when the shoot days don’t go as planned, the day is never a complete loss when I get to come home to her and our cats, Evie and Jonzie.
