Inspired by the isolation of the COVID era and news about the growing trend in space tourism, New Moon was first written for a weekly zoom session of writers and actors during the pandemic. 

After showing it to my friend Eric Maierson, he said, "You know what you could do?  The two actors could shoot their parts separately in their apartments with a green screen but act live with each other over Zoom, then I could put it together."  

This seemed perfect during the pandemic!  But my friend Brian Faherty (who plays Roger) balked at setting up the screen in his house, so we went to Tom Noonan's Paradise Factory on 4th Street and shot there. 

Angela Muto (who also plays Crystal) and I set it all up and we both pressed record on our iPhones. Brian and I acted over Zoom on opposite sides of the studio, and we captured a ten-minute episode -- what is now the three-minute episode two. 

Eric edited, put in the backgrounds, and composed the music.  Months later, my friend Risa Mickenberg suggested I make it more dramatic and thought I should look at the series Enlightened by the brilliant Mike White–I loved it, of course. 

I wrote shorter episodes and continued to bring them into the writers-actors session, but I was unsure about going ahead until I ran into my friend Tal Shamir at a party and he said, "You've got to do it.  I'll help you."  

So on the day after New Year's 2022, we shot with Angela in our apartment (what became episode 3), and the team was in place. 

Tal was the director of photography. Eric was editor and script consultant. Tal and I were the crew, and I directed. 

We called it ninja filmmaking!