Though born in Southern California, he grew up in Japan, where his father was a missionary, and where the “national pastime” was photography. Since the age of 10 years old, he had his own darkroom, and was taking pictures of everything, all the time. Perhaps even more defining for him as a filmmaker, however, was his learning to observe, synthesize, and function within multiple cultures. Rick received a Bachelor of Arts in 1989, as well as a Masters Degree in 1991; both from Brigham Young University. His diverse body of studies included cultural anthropology, and using “participant observation” methods to conduct original research, and to synthesize meaning from very diverse, and complex social situations. For Rick, photography and cultural analyses became the basis for an acute style of script writing, shooting, directing, and editing of films.