Hollywood starlet Jeremy Haccoun joins our roster of talent!

Jeremy Haccoun is signed to CAA in L.A for feature films, he is now back to share his incredible artistry with us here in adland.

Jeremy’s recent work includes his cinematic commercial campaign for chinese phone company OPPO, which stars one of Hollywood’s A-list actors, Leonardo DiCaprio. As well as “the world’s most interactive film” he made for Subaru, which won a Spike Award.

Jeremy is truly one of a kind and has been devoted to developing his craft from a young age. He began at the age of 11 making short films from a VHS camcorder he borrowed from his father’s shop. So there no surprise that he directed his first TV spot at 21 years old and earned himself his first million-dollar budget at the age of 24.

His two short films Alchemy, an adventure epic and The Battery won numerous awards in his native France, before getting a national release in french theatres during his youth.

“Honors the very best of Steven Spielberg” - Indiewire

Jeremy’s recent short film Beyond is inspired by the early Spielberg films. It’s an epic adventure short about a boy turning into a hero to rescue his parents from a burning wreck. The short was screened at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and received praise from industry press.

Jeremy has attained a lot of experience over the years in large-scale shoots which include A-list talent, incredible performances and FX heavy post-productions which is apparent in his work.

A director like Jeremy brings exciting opportunities to The Visionaries clients in both commercials and longer form branded content.

If you want to work with Jeremy or any one of our amazing directors get in touch.

BAFTA AWARD-WINNING CLAIRE NOROWZIAN JOINS THE VISIONARIES

Multi-talented BAFTA award-winning director Claire Norowzian joins our roster of incredible talent at The Visionaries! She is known for often incorporating quirky imagery, exuberant characters and captivating narratives in her work.

She started her career in broadcasting at MTV, before moving onto Nickelodeon where she won two BAFTA awards for Best Short Form. She won in 2007 for ‘Nickelodeon’s Big Green Thing’ and in 2010 for her TV series, ‘Nick Jr’s Bedtime Stories,’ 

Claire’s work goes beyond narratives for children. She has worked at Red Bee, BBC Creative and picked up 16 Promax’s and a Gold Kinsale Shark along the way.

Claire has a very stylistic and experimental sense of directing, which progressively changes through her films. Her innovative approach consists of a visual style that is undoubtedly creative and captivating,  which has proven to work well with children, octogenarian’s and everyone in between.

Claire is from a family of film directors, so it was almost inevitable she would acquire her list of talents. Even though she has proven her ability to do almost everything, we are still very intrigued to see what she can surprise us with next!

FEMI LADI RETURNS TO THE VISIONARIES

We welcome back dynamic director Femi Ladi to our remarkable roster of progressive talent! Femi is known for pushing the envelope and enticing his audience, by exhibiting day-to-day life experiences in an abstract manner within his work.

The thought provoking director is one to keep your eye on, with his passion for creating compelling content through film and his unblemished style.

Femi started as a runner for production company Th1ng, where he met Corin West, the Directors’ Rep of Th1ng who is now the MD of The Visionaries. Corin began to represent Femi in the early days of The Visionaries and the early stages of Femi’s directing career. Fast forward 2 year later and Femi has become more established in adland after working for Havas, Saatchi & Saatchi and Stink Studios.

Femi’s work is inspired by the intersection of his community, the stories that emerge within the multicultural happenings around him and experiences within the mysticism of London, and its multidimensional offerings.

Watching his films, it’s clear he intends creating a warmth and affinity for his subjects, with hidden meanings and light humour.

Femi continuously challenges archetypes, letting characters evolve naturally before an audience, with enduring impact.

We are ecstatic to have him on board with us at The Visionaries and are eagerly waiting to see what he pulls out the bag next!

JON YEO JOINS THE VISIONARIES FOR REPRESENTATION

The Visionaries has brought on board innovative and masterful director Jon Yeo, he is known for incorporating a combination of VFX, animation and thrilling live action in his work.

With a background in graphic design, he distinguished his own visual style of filmmaking as he seamlessly transitions actors from CGI characters. He leaves no stone unturned as he has dabbled in just about everything! Such as, commercials, video game cinematics, idents, promos, experiential films and just about any other type of creative filmmaking that needs making.

He has collaborated with some of the best creative and VFX teams across the globe. Some of which include; Axis Animation, Man vs Machine, The Mill, Mainframe, MPC Creative, Analog, Post Panic and Parasol Island. 

Continuously breaking barriers, Jon strives to explore innovative ways to create moving images, this experiential film for Universal Studios involves Jon using motion capture technology to obtain realistic character performances.

He has made films for: ITV, Sky, Netflix, Marvel, Universal, BBC, Microsoft, Harrods, Dyson, Bungie and Disney to name a few.

In addition to commercial work, Jon designed, shot, cut, wrote and directed a short film called Leviathan Ages. The film toured internationally in festivals including; The British Animation Awards, Kortfilmfestival, Raindance,  LIAF and OneDotZero. 

The Making of Leviathan Ages

Jon isn’t your normal director. He pushes the boundaries of what can be done through commercials and is constantly surprising us with his skills.

We are delighted to have him on board here at The Visionaries and can’t wait to see what he can do next!

Nicholas Reynolds directs two new spots for KFC

What does your Grandma’s sweater, a magician and KFC have in common? The answer is Nicholas Reynolds. 

He is back directing two new quirky and vibrant spots for the Australian KFC market.

In the commercial, you see the protagonist in different scenarios comparing the KFC chicken to Grandmas TLC and a magician’s secret. 

Fun, tasty and a little bit weird, Nicholas Reynolds continues to show us more depth to his comedic filmmaking.

Take a look at more of his work by clicking here.

Toby Meakins joins The Visionaries

The Master of Suspense, 2018 Cannes Lion Winner Toby Meakins has joined our evergrowing roster of unique directors.

With his unique flair, Toby merges together the world of commercials and horror which keeps us on the edge of our seats everytime we watch his work.  

His latest short ‘Floor 9.5’ starring Georgina Campbell was produced by Fox Studios for BBDO/MARS and brings to life his insane talent as a horror director. It was subsequently awarded a 2018 Cannes Lion and a Best of the Best at the Brand Film Festival, as well as being cited as the most innovative and effective campaign of recent years by AdWeek

Meakin’s distinctive style has landed him jobs with brands such as British Airways, Rolls Royce, HSBC and Mars, where he has worked with a number of talented celebrities including Derren Brown, Rachel Riley, and of course, BAFTA award-winning Georgina Campbell.

Outside of his commercial work, Toby is currently writing a feature, ‘Breathe’, which is in development with John Schoenfelder at Addictive Pictures and is attached to the feature ‘7 Keys’ by Addictive/Stigma films. Alongside this, he is in the process of developing ‘Ghoster’ a fantasy/Horror 360 universe based on the Graphic Novel and CURS>R a high concept horror franchise with Anton Corp.

With his unique vision and growing popularity, we could not be more thrilled for him to join us at The Visionaries.

Tim James Brown directs spots for The Range and Bazuka

One of our freelance directors, Tim James Brown has kept busy during this festive season coming off back to back shoots for The Range and Bazuka.

Tim’s comedic flare shines through in The Range’s Christmas ad and his 30 second Bigfoot spot for Bazuka, both highlighting his light-hearted and witty style.

Brown has also worked on a variety of other commercials around the world for brands such as HP, Kellogs and Samsung.

We look forward to seeing what is in store for Browns in the near future.

Gundeep directs the Wembley Cup fof EE

Fresh off of his hugely successful street football competition ‘The Last Stand’ Gundeep Anand is back directing another Football related series, The Wembley Cup.

The EE Wembley Cup 2018 is a seven-part football series building up to one massive live final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday 25th November. EE has teamed up with Next Level to rip up the football rulebook. They’re hosting a tournament with four of YouTube’s most talked about teams going head-to-head for the coveted title.

This new YouTube series for EE further cements Gundeep’s immense passion for football and British culture. However, this isn't your average tournament. EE have flipped the rules, having only 30-minute matches and a ejection rule, meaning a player is removed at random every minute of extra time.

The teams that are competing are F2 FC, Rebel FC, XO FC and Hashtag Utd

Gundeep never fails to produce raw and realistic content that everyone can identify with. Always making his work one of a kind, he has wowed us once again with the Wembley Cup. and we can’t wait for the episodes to follow!

Make sure to take a look at the trailer and first few episodes on their channel by clicking here.

ANDY PEARSON JOINS THE VISIONARIES

A visionary pioneer in his domain, Andy Pearson's ability to entice viewer sensibilities by capturing the delicate and natural performances of babies and children is applauded by viewers and critics alike. Having collaborated with clients such as  Dove, Huggies, Pampers and Danone, both in London and internationally, Andy's work and skills have established him as a leading director in this genre.

A father of two children, Andy's love of capturing joyful childhood moments has catapulted his success in directing babies and children of all ages. Andy's ability to weave and capture magic moments on film that showcase a raw, delicate, observational quality to human nature has lead to him winning two EFFIE awards and five Promax BDA awards. 

In addition to his contributions in commercial work, Andy's short film "Souvenirs" recently won him Best Film at the London Independent film festival, a Silver Rabbit at Sao Paulo and was officially selected for many prestigious festivals worldwide.

Phil Sansom joins the The Visionaries roster

Philip Sansom is an award winning film Director, Producer, Managing Director & Photographer based in London. 

His beautifully crafted storytelling and keen editorial eye from his photography background is emitted in his work for commercials. Creative agencies and brands around the world have taken notice of Phil’s skills, which has seen him work for brands such as Mini Cooper, Honda, 02 and agencies such as Dazed, Adam & Eve DDB & FCB Inferno. He has a background as an art director, editor and photographer which brings a wealth of expertise to his cinematic innovative work.

in 2012, Phil established his own content production company PHIX. It quickly built up an impressive client list of brands and agencies within the advertising and luxury markets, winning commercial & TV commissions from agencies across London. 

Phil is also a photographer. Click here to view his work

Phil has recently finished a documentary for SKY Arts with Blondie drummer Clem Burke screening in Sept 2018 and is currently finishing a 3 year film project for The Macallan. His first feature film UNARMED is in development with Northern Ireland Screen, and he is developing a slate of film & TV projects whilst continuing to shoot high-end content & commercial work in both film and photography.

Borderland team up with Droga5 to back the Flip Flopi expedition in Kenya

Just over a year after Kenya launched the world’s most drastic plastic bags ban, Droga5 and Borderland are supporting a Kenyan environmental charity’s ground-breaking attempt to build and sail a boat made from re-used plastic along the south-east coast of Africa. 

The Flip Flopi expedition is a Kenyan environmental charity project whose aim is to build and sail a boat made from re-used plastic waste.

To highlight the benefits and potential of re-using plastic, the charity is turning 60 tonnes of plastic waste into a 20-metre dhow that will be able to sail 5,000 km from Lamu in Kenya to Cape Town in South Africa to highlight marine plastic pollution. 

Borderland went out to Kenya to capture the amazing and unexpected reaction from innovators all over Kenya. One group of local fisherman in Lamu are building a giant sailing ship entirely from plastic waste. They embody the spirit of how Kenya is leading the way in the area of plastic waste.

 Simon + Ben, Directors of the film commented:

 “When we arrived in Kenya it was hard to ignore the scale of the issue blighting their rivers, towns and beaches. It was disturbingly familiar, these scenes have been all over the news this year and images of vast islands of plastic in the Atlantic have left everyone feeling powerless.

For this project we wanted to find people who were doing something positive and creative with plastic waste, unique stories which could show us that there is another way of looking at this.”

 Ben Morison, Founder of the Flipflopi Project, commented:

 “The Flipflopi Project has always been about encouraging change in a positive way, making people smile first and then sharing the very simple message that single-use plastics really don’t make sense.  To create the Flipflopi boat we used only local available resources and low-tech solutions, enabling our techniques and ideas to be copied without any barriers.  So we hope people around the globe are inspired by our beautiful multicoloured boat and find their own ways to repurpose ‘already-used’ plastics.”

One year on, the authorities are claiming victory and other East African nations including Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and South Sudan, are considering following suit. You can watch the documentary on their channel below.

Tom Brown joins The Visionaries

The Visionaries have just expanded their extraordinary roster - please welcome, the imaginative and multi-talented, Tom Brown!

With a wealth of experience in post-production and live action, Brown’s skill set spans a diverse and wide range.

Brown has done everything from technical composition to motion graphics, to designing and illustrating for campaigns. He’s done spots for Channel 4 and 5, as well as BBC.

In the last few years, Brown has dived into the realm of writing and directing, working with brands such as Curry’s, Gumtree, and Captain Morgan.

Regardless of what role he plays, Brown always brings his off-kilter humour, bright and bold visual style, and playful animations to his work, creating an almost Edgar-Wright-like vibe to a lot of his work.  

Recently, Brown has just created 4 new spots for NatWest. The hilarious, bold, and quirky ads star an Anchorman-esque mascot titled The Dean of Downtime, who aims to give students more fulfilling experiences. Brown has added his own personal goofy and colourful charm onto these ads, making them all the more memorable and spectacular.

We can’t wait to see what other one-of-a-kind innovative work Brown will create in the future.

Paul Casey joins The Visionaries

It’s been a busy and exciting time at the Visionaries, as we have expanded our roster with our third newest director: the bright, bold, and energetic Paul Casey!

Casey, an experienced director who specialises in food & drink and comedy commercials, began his career in the television industry, directing for major broadcasters and for Jamie Oliver for 5 years. He’s since moved on into the realm of TVC’s and branded content, working with brands such as McDonald’s, Ribena, Orangina, and many more.

Regardless of the brand, Casey always injects humour, unique camera moves, and carefully considered composition to create works that are distinctive, engaging, and entertaining.

We’re so excited to have Casey join the team, and cannot wait to see what other one-of-a-kind work he’ll make in the future!

The Visionaries Welcome Kuro!

The Visionaries continue to expand their impressive roster with the addition of the enigmatic and innovative director, Kuro!

Kuro, an award-winning filmmaker whose work always intrigues and inspires, had his humble beginnings in Tokyo, exploring “the darkest corners of the world,” and has since spread his wings worldwide.

A self-proclaimed director by day, screenwriter by night, Kuro has worked on everything from commercials to music videos to his own short films; he’s even developed a specialty in car spots. He’s worked with brands such as Fiat 500, Ford Kuga, and BMW, as well as creating a number of short films. His most recent film, Fallen, Upon release, it received critical acclaim, and was awarded at numerous film festivals. Always innovating and creating, Kuro continues to grow as a filmmaker and create enchanting works.

We are so excited to have Kuro join us, and cannot wait to see what kind of incredible, mesmerizing, and thought-provoking work he’ll make in the future

It's raining cats and dogs (and kids) in Philip Clyde-Smith's latest spot

Philip Clyde-Smith’s short and sweet new ad reminds us all why pets truly make the bestest of friends.

Clyde-Smith, shot the spot for John Lewis’ Pet Insurance. The ad centres on all the little things our pets do that, while being a brief disturbance, are what make them oh-so lovable.

The spot proves Clyde-Smith’s knack for getting convincing and natural performances with both kids and animals. Using real animals for the ad, Clyde-Smith captures a poised yet playful performance out of the pets, adding a sense of relatability and emotional connection.

Through a series of stunning close-ups and quiet moments shared between the animals and actors, Clyde-Smith’s spot captures and embodies the brand’s slogan that they are “there for your pets, like your pets are there for you.”

Concise and charming, the new spot showcases Clyde-Smith’s skills, and we are looking forward to his future work.