Will Innes Smith Joins The Visionaries!

The fresh prince of filmmaking has joined our talented roster — please welcome Will Innes Smith to The Visionaries!

From photography to live-action, CGI to animation, Smith has created works in a range of creative mediums. Across a series of different subjects, such as youth culture, sports, food, and fashion, Smith lends his eye for detail and stylish visual approach to all that he does, creating a unique style to all his work that is undeniably his own.

A passionate multifaceted lifestyle filmmaker, Smith describes his style as focusing on the aesthetic and emotive. Smith straddles the line well, producing works that are bold yet poised; there’s a certain rawness to his work, preventing it from becoming too controlled but rather real and unique. Through experimental camera angles and compositions, Smith creates works that are bold and bright yet still capture a certain sense of emotion, character, and story that adds a feeling of sentimentality and connection to it. It is personable, innovative, and original — it is Will Innes Smith.

As a creative, Smith combines captivating images with exciting ideas, resulting in films that resonate with a modern audience. He’s written and conceived a number of viral successes, including the well renowned launch film for Sony Playstation, “4 the Players since 1995.” Furthermore, his work has been recognized by the Royal Television Society and he’s made spots for Celebrity Big Brother and Delta Airlines.

On top of directing, Smith is also a partner in the London-based creative production company, gotgotneed, leading and representing a whole new generation of talented and award-winning directors.

Will Innes Smith is a force to be reckoned with, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for him.

Check out his reel here:

Borderland join The Visionaries

Borderland have joined The Visionaries for representation. The outfit, residing on Shacklewell lane, join the roster after paving an impressive launch in 2017. A versatile collective, their work is rich and varied, yet everything they shoot has an edgy feel with a highly crafted aesthetic. 

Hard to define but easy to work with, Borderland is a modern, independent creative collective. Formed by award-winning directors, Borderland draws on over 20 years’ experience at top UK agencies, working with some of the world’s biggest brands. They specialise in a creative and flexible approach to cross platform content, from story development to distribution. Their network of creative talent reaches beyond the traditional advertising arena. They are filmmakers, editors, writers, journalists, and musicians. They are unique in their blended backgrounds, from advertising to story research and development, they are creatives who make each story richer with their individual talents and life experience.

Perhaps they are best defined in their own words... 'We believe our modern approach to filmmaking is not only critical for the current market but also effective in creative integrity and craft. We are confident our unique marriage of nimble and agile teams, along with rigorous craft and attention to detail, is a winning solution for all channels, from high profile TV commercials, to longer form online campaigns, to feature length documentaries.'

You can view more of Borderland's work here.

Sye Allen Directs New Very Spot 'Shake Up'

Visionaries director Sye Allen has directed the latest TVC for Very. The new spot celebrates the spring range in vibrant fashion.

The spot earned four stars from David Reviews, you can read the full review here.

Creative Agency: St Luke's
Creative: Claire Wombell/Laura Stephens
Account Director: Sophia Lane
Account Manager: Emily Gill-Heginbotham
TV Producer: Chloe London
Film Production: Apostle
Director: Sye Allen
Director's Agent: The Visionaries
Producer: Rachel Rumbold
Editor: Sye Allen/Josh Gemmell
Post Production: Electric Theatre Collective
Sound Designer: Ben Leeves @ Jungle

James Morgan Joins The Visionaries

Esteemed documentary director James Morgan has joined The Visionaries for representation. As well as having shot pieces for Vaseline, Grant's Whiskey, Facebook and more, James has made a plethora of short and feature films, including the feature documentary film 'Jago' featured on the BBC and now on Netflix. 'Jago: A Life Underwater' tells the story of Rohani, an eighty year old Indonesian deep sea hunter who descends deep underwater for several minutes on end. James' latest film Seven, a BFI-backed drama shot up in the high Arctic, is due for release this year. 

Known for his breathtaking visuals, James is partnering with The Visionaries to produce groundbreaking cinematic work for the documentary advertising market.

You can view all of James' work here.

Sye Allen Directs Dreamy New Spot For Pol Roger

Director Sye Allen's new spot 'A Duty To Delight' is all about capturing the nostalgia of endless summers days. Shooting for Pol Roger, Sye highlights the effervescent quality of those long summers, whilst of course drinking champagne.

Speaking on the shoot, Sye had the following to say. 'We shot it in September in the UK which is always a risk, especially on this occasion given the content of the film… But it paid off. I wanted to create a mystical atmosphere where all the elements of a perfect celebration come together, and it’s the effort we see going into this moment that really ties in with Pol Roger’s brand identity.'

Speaking on the creative process: 'It wasn’t about individual characters, it was about creating a clear character for the piece as a whole. Working closely with my cinematographer Sam Care we developed a visual language for the film, deciding to use uncoated master primes and a series of crystal diopters, which gave us loads of characterful internal reflections and allowed us to hide information when we wanted to, in a stylish & ethereal way.'

On working with the brand: 'Working with Pol Roger was a great experience, once the monitors were up each image sold itself, which was a reflection of the amount of homework we’d done prior to shoot day. We managed to achieve a great deal in a very short amount of time and even afforded ourselves a little wrap party as the sun was finally disappearing, drinking Pol Roger obviously. Mr Churchill would have been proud.'

Credits:

Producer - Elliot Tagg
Director of Photography - Sam Care
Creative - Mick Brigdale
Grade - Toby Tomkins, Online/VFX - 1920
Director and Editor - Sye Allen

You can view more of Sye's work here.

Johnny Han Directs Slick NFL Spot

Johnny Han has directed a new spot for NFL Game Pass. The new ad shows off the amazing plays that the NFL has to offer in a variety of different scenarios. You can watch the NFL anywhere thanks to Game Pass and Johnny has really emphasised this in his new spot.

Johnny brings the excitement of the game into the forefront of the ad by imposing the game on the environment around the people watching it. Demarco Murray scores a touchdown on a train, Randall Cobb catches a ball on a building and Dak Prescott gets a touchdown in the trees. You'll know what I mean when you see the ad. Johnny really demonstrates his capability of directing with VFX and it certainly makes for an interesting spot!

To view more of Johnny's work, click here.

Dan Gianini Joins The Visionaries

Fashion, beauty and documentary director Dan Gianini joins The Visionaries for representation. The Brazilian born director works predominately in the fashion world, having shot for such companies as Topshop, Vogue and Givenchy.

Dan's now lived in the UK for the last fourteen years and studied Media Practice at Bristol UWE, where he took his graduation documentary piece 'Ambulantes' to Sheffield International Documentary Festival, Brief Encounters Festival and Diversity In Place Festival. 

Since then, Dan has worked for a variety of brands, from high street shops such as H&M and Topshop, to designer outlets including La Perla, Givenchy, Galerie Lafayette and Vogue. You can view his work here.

Sam Washington Directs Hilarious Spots For Jack Whitehall's New Netflix Series

Sam Washington has directed several comedy spots for Netflix. The spots are for the new Netflix series 'Travels With My Father', which focus on Jack Whitehall and his dad as they go on a gap year together in South East Asia. 

These new spots focus on Jack's dad Michael's naivety when it comes to the popular streaming service. His incompetence, crossed with Jack's embarrassment and Sam's sturdy direction make these spots delightful and extremely amusing. The whole series is available to watch on Netflix now and for more of Sam's work, click here.

Graham Sherrington Joins The Visionaries

Seasoned Emmy and BAFTA awarded director Graham Sherrington has joined The Visionaries for commercial freelance representation. Graham has had a prolific career, working on shows such as Top Gear, Grand Designs, and The Apprentice, as well as working with such food brands as Waitrose, Alpen, and Hellmann's. You can view his work here.

Graham says, 'The Visionaries and Burger each have brilliant reputations centred around quality work.  It’s an exciting time to be a director, the landscape is ever changing and I can’t wait to discover what opportunities this unique collaboration might bring.'

Graham has joined both Burger and The Visionaries in a dual representation arrangement through production company and directors representatives Lemonade in London, the UK and Amsterdam. He will be repped by Burger for all commercial and content production company work and by The Visionaries for all freelance purposes. It's an exciting venture that will see Graham available for an enormous variety of work. So if you want to work with him, get in contact with Corin West. corin@lemonadereps.com

Martin Bennett Directs Three New Ford Spots

Martin Bennett has directed three new spots for Ford. The new spots highlight the diverse experiences one can expect from the new Fiesta. Titled Comfort & Convenience, Safety & Security and Driving Experience, the promos show off the new features of the Fiesta as well as the comfortable experience the user has whilst driving.

This continues Martin's relationship with Ford, having directed a couple of similar commercials for their Kuga line. You can check out all of Martin's work here.

Sam Washington's Diverse New TVCs 'Raise Hells'

Camden Hells new campaign highlights a diverse group of people who drink the lager. The Campaign, titled Raise Hells focuses on four different people who tell their own respective stories, whether it be a speech or a song. Washington garners subtle and poignant performance from each of the artists.

David Reviews gave four stars to both the See and Hamlet spots. Speaking on the latter, they said, 'It's refreshing to see an ad from the emerging craft beer genre which doesn't rely on parody and dares to venture outside comedy to make a splash' You can read their takes here and here.

Little Black Book spoke to Sir John Hegarty, who served as creative director, about the ads. Speaking about the conventional beer ad, John said, 'We wanted to be different yet relevant to the spirit of Camden. We also wanted ideas that challenged conventional beer ads. And therefore characters who did just that. We wanted to wake up our audience and make them think as well as smile. To Raise Hells. 

Executive producer Sarah Marcon talked about the performances in the four different pieces. 'All of the artists were themselves on set, no hammy deliveries and no one was over directed. Just each person delivering their lines in a way that felt natural and comfortable to them.'

You can read the full LBB article here and see more of Sam's work here.

Felipe Torres Urso Directs New Spot For Ted Baker

Felipe Torres Urso directs a new spot for Ted Baker's latest campaign Ted Says Relax. The new campaign, which boasts 'First-Class Loungewear' that's 'utterly effortless' features a collection of the finest loungewear that's perfect for travelling on your private jet. 

Speaking of the shoot, Felipe said 'It was such a pleasure to get funky with Ted Baker again. Classic Porsche, private plane, beautiful model... a dream commercial.' It sounds like he had a lot of fun working with Ted Baker, i'm sure it was a really tough shoot...

Get ready to reach stylish new heights with Ted's brand new collection of luxurious loungewear: Ted Says Relax https://t.co/r5gpKXd4wT pic.twitter.com/pVsdWEvGP3

— Ted Baker (@ted_baker) August 10, 2017

The Queen directs new spot for Yeti

Directing duo The Queen recently directed a new piece for American company Yeti, who are makers of food coolers and drinkware. The new spot titled Demo(lition) features a head to head competition with their products against a basic brand. Put to the test against a variety of challenges including fire, arrows, dogs and being driven over, Yeti's products come out clean and working on the other side every time, whilst the competing products falter at every hurdle.

Watch the video below...

Click here to see more of The Queen's work.

Barry Kimber Joins The Visionaries

The Visionaries are delighted to announce that Barry Kimber is joining for representation. The freelance director has been working on commercials and short films for over fifteen years, creating spots for such companies as Suzuki, Innocent and Nivea. 

Check out his work here... http://thevisionaries.uk/talent/#/barry-kimber/

Bio:

Barry has been directing commercials, broadcast, branding content and short films for over 15 years. He began his career at the BBC in 1998 where he wrote and directed TV trails, promos and branding films across all BBC channels. He collected 14 Promax awards including seven Golds in the UK and Europe and a platinum award from the USA.

He has since shot commercials and idents for Suzuki, Innocent Super Smoothies, Nivea for Men, Paddy Power, Kronenbourg, SImba and others. 

He has also written and directed two short films. The first ‘More Afraid of You’ (adapted from a short story by Joshua Ferris) featured Anna Chancellor and Phyllida Lloyd and was selected as part of the Manhattan FIlm Festival, London Short Film Festival, Cologne Film Festival and Bath Film Festival. 

His second film, What’s Wrong? featured Jim Howick and Diane Morgan.

Johnny Han Joins The Visionaries

The Visionaries are delighted to announce that Johnny Han is joining for representation. Johnny has been working in the industry for over fifteen years. He has been involved in VFX on major blockbusters and TV shows including Pacific Rim and Heroes, where he won an Emmy. More recently, he has ventured into commercial directing, applying his VFX experience for a unique approach. He has created spots for such companies as Peroni, McDonald's and Land Rover.

Check out his work here... http://thevisionaries.uk/talent#/johnny-han/

Peroni 'Step Inside The House of Peroni' by Johnny Han

Bio:

Johnny Han is an Emmy award winning creative artist whose career contributions have spanned across major feature films, iconic tv series, and tv advertising.

Currently he is focussed on film and commercial directing where he applies 15 years of industry experience in on-set live action filmmaking, visual effects, and computer animation.

Although born and raised in NYC, Johnny has made a global presence having lived and worked in Sydney, Singapore, and now Los Angeles and London, spending his time between the two.

Miro 'Build Yours Now' by Johnny Han