r.

Rex
Russell.

Creative & Video Lead · London

I find the fun in a dry brief, then I make it.

"This film deserves praise and exposure."

Tim Robey, film critic, The Telegraph

"It's a brilliant piece of content."

Charlotte Murray, Head of Brand, Bloom & Wild

"Someone who can be relied upon to get the character and style of a piece just right."

David Gray, multi-platinum singer-songwriter

Worked with

Work

Each one starts with the brief as it arrived.

Winner, Channel 4 × B Lab UK
Business for People and Planet award

AI workflow

  1. Style guide from colour-graded stills of the office footage
  2. Pre-viz sketches, digitised in Gemini
  3. First and last frame stills for each shot
  4. Animated in Kling, Seedance and Omni Flash
  5. GFX in Omni Flash

30" TV commercial · Channel 4

Hang In There

The briefTurn a two-minute brand film into a 30-second TV ad that still explains every service.
The idea

Get the talking cat poster to do it.

  • Pitch
  • Script
  • Casting
  • Direction
  • Edit

Includes a fully AI-generated scene matched to the live action.

~1Mviews on the night
2Mmore impressions through October
70qualified leads
1 of 5B Lab UK award winners, and the only B2B finalist

Music video · David Gray

Heart & Soul

The briefMake a music video that works within Covid restrictions, built around backlighting.
The idea

Silhouette him in an empty old music hall, then walk him along the Thames in reverse.

  • Direction
  • Edit

Brand film · IT recycling

Chaos into Choreography

The briefExplain a full IT recycling service with no dialogue, and don't make it boring.
The idea

Turn an office clear-out into a music video.

  • Concept
  • Script
  • Direction
  • Edit
4new clients from one film

Social content · 2018 to 2023

David Gray

The briefShow a multi-platinum artist's sharp wit alongside the serious artistry.
The story

Hired for his social content. Directing his music videos within three months.

Three content streams across four album launches: organic social, the Blackberry Jam series and tour recaps, and performance films from his O2 Arena shows and studio sessions.

  • Concept
  • Camera
  • Lighting
  • Edit
  • Grade
2×Instagram following
150+pieces of content
12hturnaround

Founder-led LinkedIn films · 2 videos

Ex-Google, Now Klyk

The briefIntroduce Klyk's new co-founder after ten years at Google, and build his LinkedIn brand around Resolver, Klyk's AI IT support.
The idea

Make it feel like Klyk, and finish it like a tech YouTuber.

Highlights include:

Ali, twice.
Ali, twice.
Arms of no fixed owner.
Arms of no fixed owner.
Ali, in a rival's demo.
Ali, in a rival's demo.
  • Co-writing
  • Direction
  • Production
  • Camera
  • Lighting
  • Edit
1,000+likes across both films

Crowdfunding film · Kickstarter

Eye On Film

The briefGet strangers to fund Megalomania's festival run.
The idea

Play myself as a TV critic who reviews his own film, then asks for festival funding.

Shot through a video synthesiser for a retro TV look.

  • Concept
  • Script
  • Performance
  • Direction
  • Edit
£4,844raised against a £4,150 target

AI spec ad · Personal project

Stork

The briefMy own.
The idea

A margarine ad starring a life-sized stork puppet, made without building a puppet.

  • Concept
  • AI generation
  • Voice
  • Edit

Brand films · Customer stories · Social content

Corporate

Healf

Brand films, case studies and founder-led social for a B Corp that refurbishes business IT.

See the corporate work →

Techbusters · Stork · Vodafone · It's Twins

AI video

It's Twins

Ideas that would normally need a bigger budget, made with AI and finished in the edit.

See the AI work →

David Gray

Music videos

Heart & Soul

Seven videos for a multi-platinum artist, over a million views between them.

See the videos →

20-minute short film · 2021

Megalomania

The briefMy own.
The idea

A dystopian dance marathon, starring Christopher Biggins.

Twenty years after the millennium bug, a young woman's last hopes are a drug-fuelled dance marathon and the long-lost father she might find there.

  • Writer
  • Director
  • Producer
  • Editor
10awards, including Best Film
22festival selections
11locations, 20+ cast and crew
"This film deserves praise and exposure."Tim Robey, film critic, The Telegraph

Music video

Hans Off

The briefA music video for Hans, a breakout London drag king, with punk energy and comic timing.
The idea

Follow Hans on a night out.

Through a corner shop, a butcher's freezer, Camden back streets and an abandoned van. The look was then used to promote the live show.

  • Direction
  • Production
  • Casting
  • Edit

Music videos

More from David Gray. Seven videos directed, over a million views between them.

The Sapling

David Gray · Official video

Plus & Minus

David Gray · Official video

Gold in a Brass Age

David Gray · Official video

About

For three years I ran video at Klyk end to end, starting from nothing. The job was to make a refurbished B2B tech brand feel more Apple than eBay: personality and fun, finished with B2B polish, so people want to work with Klyk and the moral case becomes a bonus. Along the way I directed my first TV commercial, a long-held ambition, and it aired on Channel 4.

Before that, nine years freelancing in fashion and music, starting in 2014, for M&S, Vivienne Westwood and David Gray. I also wrote and directed Megalomania, a short film that won ten awards across 22 festivals.

First Class BA in Cinema & Photography from the University of Leeds.

I like a dry brief. There's usually more fun in it than anyone expected.

Got a dry brief?

LinkedIn Based in South East London