IT ALL STARTED WITH AN IMPULSIVE PURCHASE…

A Panasonic video camera. I bought it after graduating from Oxford with a degree in Maths. I took it with me to Chamonix and used it to help me become a ski film director. Inspired by the abundance of ridiculously good skiers living in the town and the extraordinarily beautiful mountain scenery, each day, I filmed my friends attempting audacious stunts — racing, jumping, moguling, deep-powdering, and wiping out spectacularly. Each night, I’d return to my homemade editing suite to cut the footage into slick skiing sequences.

Early screenings of my films were well-received — it helps when the stars of your films are also your audience. But the word quickly got out. My energetic handheld style combined with breath-taking scenic compositions gave my film an artistic feel - like a beautifully shot documentary. It wasn’t long before I was being hired to create action films and promos for international tour companies. The mathematical part of my brain was intrigued by filmmaking details and so when the season ended, I spent four years at MPC in London, honing my skills in digital editing, compositing, grading, and CG animation. My next stop was Los Angeles, where I got to weave VFX magic into commercials for major brands like Pepsi, Cadillac, and Budweiser, as well as music videos for pop icons such as Madonna, Lenny Kravitz, and Michael Jackson. NBC’s Dateline even produced a whole BTS program where I got to describe the VFX work I had done on that year’s top Super Bowl spot.

It wasn’t long before I was given an opportunity to direct my first commercial and music videos, and the creative results of some of those endeavours can be seen on this website. Fast forward twenty years and now whether I’m shooting an adrenaline-fueled action sequence, crafting a mind-bending effect for a quirky viral video, or designing a brand film for a global vehicle launch, I still love finding ways to subtly weave VFX into everything I direct. I love making the impossible look possible, and I love using VFX to subtly turn everyday situations into surreal emotional experiences.

Having said all that, I don’t consider myself to be a VFX director as much as emotional effect storyteller. Who am I? The Dalai Nick? But you know what I mean. The kind of films I like to watch and love to make are the ones that stir emotion and affect the soul. Films with VFX that don’t affect the soul are like video games — fun in the moment, but ultimately forgettable. When the logo fades to black at the end of a film I’ve directed, I want viewers to sit with the emotion they’re feeling for a moment and then say, “ I need to see that again.”