Biography

With over 15 years of experience dedicated to creating campaign videos exclusively for non-profit organizations, third sector entities, think-tanks, and research organizations, I have established a strong track record. Throughout my career, I have directed and produced more than 70 videos spanning a wide range of genres, including documentaries, explainers, drama, comedy sketches, animations, and motion graphics. Additionally, I have facilitated the production of user-generated content.

My expertise lies in collaborating with organizations campaigning on diverse issues, such as animal rights, healthcare, climate justice, environmentalism, land rights, and indigenous rights. Through this work, I have developed a profound understanding of and passion for exploring the interconnectedness of various challenges, including conflict and fragility, climate change, human rights, migration, colonialism, and international development.

I have worked in post-conflict regions, engaging with internally displaced people and individuals who have witnessed or experienced human rights abuses. This exposure has made me acutely aware of the risks associated with speaking out and the potential for the filmmaking process to evoke past traumas. As a result, I have honed the necessary skills to navigate access negotiations, establish trust across language barriers, and prioritize the safeguarding of contributors.

Leveraging the power of video, I effectively reach and influence diverse audiences, including policymakers, campaigners, civil society organizations in developing countries, healthcare professionals, CSR employees, investors, committed activists, donors, and supporters. My work has garnered recognition, having been featured on prominent media outlets such as Al Jazeera, Channel 4, Fox News, and The Guardian, as well as gaining significant traction online, with my most successful project having over 16 million views and many others being shared widely.

Furthermore, I possess a comprehensive skill set that enables me to oversee video projects from conceptualization to distribution. I have a well-established network of talented professionals, including producers, directors, writers, researchers, animators, illustrators, translators, and editors, whom I collaborate with when required.

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  • 2013 – Present

Freelance Director & Producer – lewisdavies.co.uk

I work with non-profit organisations looking to use video to communicate complex, technical or politically sensitive issues.

I produce on-brand solutions which do justice to the research, respect contributors, satisfy multiple stakeholders and most importantly, inspire the audience to act.

Freelance project highlights:

  • 2021 - 2022

Producer, Self-shooting Director and Editor – Forest Peoples Programme/If Not Us Then Who, LBO

I had the privilege of overseeing the production of five thought-provoking short documentaries, each set on a different continent, that eloquently explored the profound relationship between humanity and the natural world. These documentaries delved into the intricate relationshop between our connection to the land and the preservation of biodiversity. While I personally shot and directed two of the films, I also had the opportunity to collaborate with talented indigenous filmmakers on the remaining three projects.

  • 2022

Producer, Motion Graphics Artist – Save The Children, 2022 Rebrand

For Save the Children, I created of a wide range of editing templates utilizing Adobe's Essential Graphics tools. These meticulously crafted templates empowered Save the Children's in-house staff and freelance team to produce professional-grade, on-brand motion graphics for their videos, all without the need for extensive knowledge of software like After Effects.

By developing these templates, I enabled the organization to streamline their video production process while maintaining consistent branding and ensuring high-quality visual elements. The user-friendly nature of the templates allowed team members to easily customize and integrate motion graphics seamlessly into their videos, saving valuable time and resources.

  • 2017 - 2019

Self-shooting Director and Editor – Momentum, GE Campaigns

I worked with Momentum on the 2017 and 2019 general election campaigns. Although the 2019 campaign result was far from what we wanted, the video engagement statistics were impressive:

65 million views from 16 million individual users in 4 weeks. My work included Is Batman the Bad Guy?, Boris Vs Intern and Austerity FC.

This was a fast-paced and adaptive campaign. I was responding to news and events, writing scripts, directing, shooting and editing projects all within the space of a week.

  • 2019

Director and Editor – UKSCN, Climate Strike

In the run-up to the global climate strike inspired by Greta Thunberg, I collaborated with a team of filmmakers to facilitate and direct student climate activists to produce user-generated viral video content for social media with the objective of getting as many people to the UK climate strikes as possible.

It ended up being the world’s largest-ever climate action. My work included Climate Strikes in 60secs, Heatwaves and Global Climate Strike.

  • 2015 - Present

Director of Photography – Campaign Film

As a Director of Photography, I regularly collaborate with Campaign Film - a production company that also specialises in working with clients from the third sector. Highlights of my work include Nature Networks with David Attenborough and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative.

  • 2019

Self-Shooting Director - Sightsavers/Cloud9Media, Do the Maths

Promo video shot in Bangladesh demonstrating the scale of Sightsavers’ impact and its commitment to building sustainable change in healthcare provision. For CSR fundraising and outreach purposes.

  • 2019

Producer, Self-Shooting Director, Editor - Fern, Putting Down Roots

Shot in Brazil, Nepal and Scotland, the documentary Putting Down Roots introduces us to the citizens behind 3 community forest projects and makes the case for putting forest restoration projects into the hands of local communities.

  • 2018 - Present

Video Consultant - Survival International

Produced, written and directed 20+ social media videos for distribution in 6 languages. Training communications staff in how to optimise scripts and narrative for social media by motivating engagement.

Updated video brand guidelines to meet the needs of new audiences. Designed a new video production pipeline that accommodates the need to have videos translated into 6 languages by staff with limited technical experience. Created a new digital asset management system to archive rushes and edit projects.

  • 2018

Director, Producer, Animator - Unicef, Story of Grace

Animation Story of Grace targets an audience of civil society in East Africa and presents conclusions drawn from qualitative research into the unseen effects of poverty on children living in urban environments in Tanzania.

  • 2018

Director, Editor - 350.org, Rise for Climate

350.org organised a day of over 900 climate actions in 95 countries. I was part of a small team of filmmakers recruited to create motivational video content in 7 languages before the event. My work included 10 days to go! and This is People Power Rising.

  • 2018

Producer, Director, Editor - Publish What You Pay, We Are PWYP

Video to be shown at Publish What You Pay’s global assembly to launch a new commitment for the movement to help protect fellow members who are taking huge risks by speaking out against corruption.

  • 2018

Producer and Self-shooting Director - MDP/Cloud9Media, Stamp Out Oncho

Series of films shot in Cameroon and Nigeria for an audience of health policymakers in African countries. The campaign asked them to commit to a 30 year-long elimination programme – ridding Africa of river blindness.

  • 2017

Producer, Director, Editor - Fern, Community Forests in the Congo Basin

Shot in Cameroon and the Central African Republic with members of civil society and community forest members to create a series of films for an audience of policymakers exploring the history and potential of community forests in the Congo Basin region.

  • 2014

Producer, Director, Editor – Overseas Development Institute, We have the solutions

A documentary examining the ways UK aid has been used to support local activists in their efforts to reform maternal healthcare in Minna, Nigeria.

  • 2008 - 2012

Filmmaker – Survival International

Highlights from my 4 years at Survival include Earth’s Most Threatened Tribe and Mine – Story of a Sacred Mountain, documentaries which brought international attention to indigenous rights issues and helped bring about campaign successes in India and Brazil.

 

Skills

  • Producing

  • Directing

  • Editing

  • Scriptwriting

  • Researching

  • Budgeting

  • Interviewing

  • Cinematography

  • Sound-recording

  • Studio-lighting

  • Photography

  • Editing

  • Motion-graphics

  • Animation

  • Digital Asset Management

Courses Attended

  • Covid 19 Safety On Set – First Option

  • International Reporting Workshop – One World Media

  • Viral Video for Campaigns – VideoRev

  • Cinematography Masterclass – Camera School

  • Advanced After Effects – Zero One Soho

  • Shooting for the Edit – BBC

  • Lighting for Interviews – BBC

Country Experience

  • India

  • Brazil

  • Kenya

  • Nepal

  • Bangladesh

  • Central African Republic

  • Cameroon

  • Malawi

  • Nigeria

Technical Experience

  • Premiere Pro

  • After Effects

  • Audition

  • Sony FS7

  • Sony FX6

  • Canon C300

  • Gimbals

  • Drone operation

  • Teleprompters

  • Multi-camera events

  • Live-streaming