Brand films built around
an idea worth watching.
Concept, direction and generative production for brands that want something beyond the expected.
The product isn't the idea.
Anyone can put a product in a beautiful shot. The interesting part is finding the thought that makes someone want to keep watching.
Worth the Chase
Two friends keep carrying their table through a Sicilian village to catch the last patch of evening sun. A beer film built around a behaviour rather than a product shot.
Luminovo
How do you advertise software with nothing physical to point a camera at? We built characters, stories and visual worlds instead — two campaigns, one client.
The Buyerette
American Quoter
A simple human behaviour, pushed until it becomes a commercial idea.
One movement. Four worlds.
Every transition hidden inside physical movement.
Character and comedy.
A different visual language, built on timing.
Small becomes real.
A toy world carried into full scale in one match.
One simple idea can carry a whole campaign.
The films here aren't complicated because generative production makes complexity possible. They start with something simple enough to explain in a sentence — then use filmmaking to push it somewhere unexpected.
Hero film · 30–60s
Vertical social cuts
Campaign extensionThe idea comes first. The craft makes it land.
Two ways to work together.
Brand films from £3,000
For launches, campaigns and standalone ideas.
- —Concept development
- —Script and treatment
- —Creative direction
- —Finished film
- —Standard social formats
- —Sound and finishing
For brands that want more than a one-off
A recurring creative relationship rather than a project at a time.
- —New launches
- —Campaign extensions
- —Paid-social executions
- —Seasonal work
- —A consistent visual world
Most projects delivered in around two weeks.
More from the same world, without starting over.
From brief to finished film.
The brief
What are we selling, and why should anyone care?
Product, brand material and objective.
The idea
Concept before generation.
You approve the idea before production begins.
The film
Direction, edit, sound, finishing.
One process, first frame to final master.
The campaign
More than one asset.
Cutdowns, formats and extensions.
One director from idea to final cut.
I'm Mike Smith, the filmmaker behind Through What Lens. I develop the concept, direct the generation, edit the film and finish the piece myself. There isn't an account-manager layer between the person who hears the brief and the person making the work.
Based in London · Working worldwide
Is this AI-generated?+
Generative production is a core part of the process, alongside editing, sound design and post. The tools change quickly; the goal doesn't — make the film feel intentional.
Do you need a finished script?+
No. The strongest projects start with the product, the audience and the problem. Developing the idea is part of the work.
Can the films be used for paid social?+
Yes. A hero concept can be delivered as vertical cutdowns, shorter edits and alternate openings for paid and organic use.
How long does a project take?+
Most films take one to two weeks from approved concept to final delivery. Larger campaigns may take longer.
What can't be made this way?+
If a brief depends on something that can't yet be produced convincingly, I'll say so before we start rather than after.