00:00 Commercial films · concept · direction
Send me the brief
Projects from £3,000 · London / worldwide
Work for / with
Coca-Cola
Luminovo
StudioNow
Gold Peak
Topo Chico
01 Selected work
Anyone can put a product in a beautiful shot. The interesting part is finding the thought that makes someone want to keep watching.
Concept film
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.
Client work
Luminovo
How do you advertise software with nothing physical to point a camera at?
We built characters, stories and visual worlds instead — turning abstract electronics-procurement problems into films people could actually follow. Two campaigns, one client.
The Buyerette
American Quoter
Monzo
Concept film
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.
02 Point of view
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.
The idea comes first. The craft makes it land.
03 Campaign system
One film doesn’t have to mean one asset.
Start with the campaign idea. Build the hero film. Then extend the same world into the formats the brand actually needs.
Hero film · 30–60s
Social cuts
Vertical
Campaign extension
The creative idea stays consistent. The executions can keep moving.
04 Approach
From brief to finished film.
05 The production model
Ideas that used to need a much bigger production.
Locations, sets, casting, characters, impossible transitions, entire worlds. Ambitious ideas traditionally come with much bigger production logistics. Generative production changes that equation.
The process is different. The standard shouldn’t be.
06 Work with me
Two ways to work together.
One-off projects
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
Start a project
Ongoing creative partnerships
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
Ask about availability
Portrait
07 About
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 with brands and agencies worldwide.
08 Questions people ask
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 around two weeks from approved concept to final delivery. Larger campaigns 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.