ABOUT

One person,
the whole way
through.

REC

PORTRAIT

00:00:02:17

I came to film through design, which is why I care more
about what a frame is saying than what it was shot on.

Six years in and around the industry — design bench first, then camera,
then the edit suite, and eventually all three at once. Conniston Studios is
what came out of that: a one‑person studio where the same person who
works out the strategy is the one who writes it, frames it and cuts it.

That's not a limitation I'm apologising for. It's the reason a Conniston project
doesn't drift. There's no brief being relayed through three people, no editor
guessing what the director meant, no strategist who's never had to make
the thing actually work in a timeline. One head, one intention, start to finish.

I also build brands from the other side of the table. Nawty Water — a hard
seltzer I founded — taught me more about what marketing video has to
survive than any set ever did: shelf, distributor, ad account, budget meeting.
When I ask what your film is for, it's because I've had to answer that question
with my own money.

The client list runs from Heineken and BMW to Savanna and Johnson's.
What they have in common isn't a budget bracket. It's that somebody in the
room wanted the work to be good enough to argue about.

See the work

HOW I WORK

Six Non-Negotiables

Strategy earns
the camera

Nothing gets shot until we agree what it has
to do. The film is evidence the thinking was
right — not a substitute for having done it.

No handovers, no drift

One person from the first question to thefinal master. What gets promised in weekone is what gets delivered in week six.

An honest no beats a polite yes

If a project doesn't need me, or needssomeone better suited, I'll say so on thefirst call and point you at them.

Craft is the bare minimum

Sharp cut, clean sound, deliberate grade.That's the entry fee, not the achievement.The achievement is that it movedsomeone.

Costs stay on the table

Travel, talent, locations, music — quotedopenly and passed on at cost. No hiddenmargin buried in a line item.

Teach what I know

The workshops exist because gatekeepingtechnique is a bad look for an industry thissmall. What I've worked out, I'll show you.

Heineken

Mercedes‑Benz

Nivea

Virgin Active

Jägermeister

MRP Cellular

BMW

Savanna

Johnsons Workwear

LEGO

Chery

Switch Energy

TRUSTED WITH THE FOOTAGE

Brands I've made
work for.

Some as director, some as DOP, some as the edit and grade
behind another studio's shoot.

ELSEWHERE

The other
three things.

Teaching

Conniston Workshops

Seven one‑day workshops on camera and post,
run in small rooms across KwaZulu‑Natal.

See the dates ↗

Sound

Cineflowww

Cinematic sound libraries built for editors who
are tired of the same six whooshes.

Visit the store ↗

Daily

@iamconniston

Work in progress, frames I liked, and the
occasional opinion about the industry.

Follow along ↗

One person, the whole way through.

I came to film through design, which is why I care more about what a frame is saying than what it was shot on.

Six years in and around the industry — design bench first, then camera, then the edit suite, and eventually all three at once. Conniston Studios is what came out of that: a one‑person studio where the same person who works out the strategy is the one who writes it, frames it and cuts it.

The client list runs from Heineken and BMW to Savanna and Johnson's. What they have in common isn't a budget bracket. It's that somebody in the room wanted the work to be good enough to argue about.

See the work

Six Non-Negotiables

Strategy earns the camera

Nothing gets shot until we agree what it hasto do. The film is evidence the thinking wasright — not a substitute for having done it.

No handovers, no drift

One person from the first question to thefinal master. What gets promised in weekone is what gets delivered in week six.

An honest no beats a polite yes

If a project doesn't need me, or needssomeone better suited, I'll say so on thefirst call and point you at them.

Craft is the bare minimum

Sharp cut, clean sound, deliberate grade.That's the entry fee, not the achievement.The achievement is that it movedsomeone.

Costs stay on the table

Travel, talent, locations, music — quotedopenly and passed on at cost. No hiddenmargin buried in a line item.

Teach what I know

The workshops exist because gatekeepingtechnique is a bad look for an industry thissmall. What I've worked out, I'll show you.

Heineken

Mercedes‑Benz

Nivea

Virgin Active

Jägermeister

MRP Cellular

BMW

Savanna

Johnsons Workwear

LEGO

Chery

Switch Energy

Brands I've madework for.

Some as director, some as DOP, some as the edit and gradebehind another studio's shoot.

The otherthree things.

Conniston Workshops

Seven one‑day workshops on camera and post,run in small rooms across KwaZulu‑Natal.

Cineflowww

Cinematic sound libraries built for editors whoare tired of the same six whooshes.

@iamconniston

Work in progress, frames I liked, and theoccasional opinion about the industry.

One person,
the whole way
through.

I came to film through design, which is why I care more
about what a frame is saying than what it was shot on.

Six years in and around the industry — design bench first, then camera,
then the edit suite, and eventually all three at once. Conniston Studios is
what came out of that: a one‑person studio where the same person who
works out the strategy is the one who writes it, frames it and cuts it.

The client list runs from Heineken and BMW to Savanna and Johnson's.
What they have in common isn't a budget bracket. It's that somebody in the
room wanted the work to be good enough to argue about.

Strategy earns
the camera

Nothing gets shot until we agree what it has
to do. The film is evidence the thinking was
right — not a substitute for having done it.

Brands I've made
work for.

Some as director, some as DOP, some as the edit and grade
behind another studio's shoot.

The other
three things.

Seven one‑day workshops on camera and post,
run in small rooms across KwaZulu‑Natal.

Cinematic sound libraries built for editors who
are tired of the same six whooshes.

Work in progress, frames I liked, and the
occasional opinion about the industry.