David Mellor | On Vimeo
Starting his career at Framestore London in 2003, David joined to work on the third installment of the Harry Potter series, Troy and Thunderbirds within the company’s Film division. He then went on to build one of the most eclectic portfolios in the company.
His eager ‘can do’ attitude and aptitude for CGI propelled him up through the ranks in London’s Commercials team. In a golden period of commercials VFX, he worked on all of Daniel Kleinman’s biggest spots from 2004-2008. Consistently pushing the boundaries of technology, David had a key roll in pioneering the use of CG Fur, Feathers, and Fluid Simulations in commercials at a time when these techniques were in their infancy. So much so, the Film team would drop by asking ‘How?!’.
David spent nine years in Framestore’s New York studio from 2008. He made his directorial debut in 2009 with the much heralded McDonald’s 'Lemon Aid' national campaign. This success was swiftly followed by others - namely the impressive Electronic Arts' 'Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit’, and a series of award-winning commercials for Qualcomm Snapdragon. Nods to David’s achievements on Qualcomm Snapdragon 'Coming Soon' included a 2013 Clio Award, an AEAF Award and two shortlists at Cannes Lions including Best New Director.
David is also an expert in the world of VR, creating live action experiential content for Marriott, Volvo and Chick-Fil-A’s integrated campaign ‘Cowz VR’. In both CG and Design VFX creative direction he has collaborated with Oscar winning director Tom Hooper for Dell ‘Tech Stories’, overseen collaborations with FCA for Alfa Romeo ‘Whoa There’, along with AT&T’s ‘The Power of &’ for Bennett Miller.
Moving to Chicago in 2017 to open Framestore’s newest studio as Creative Director, his relentless curiosity and creativity had led him through every facet of the company, including previous roles as Technical Director and Head of CG. In leading the Chicago studio David continued to add his experience and creative slant to the Framestore DNA and forged a successful studio in the Midwest market.
In 2019, David stepped away from his 16 year tenure, and refocused his path to a more creative trajectory. Almost immediately landing his first independent directorial role with a major toy company, the first steps of this new adventure are certainly exciting!
A frequent contributor to industry events, David has spoken at the Innovation Festival at Cannes, Collision, and Spikes Asia.
A devoted petrolhead, and with a passion for amateur singing, you’ll always find him at a Karaoke bar!