About Ben & The Operators
I've spent 20 years working out how to make ambitious creative work happen.
I'm a director, creative director and executive producer, classically trained in art and animation.
What I loved about animation was that you could use anything, any material, any technique or any tool to make something move. That sense of possibility has stayed with me ever since.
From animation to integrated production
In 2010, I co-founded The Operators because I was convinced the old production silos were going to disappear.
Digital was changing how ideas were made, and I believed creative and production needed to work much more closely together.
That idea became The Operators, an integrated creative production studio bringing together producers, creatives, directors, animators, artists and technical specialists to make ambitious work across film, photography, animation, CGI and VFX.
Over 16 years, we worked with brands and agencies around the world, delivering more than 100 campaigns for names including Samsung, Toyota, Pfizer, Heineken, adidas, GSK and many more.
At its peak, The Operators was a team of more than 20 people, with multiple projects running across disciplines and markets at the same time.
But the part of the work I enjoyed most was never a particular production discipline.
It was the problem solving.
Working out what the work actually needs. Challenging the brief. Finding the right approach. Bringing the right people together. Figuring out how to make the idea work harder.
The model evolves. The experience doesn't.
Today, I work directly with creative teams, agencies and brands, helping shape ideas, find the right creative and production approach, and lead the work through to delivery.
Sometimes that means directing. Sometimes it's working alongside a creative team to develop an idea, overseeing production or helping solve a difficult creative challenge.
I can work independently or bring The Operators in around me, building the right team for the job rather than starting with a fixed structure.
The experience I've built over 20 years stays the same. The way I work is more flexible.
Good work needs great judgement.
Knowing when to push an idea further. When to simplify. Who needs to be involved. Where the risks are. And how to make the ambition work creatively, practically and commercially.
That's what I bring.