W. Ross Wells

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Experienced film director with a strong background in broadcast advertising, music videos and documentary filmmaking.

Ross' Bio:

When I was 5, my parents took me to Radio City where we saw Kubrick's masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. That was almost 40 years ago and I still remember that night as if it was yesterday. The colors, the design, the frosty performances by Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood...the first computer graphics. I think about some aspect of that film (and many others) almost everyday.

I found a hand-wound Argus super-8 movie camera in my dad's closed when I was 9 years old and used it to shoot my first short film..when I finished that project, I moved on to the next and haven't stopped yet.

Early on in my career I had the opportunity to shoot and edit travel programming for the original Travel Channel. I spent many years travelling in Europe and Southeast Asia and worked with some wonderful people who helped me develop my craft. It was on these productions that I met my longtime partner, executive producer and the mother of my child...we are still working together on many levels

I began work in the commercial side of the business as an editor in a post house and have since owned a number of production and post-production companies. The larger the companies became, the further I got away from the camera and the closer I got to administrative headaches. My partner and I "dropped out" a couple of years ago in a gambit to get back to serious (albeit mostly comedic) filmmaking.

Today I am a commercial film director with 17 years professional experience, specializing in comedy and visual storytelling. I use my experience with cinematography and visual effects as key components in my projects. I am also one of the principals in Zenfilm, a film production company that produces comedy TV commercials, documentaries for the arts and viral media.

Several years ago we created a film for Houston conceptual artists The Art Guys..and I am preparing to revisit it in the edit suite...I think it is a special film with much to say about the state of current media. I am also celebrating because one of our films was recently listed on imdb.com which feels really "official" for some reason.

I am currently working on broadcast and web commercials, a couple of music video projects and pursuing more national and international work. I currently have representives peddling my wares on the West Coast, Midwest and in Texas and I am looking for New York and Eastern and Western European Reps...

Zenfilm is a great little company that we started in our living room (having a 2 year old put a popsicle into a VTR takes on a whole new meaning) and has grown to a staff of 5. We are extremely good at assisting ad agencies and brands punch through the media clutter...using our twisted sense of humor and just a touch of weirdness. We are pop-culture junkies that use our ability to quote lines from thousands of feature films as a strength.

We always use our powers for good.