At a young age, Sammy Ray Welch looked around and saw what was on TV and thought "I can do better than that." This talented Canadian director started creating films at the tender age of 10. Now inspired by his three young children, Sammy's film style mimics his personality: energetic, eclectic and innovative.
Sammy grew up with a super 8 camera glued to his hand, making little films to entertain the family. While attending the University of Toronto for Economics, Sammy quickly realized he wanted nothing to do with his field of study. He answered an ad in the student center that called for manual labour. It turned out to be Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency. He worked in the mailroom for a week and stumbled into their in house edit facilities. He offered to help out, taught himself to use the machines late at night and was offered a full time job.
While at Ogilvy, he bought himself an old 16mm camera and began to shoot whatever he could. He believes directing is a craft that is honed through experience – you’ve got to get out, shoot, make mistakes and learn from them if you ever want to develop a personal style. He made short films and spec commercials to build a reel, showed it to a few Toronto production companies and in the summer of 1998, gained commercial representation. It was a big step for Sammy – he finally had a business card that said ‘director.”
Over the past 17 years, Sammy has worked on numerous award winning commercial campaigns for Labatts, Rogers, Timex, & Health Canada. As much as he enjoys working in advertising, every now and then he ventures outside the medium. He’s co-developed many television shows including the reno-disaster based ‘Holmes on Homes’ and the street food epic “Rebel Without a Kitchen.” At the end of the day, Sammy's love is advertising.
Executive Producers, Sally Leggett and Thomas Rickert at Code, liked Sammy as soon as they met him. A winning reel combined with a great guy was a no brainer. It is Sammy's personal humorous tone and his eye for talent and storytelling that sets Sammy apart.
To view Sammy Ray Welch's Reel, click here: http://wdrv.it/1GmrNSs
About Code Filmโจ
Code Film was formed in 2004 as a full-service commercial production company in Toronto, Canada. Code represents directors Borgato & Bertรจ, Marco Gentile, Theresa Wingert, Steve Green, Jason Harrington, Laurentius Emmelmann, Eric Will, Matt Pittroff, Mitch Gabourie, Andy Lambert, Jim Weedon, Peter Dietrich, Mike Goubeaux, Markus Stummer, Morten Tyldum, Alex Franchi, Richard B. Pierre, Kaan Akalin, The Apostles, Stephen French, Spooner & Bonde, Ronald Koetzier, Rich Michell, Gaute Hesthagen, Chino Moya, Martin Weisz, and Sammy Ray Welch. For more information, visit www.codefilm.caโจ