Backyard Productions Signs Award-Winning Director Ed McCulloch

Backyard Productions welcomes commercial director Ed McCulloch for US representation. Ed joins the creative production studio having shot commercials across the globe for established brands including Google, Ford, KIA, Wrangler, Ikea, Hyundai and  Oakley to name a few.  

Drawn to emotional and honest storytelling, Ed injects his own life experiences into his work. His portrayal of raw and inspiring human stories, combined with his ability to evoke a  response from his audience has led him to win a slew of awards, including AICP, Ciclope, Shoot EPICA, YDA Cannes and Shoot Magazine New Director Showcase, amongst others.  

After discovering a passion for print photography, the self-taught director was drawn to the world of advertising and went on to study art direction at Miami Ad School. After overcoming a number of challenges in his early life, which forced him to step away from photography, Ed reignited his love for the craft and uncovered striking narrative similarities between print  photography and short form content. His keen photographic eye and passion for honest storytelling went on to aid his natural progression to a director.  

Ed collaborated with acclaimed cinematographer Paul Meyers, and produced, shot, and edited 11 spec spots in less than a year, jump-starting his career as a commercial and long form director. Following this, Ed directed a three-min web film for ProForm, which spotlights inspirational cyclist Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah. The film follows the Ghanian athlete who, despite his disability, rode a bicycle 380 miles across Ghana in order to raise awareness around the plight of disabled people in the country. 

Further demonstrating Ed’s ability to capture intimate and emotional stories, a standout  career highlight for the director was a commercial for ‘all-American’ clothing brand Wrangler. The empowering 60” spot, ‘Long Live Cowboys’, tells the story of a young boy with a dream to become a bull rider, and all the trials and hard work that come with breaking into the rodeo sport. Cutting between home video footage, beautiful desert landscapes and dramatic  scenes of bull riding, Ed captures the grit and determination needed by the young cowboy in order to achieve his dream.  

Currently, Ed is out for financing on his directorial feature debut, entitled 'Little Hollywood', which will be produced by Katy Drake Bettner and Morningstar Angeline. The film, a family drama exploring the generational divide, will feature an A list talent.  

Ed McCulloch, director at Backyard, comments: “l am thrilled to be joining Backyard. They have a great history of developing high level campaigns, markets have changed and  work has changed but Backyard have been solid through it all, which is really impressive. And, most importantly, they're a good group of people that are honest and hardworking and, and just want to do the best work possible. That's exactly what I want to be doing - crafting amazing campaigns that we believe in and finding clients and creative teams that share our same passion for storytelling. 

Rich Schafler, head of sales at Backyard, comments, “When I first Saw Ed McCulloch’s reel, as shared with me by our Midwest sales rep, Nathan Skillicorn (thank you Nathan!)  We were blown away by the quality, look and feel of his spots and content. Ed's a true filmmaker, an artistic craftsman, with a supreme eye for detail in capturing the nuances of his subjects and environments in every frame. There's a true consistency to his work, as this is evocative of a director who has a real vision and point of view. The great part is that Ed’s a pleasure to work with and truly collaborative in every way. Thus far the response to his reel has been great. We collectively feel at Backyard, that his very best work is yet to come.”