Ben Louis Nicholas on the Rhythmic Architecture of Filmmaking

“Movie tickets cost $7 on Tuesdays,” jokes Ben Louis Nicholas when I ask him why he likes living in Montreal. “CAD! That’s five euros!” Having moved there during covid, the filmmaker formerly known as Benny Nicks has spent the last few years inspired by his surroundings.

“Lots of filmmakers are based here, so there's this amazing talent pool. There is an incredible appreciation of movies, and creativity in general.” This tangible devotion to the craft can be felt city-wide, and it’s what makes him most proud to co-exist among such a diverse community of free-thinkers. 

According to Ben, Montreal mirrors several of the same qualities as Europe's most awe-inspiring cities. Namely, by providing a much more laid-back, art-forward approach to life - “you know, like Berlin in the '80s”. Conceding his artsy upbringing in Ithaca, in the Fingers Lake Region of New York, it makes sense that he would later gravitate towards somewhere with a similarly liberal pulse. 

Growing up playing the jazz saxophone was a very formative part of Ben’s creative evolution. Touching on his childhood, he tells me how his first love - music - led to a curiosity about the symbiosis of picture and sound and that discovering film editing software, aged 15, was a major catalyst. 

Exposed to a broad spectrum of arts and culture from an early age, it was during a film project that he and his high school buddies wound up in an edit room, merging pictures with music to make "very contrived gangster movies.” Amazed by the possibilities afforded to him in the edit, Ben felt instinctively drawn to what he describes as the “compositional process” of filmmaking. “I had never been happier than that moment, merging sound and picture for the first time,” he says. “I would spend hours in that edit space, totally losing track of time – the joy of that process really lit me up.” 

Ever since then, everything Ben does, as a writer, director, editor and former DOP, has been about applying a rhythmic architecture to film. “Filmmaking was an extension of my music background. Even some of the language I find myself using to discuss film is very much pulled from a music background. At the heart of it, films are about pacing, composition and rhythm: a coalescence of sound and visuals and words.”

This explains his use of animatics in the pre production stage. “I like to envision a project with storyboards and I rely a lot on animatics to bring things to life beforehand, so that everyone knows what we're getting into.” As with a music performance, Ben likes to have his sheet music prepared ahead of time, setting a clear road map for the production phase. 

Picking up on his almost methodical process, I ask if his multidisciplinary background plays a role in the systematic approach he takes to the planning phase. “Yeah, absolutely - I take a very granular approach. I want there to always be clarity about what we're making and how that translates to the finished product.” 

“On set, I probably could embrace improvisation more,” he muses. “Rolling with the unknown is definitely something I am open to learning to do more of, because it brings about these unexpected moments of inspiration. I feel like sometimes there could be room for me to push things in that direction and embrace a more improvised style.”

This willingness to reflect and consider alternate perspectives says a lot about Ben’s open-minded feelings about the industry at large - and it’s one of the things that makes him a great fit for FRANK Content’s roster. 

Talking about his experience with FRANK so far, he reveals how the Toronto-based team has created a healthy ecosystem that feels supportive. “They are thoughtful about how to position directors and really believe in longevity for directors, facilitating artists’ growth at whatever cost. They were my first foray into Canada at large, and have helped me find jobs that live in a more traditional commercial space.”

With a wide range of commercial and creative projects under his belt, Ben’s career trajectory so far has seen him continuously embracing new ways of working. From pharma and healthcare jobs to activewear campaigns for Tennis Canada and Adidas, the filmmaker's propensity for planning and preparation has won him numerous pitches. 

Judging if a project is a good fit for him, he tells me: “I think the "right job" is the job you win. Pitch decks are an opportunity to demonstrate your clear and distinct vision for a project; and if you win, it means that an agency is on-board with an approach that aligns with your creative self,” he explains. “In my experience, agencies' respect big creative swings rather than catering to the original concept. So, if your big creative "swing" wins you the job, it signifies an alignment of imagination, talent and opportunity, which perhaps signals it was in fact the right job.”

This mindset has benefitted Ben so far in his career, being a collaborator on work for OLG, Tennis Canada and Pulse, however the PSA work Ben has done seems to be the space where he can find a fit for his filmmaking skills. “I’ve been lucky enough to be brought in early on for the PSAs I’ve worked on, which has allowed me to get in on the concepting phase, before production begins. I’ve been able to really marry script and form, rather than, say, reverse-engineering a film form to fit a script I receive, as is the typical process for commercial filmmaking. My role is far more expansive in these types of projects.”

In terms of a creative through line, it all comes back to his predilection for composing - with music weaved within the DNA of every creative project he puts his name to. “Rhythm and pacing make their way into all my commercials. It often requires a really great soundtrack and sound design which is a very highly considered part of this whole process. Working with the post team, a composer or sound designer to punctuate these edits, especially for fast moving commercial projects is really important.” This can be seen across his work, be it a fashion film for Aldo, an aspirational promo for Jefferson University, or a humorous PSA for pharmacy initiative, Bad Meds. 

Above all else, Ben is driven to have fun and meet new people through his work. He hopes to foster a sense of on-set comradery with the talent he works alongside, not unlike that first experience of film back in high school. “I aspire to create a beautiful collaborative space where we're all working together towards this common goal. Things go right, but they go wrong too, it’s about having healthy discussions about the shared goal as and when it happens. Setting that tone, on-set, is the job of the director so it comes with the territory of being a leader.”