Bradley & Pablo: From Shaping Pop’s Aesthetic to Masterful Storytelling
Greatness often starts with serendipity, and when it comes to this British directing duo, that’s exactly how their joint career began. The epitome of ‘cool’, Bradley & Pablo – comprising Bradley Bell and Pablo Jones-Soler – are known for their bold, culture-defining projects for the likes of Harry Styles, Rosalía, and Migos. The two met on their first day of living in London, having just moved from Blythburgh in Suffolk (Bradley) and Plymouth (Pablo), for university.
Fate had it that they were living on the same corridor, and after Bradley helped Pablo carry his suitcases up to their floor, things started clicking into place. They soon found out they’re both studying graphic design and illustration, and were into the same sort of work. “We were both driven and inspired by each other’s references. The collaboration kind of just happened organically, over years of living together and hanging out.”
And what a collaboration it was! The creative synergy and relentless drive of this pair is what shaped their skills through late-night passion projects and “obscene amounts of Diet Coke.” Soon came their breakout moment with Migos’ ‘MotorSport’ – a high-energy, visually arresting piece that cemented their reputation in the music industry.
But, it was their documentary ‘Alone Together’, following Charli XCX’s creative process during quarantine, that reshaped their approach to storytelling, teaching them to prioritise story over aesthetic.
Heaps of memorable projects later, collaboration remains at the heart of their joint process, whether working closely with artists to craft music video concepts or refining commercial campaigns for brands like Heineken and Desperados.
Their method is meticulous and led by communication, exhaustive pre-production, and a shared instinct for balancing artistic ambition with emotion. As filmmakers, they’ve evolved from creating visually sleek, pop-driven work, to embracing more nuanced storytelling techniques, weaving in subtle comedy and dynamic camera movement.
LBB’s Zoe Antonov sat down with Bradley and Pablo to find out more about their best projects, what the newest project on the horizon for them is, and what keeps them inspired.
LBB> What was your first project together like?
Bradley & Pablo> Our first official project together set the stage for a very tight collaboration. We worked on an experimental animated fashion film for the former East London streetwear brand Illustrated People. We both learnt the 3D software Maya and spent months locked away, pulling all-nighters, consuming obscene amounts of Diet Coke, and looping an Above & Beyond BBC Extra Essential Mix on soundcloud.
LBB> Can you walk us through your creative process? How do you balance each other’s strengths in a project?
Bradley & Pablo> If it’s a commercial, our first step is figuring out the core of the idea. What do we want to say? Then, it’s a big brainstorm, during which we dump everything into a Google Doc and discuss.
Like any relationship therapist would say: communication is key. We can’t keep things inside our heads, we have to communicate to align and bounce off each other. That means having a meticulous pre pro process. We make videomatics for every shoot, which has been transformative for us. It's an incredible tool for us to collaborate and have that time to experiment before the shoot and refine what works best.
During the treatment stage, Bradley leans more into writing, while Pablo leads the visual research, but the process is pretty fluid and interchangeable. We might get excited about different parts of a project which is great because it means we can be more attentive across a film.
LBB> Your work is known for its striking visuals and bold storytelling. How would you define your signature style, and how has it evolved over the years?
Bradley & Pablo> Thank you! It’s tricky to define our style because it’s not really a conscious effort – it just sort of happens.
That said, at the beginning it was probably a bit more conscious. We trained as image makers, not filmmakers, so naturally we were very image focused and made choices that were often based on aesthetic instincts. Just out of art school, we were insecure and wanted our work to look like work we like and felt legit: like pop videos. So, we started out a bit glossier.
However, as we’ve matured as filmmakers, we’ve learnt how to tell stories more effectively and that means making decisions based on the story. The visual style comes from that. There is much more reasoning to our choices now.
Above: Still from JENNIE's 'Love Hangover'
Our documentary ‘Alone Together’ was paramount in this – we didn’t have a big budget or really much of anything to dictate a visual style. What we had was a story and we had to be resourceful in how we told that. Technically speaking, I think as we’ve grown up, we’ve become more confident moving the camera and our instincts in animation are starting to really flourish in how we might block a scene.
I think nowadays the tone of work is more consistent than the visual treatment. We love using subtle comedy because it’s true to how we communicate and I think that’s why it’s effective for us as a means to communicate emotion and story.
LBB> What are some of your biggest artistic influences, whether in film, music, or beyond?
Bradley & Pablo> We both share an interest in speculative fiction and draw a lot of inspo from writers like JG Ballard or Chuck Palahniuk.
Pablo> The art I consumed whilst at university was very influential and a lot of those sensibilities have stayed with me. Video work by artists like Helen Marten or Ed Atkins or the output of the Dis Magazine extended universe is where I came of age creatively. Now, spending a lot of time in weird corners of the internet melting my brain with men's health conspiracies, endocrine disrupting substances and not touching receipts.
Bradley> Films have always inspired me a lot. I guess growing up in the English countryside there wasn’t a whole lot to do, so movies were an important escape. I used to work my way through the top 250 films on IMDb every weekend. I think early exposure to those ‘90s and early ‘00s American epics shaped my perhaps naively optimistic perspective and I’m oddly thankful for that. For instance, people who know me know that I’m obsessed with ‘Titanic’. More recently, writers like Chuck Palahniuk inspire me – I resonate with artists who use their medium to subvert or reflect life back at us – JG Ballard’s distillation of the British class system in High Rise inspires me because it makes me feel empowered to hopefully do the same.
LBB> Looking back, was there a particular project that you feel was a turning point in your career?
Bradley & Pablo> Our Migos motorsport video was probably the big music video turning point. But for the same reasons we mentioned earlier, our documentary was probably the most important creatively. It changed our process fundamentally. Our collaboration with the agency LePub on various Heineken commercials has also been important. We’ve been lucky enough to work with amazing creatives that we really click with.
LBB> Your latest project with Desperados looks like an exciting new direction. Can you tell us about the concept and creative approach behind it?
Bradley & Pablo> The idea was dreamed up by the creatives at LePub. Desperados is the beer with the Latin vibe. So that means that when you come into contact with it, you catch the vibe… More specifically it’s a hot, sexy and vivacious feeling that makes you want to move. We loved the idea of this contagious feeling spreading across a city.
Above: Still from Desperados work
LBB> You’ve worked with some of the biggest names in music, from Harry Styles to Rosalía. How do you approach working with artists to bring their vision to life?
Bradley & Pablo> Just like in our collaboration, communication is everything! By far the best videos we’ve made are the ones where we have been aligned and in open dialogue with the artists and/or their creative directors. This may sound simple but it’s not always the case when artists have busy schedules and music videos are rushed through on quick timelines. The same goes with creatives on commercials – we thrive when we collaborate closely.
Above: Still from Harry Styles' 'Late Night Talking'
Above: Still from Harry Styles' 'Late Night Talking'
LBB> With the rise of AI, virtual production, and new media formats, where do you see the future of storytelling heading?
Bradley & Pablo> Hopefully AI and new technologies can continue to become a useful part of a production pipeline and allow us to push film into new and exciting territories without completely gutting the labour market or stripping film production of the things which make it such a magical endeavor.
In our view, AI is a tool not unlike CG. There are lots of bad ways to use it, but the best things about it we’ve seen are when you can feel the hand of the artist. You still need an artist to come up with the ideas that make it inventive, thus the role of the director doesn’t really change except for their tools. Despite the barrage of challenges that anyone working in the creative or entertainment industry faces, there still seems to be a demand for innovation and originality that wins pitches and sells tickets. As long as that demand survives, hopefully we’ll all have jobs.
Who knows if live action production will eventually be completely replaced by AI generated content, but in the near future it seems likely that there will be directors that specialise in AI as more of that work emerges. We are definitely always trying to keep abreast of technological advancements, learning and trying out new tools and thinking of meaningful ways to incorporate them into our working process.
LBB> What advice would you give to aspiring directors looking to carve out a unique voice in the industry?
Bradley & Pablo> This sounds like boring, stereotypical advice but… make things. Use the tools at your disposal that allow you to create with limited resources.That’s what we did by working predominantly with animation early on.
In terms of finding a unique voice – it’s about finding the right material. Make work you’re excited about and rather than fixating on the idea of making something in a specific style because you think it’s cool, listen to the script or the idea – the answers are on the page. Work backwards from figuring out exactly what you want to communicate, and you’ll find the ideas to express what makes it unique.
And of course, never stop watching stuff!
LBB> And what are you most excited looking ahead to the new year?
Bradley & Pablo> We have a really exciting new Heineken campaign dropping soon that we can’t wait to show the world. We think it’s really going to resonate. Aside from that, we’re excited to continue working in commercials alongside packaging a long form project that we hope to shoot this year!
