Optical Arts
- Open roles
- 0
- Founded
- 2020
- Employees
- 11-50
- Offices
- 1
About Optical Arts
Optical Arts is a London-based creative studio founded in 2020 by photographer and director Dan Tobin Smith. Its work brings together live-action filmmaking, still-life photography, animation and design, combining physical experimentation with digital production. The studio develops commercial campaigns, broadcast identities and installations, alongside an ongoing practice of self-initiated films and visual research.
The studio’s approach centres on the relationship between objects, light, movement and the camera. Practical optical effects, mechanical rigs, physical sculpture and carefully controlled lighting sit alongside photorealistic CGI. This combination gives its work a tactile quality while allowing it to move between recognisable materials and unexpected visual situations. Its visual language draws on sculptural forms, graphic composition and geometric clarity.
From concept to finished image
Optical Arts works across concept development, art direction, production and post-production. Its capabilities include tabletop cinematography, high-end stills photography, 3D animation, motion graphics, practical special effects and installation design. Finishing services encompass retouching, colour grading, VFX supervision and Flame work, supporting projects that combine photographed and computer-generated imagery.
Commercial projects include the Apple Watch Ultra film Call to the Wild, reveal visuals for Apple Vision Pro, Louis Vuitton’s LV200 anniversary film and work for Dyson, Nike, Bowers & Wilkins and Dom Pérignon. Its broader client work spans technology, luxury, fashion, beverages, music and cultural organisations. For Channel 4’s 2023 masterbrand relaunch, the studio helped create five surreal idents using multiple production techniques.
An experimental practice
Alongside commissioned work, Optical Arts produces experimental shorts exploring material, rhythm, form and perception. Films such as Fork, Toccata, Fugue and Ignis reflect this continuing interest in visual experimentation. Its practice also extends into physical and computational installations, including Playground at the London Design Festival in 2023 and Immaterial Objects in 2024. These projects connect the studio’s filmmaking and image-making capabilities with work experienced in exhibition settings.
More about Optical Arts
Leadership
The research identifies Fabrice Le Nézet as Creative Director and Partner, Hannah May as Executive Producer and Studio Director, Joe Jackson as Creative Director, Martin Pryor as Designer and Colourist, and Miguel Wratten as VFX Supervisor. Founder Dan Tobin Smith also serves as a director.
Production methods and operating model
The core team is augmented by freelance project crews. Its described approach prioritises physical camera movement, carefully calculated light placement and geometric composition.
For an October 2026 Apple Music project made with TBWA\Media Arts Lab, the studio used a custom acoustic oil rig to form the musical-note symbol through sound waves and in-camera photography.
Recognition and collaboration
The report attributes a Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Apple TV work to Optical Arts. Its official journal also records four Gold awards at The Shots Awards 2023 and 1.4 Awards recognition for the Channel 4 idents.
The Channel 4 relaunch involved collaboration with 4creative, Art Practice and Love Song. For The Clove Club, the studio collaborated on stop-frame cyanotype animation, bringing a photographic printmaking process into moving-image identity work.
Notable credits
31 creditsOffices
Where Optical Arts is based
- 52b Whitmore Road, Upper Ground / First Floor, London, N1 5QGLondon, England, United Kingdom
London office
HeadquartersPrimary operating studio and global production headquarters, including a model-making and rig workshop and CGI suite.
Open roles
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