You might remember Ricki-Lee Coulter’s music video, Crazy. How could you not? It was the film shot in Callan Park Hospital for the Insane in Sydney and helped the song reach #4 on the Aria Dance Chart. That video was directed by Melvin J. Montalban.

Montalban, who has also directed cinematic campaigns such as Peugeot’s Know Who You Are, Samsung’s Get Back In The Game and Bundaberg Rum’s Unmistakably Ours, has just joined Photoplay.

Montalban has been a quiet achiever so far, a prolific creator with a bent for clever in-camera trickery and a focus on strong visual narratives. That has won him work with top tier creative agencies such as Leo Burnett, The Works, Clemenger BBDO and BWM Dentsu. His characteristically bold music videos have promoted the songs of Spiderbait, Boy & Bear, The Rubens and White Shadows.

The 2008 graduate from the Australian Film TV Radio School has also created a number of short films. His films, Rope Burn and Cupid, each screened at more than twenty film festivals in Australia and internationally. Cupid was officially selected for Palm Springs International ShortsFest, Cleveland IFF, Sedona IFF, Reel Shorts Film Festival in Canada, Short Shorts in Japan, Raindance in London, and Dungog in Australia.

He is currently developing his sci-fi-drama feature, Flesh Without Blood, with Screen Australia and his dark comedy web series, Triple Oh!, created with Erica Harrison and Poppy Stockell, is a recipient of Screen Australia’s Gender Matters funding.

Montalban brings to his work a background in editing, motion graphics and visual effects. He often draws on his technical fluency in post when approaching and shooting highly detailed visual projects. That caught the eye of Photoplay executive producer, Oliver Lawrance, who commented, “We are incredibly excited to have Melvin join the Photoplay fold. He is a super-talented director who brings a flair for design and in-camera magic to his visually emotive storytelling.”

Montalban added, “Part of the appeal of Photoplay is that they feel like a family of filmmakers. Their focus on commercials as well as long-form shows a love of storytelling, above all else.

“I’m drawn to scripts with a strong character-driven focus that can be expressed with a bold visual style. For me, crafting an emotional response and telling a story in an unexpected way is key to a good campaign. I also look forward to moving more into performance direction and getting stuck into some larger campaigns.”

View Melvin Montalban’s work here.