The Privileges of a Director, According to Will Innes Smith
Will Innes Smith is a director fluent in the unspoken language of sport – not the PR-approved kind (smelling of prawn sandwiches), but the one shouted at full volume on February terraces, whispered 10 minutes before kick-off in hushed changing rooms, and added as a footnote to the team’s WhatsApp group. His films capture the humour, drama, and emotional charge of the game with an insider’s eye and a cinematic touch.
Working across live action, CGI, AI and animation, Will brings together cultural authenticity and visual precision. His work moves easily between the worlds of sport, lifestyle, and youth culture, always grounded in a sharp understanding of people and what drives them.
He’s collaborated with some of the world’s biggest brands – including adidas, Nike, Sony PlayStation, FIFA, Expedia and Sky – creating campaigns that combine style, wit, and emotional depth. Whether celebrating the chaos of fandom or the quiet intensity of preparation, Will’s work is united by a genuine love of the game – and a passion for being among those who tell stories of how it’s won and lost.
Will sat down with LBB to discuss his upcoming short film ‘The Bare Eleven’, the terrifying yet exciting opportunities of AI filmmaking, and mob bosses disrupting shoots.
Name: Will Innes Smith
Location: London, UK
Repped by/in: Armoury, UK
Awards: D&AD, Promax, Kinsale Sharks, Allestree Juniors U15’s Clubman of the Year
LBB> What are some upcoming projects that you're excited about? Tell us a bit about them?
Will> On a personal level, I’m currently finishing two football-based scripts – one a commercial idea with a personal connection, the other a short film entitled ‘The Bare Eleven’.
In terms of the day job, I’m deep into a Lay’s commercial that was shot last year, whilst also gearing up for a project with Sky Sports.
I’m excited about all of it, but if I had to pick one to expand on, it would be ‘The Bare Eleven’. It follows a group of misfit Sunday league players on their way to an away fixture in the middle of nowhere. It’s a project I’ve been developing for a long time, rooted in a subject matter very close to my heart, and one I’m hoping to get off the ground in the coming months. So – watch this space.
LBB> What excites you in the advertising industry right now, as a director? Any trends or changes that open new opportunities?
Will> What excites me is the same thing that’s always excited me – the chance to showcase who you are, and the privilege of doing so alongside brilliant people. I think I speak for a lot of directors, regardless of age or experience, when I say it’s been tough out there for the majority of late. Right now often feels as fraught with tension as it does filled with opportunity.
The biggest shift – and the one that’s opened up the most opportunity – has come via the seismic leaps in technology and software under the banner of AI. It’s simultaneously a great leveller and an existential threat to everything we do as filmmakers and department heads.
In that sense, it’s as terrifying as it is exciting.
I made the decision early on (proudly got my Midjourney invite a week after launch) to properly understand these tools inside out. Partly out of curiosity, partly out of a compulsion to finally make things I’d wanted to make for years, and partly because as a hands-on director I simply don’t want to get left behind. These days I dedicate a couple of days a week to testing and using what’s new.
LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?
Will> I don’t think there are many scripts that don’t excite me, although that probably speaks to the limited amount of choice many directors are presented with these days. Time and experience has taught me to see the potential and find the opportunity in everything I’m considered for these days and one never knows where something today might lead to tomorrow.
To answer that question properly however, what really makes me gravitate towards a script is seeing the craft and attention to detail that the creatives/copywriter has applied to it in the first place. For myriad reasons I think it’s harder than ever to get a pure idea to the stage where I get to cast my eye over it but I’m often surprised how underbaked scripts can be. I tend to work with the philosophy of making everything as good as it possibly can be at every stage of production with the ambition of making the final result as good as it can be. So when I see this in the words on the page it resonates.
LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?
Will> Ha… well I’m pretty hands on here and tend to do pretty much every part of the process myself much to the dismay of my producers. I come from a design background and have also developed the ability to articulate myself pretty well over the years, so I’ll often do the image research (or create it myself), write the copy and create the layout.
During covid I decided to spend my time creating a series of bespoke templates in InDesign, alongside a plug-in called in5, which allows me to build fully interactive treatments that can be viewed via a simple URL rather than downloading a PDF.
To say it became a rabbit hole is an understatement – I’m now almost as literate in code and web hosting as I am with an Alexa 35 or an 18mm Panavision C-Series. Whether that genuinely makes a difference or is just part of my USP, I’ll let others decide – but it’s certainly how I like to work.
LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?
Will> I’m of the mindset that I have to get under the skin of anything I’m in the mix for so I’d typically do all I can to fully immerse myself in the nuance of a script. Equally and being honest I never feel comfortable if I’m bullshitting or blagging a client/agency/ creative… it just doesn’t sit right and the times I’ve been put in the awkward position (as sadly all directors are at certain points) is when the imposter syndrome kicks back in.
I see this very early part of the process as being really fundamental to any idea and it’s through thoroughness that I gain the confidence to speak with authority or at least conviction.
Candidly, I think there have been times when I’ve been too honest and not simply tried to bluster my way through things in search of a pay cheque but that’s not who I am and I think the older I’ve become the more important that is to me both in and out of work.
LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?
Will> Probably with the creatives if I had to pick one. In so much as bringing their ideas to life through your vision is critical. I like to be collaborative with a sprinkling of single-mindedness on top when the project requires it.
Props to the 1st ADs and the DOPs too of course, without whom I’d be nowhere.
LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about – is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?
Will> These days it’s definitely sport and within that genre football. I’ve always described myself as a lifestyle director and I think the reel portrays that, however as I’ve gained experience and the market has simply become more competitive I seem to have specialised in this niche. I’m cool with that of course as it’s a massive passion… However, I’m often reminding people that I can do other things – don’t we all?
LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?
Will> This relates to the above question really in that we tend to get very quickly typecast in terms of the style of work or the types of script we’re considered for. As above I think most directors feel like they can do more than what they’re known for but we simply get the chance to prove that unless of course you do it yourself (which is another conundrum).
Putting myself in the position of clients / agencies I of course understand why this happens and so I don’t necessarily think this is wrong. It often feels like people making the decisions are time-poor however and so the wild-card director in a bid these days often feels like they’ve been ‘broken in’ already – far less feral than they once were.
LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?
Will> A little with the bigger brands albeit through the filter of a producer – who’s often reluctant to kill the joy or share the restrictions. My experience has been not to pay too much attention to it as if they like the idea / want me they’ll generally find the money. Always a way.
LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?
Will> Two spring to mind…
Shooting for Canon in a part of Istanbul called Balat I was told by the local mob boss that we’d paid his rival gang but not him and that I owed him a couple of grand in cash. That definitely got me off the director’s chair although it was quickly resolved in the form of a brown envelope (not mine).
And there was also the time when the singer (and our protagonist) Jacob Collier turned up for a FIAT commercial shoot to announce he hadn’t passed his driving test yet. Three days of him behind the wheel were quickly salvaged by an improvised fixing of his car to the back of the grip’s trailer and the occasional private road. You’d never know…
LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?
Will> I think you use your experience here regarding knowing when to bend and when to battle. As I mentioned I’m always very collaborative and respectful, so people know I’m only ever fighting for what’s best for them and the job out of a sense of professionalism. So I don’t think it’s ever that fraught (or come to blows). That said, I do feel as I’ve grown in experience, I’ve become better – through confidence and conviction – at pushing firmly when I know it’s what’s best for all.
If I’m honest I wish I’d done this earlier in my career as I think at times being the nice guy who always placates and says ‘yes’ can be counter-productive both for your career and more importantly the job. It took me a while to understand or accept that we’re employed for our opinion as much as our craft.
LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?
Will> I think this is imperative and whilst it’s certainly better from a diversity perspective than when I started directing, we clearly have a long way to go as an industry. On a personal level I also feel for people who don’t have access to the opportunities I did and that I owe it to them to help how and whenever I can. I think this is true to life on a wider scale tbh and if those that have were a little more generous we’d all prosper.
LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats – to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)?
Will> I think you have to, however I equally feel it’s important to keep close tabs on the deliverables list and – in order to make great work – prioritise what’s most important.
Of course we often have to shoot for all aspect ratios and mediums but my personal belief is that it’s important to pick one as the hero. They’re too different in nuance and there is never the perfect compromise for all – both on set with lenses or in post-production regards format or screen size. Unless you have loads of time and money, then just shoot it all three times.
LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work?
Will> Keeping up with advances in technology – not just AI – has always been part of who I am as a director. I’m very hands-on and work the kit a lot of the time.
More recently, I’ve started revisiting older work to update shots or sequences I was previously unhappy with, or can now simply do better using newer tools. I’ve always cut my own director’s cuts and added VFX to raise production value, but now there’s the added benefit of being able to properly test new technology – particularly AI – against real briefs rather than hypothetical ones. That makes a huge difference to the learning curve, because the standard has to be right. You learn properly.
LBB> Which pieces of your work do you feel show what you do best – and why?
Will> William Hill – ‘Who You Got?’: A series of four TVCs for William Hill, led by the Number 7’s Number 7 – Eric Cantona. A riot of footballing flair and surreal humour, built on sharp detail, provocation, and irreverence.
Football at its most dramatic, chaotic, and joyful. Allez.
FIFA – ‘High Volume’: A love letter to the World Cup – past, present, and future. Built from deep football culture, tournament mythology, and obsessive detail, High Volume blends nostalgia, spectacle, and modern energy into a celebration of the game at its loudest.
From ’94 to now – football turned all the way up.
adidas – ‘Leeds Would’ve Taken More’: A film for Leeds United and adidas, inspired by a fan’s first away day. Rooted in the myth and swagger of #LeedsWouldHaveTakenMore – a bold, fast, visually electric ride through football culture, Yorkshire attitude, and early 2000s nostalgia
The day Kaz took more than just a seat in the away end – and Leeds fans lapped it up.
PlayStation – ‘For the Players Since ‘95’: A nostalgic ride through gaming culture, charting the moments, memories, and mindset of a generation raised on PlayStation. Built on music, attitude, and cultural recall, it celebrates players then and now. From bedroom floors to living-room legends.
