Taste and expertise are not attributes that can be dished out on a project-by-project basis. One is not creative just for music videos, or branding campaigns, or for film and TV for that matter. Rather, everything is sourced at the center and applied as a whole. Whatever creative producer Smith does, whatever he touches, it gains from his impeccable taste and his get-it-done skillset.
This is why Smith has built a reputation for himself as a master of versatility. He’s helped to produce music videos for artists including London Grammar and Pink, steered major global branding campaigns for the likes of FIFA and FILA, and done ad work too, for companies like Atkins and Allbirds. From film to music videos to foot apparel. That’s the world of Smith, the proverbial jack-of-all-trades who has worked with some of the best talent in the industry.
He was born in Paris and got his start in the hospitality business, working in restaurants, cocktail bars, and nightclubs in Paris and London. But his thirst for travel and adventure got the best of him, and he moved to Canada, where he quickly became involved as a creative producer. Smith worked with Canadian hip hop acts like Zack Zoya and Sarahmée, managing the production of memorable, vivid videos that capture the essence of the performers. He also worked with singer Charlotte Cardin on 15 distinct scenes to accompany the release of her album 2021 Phoenix.
Another intriguing work produced by Smith was “Take Me to a Nice Place,” a 33-minute short film produced by Canada’s Telescope Films, which stars the iconic actors Roy Dupuis and Pascale Bussières.
These are all testament to Smith’s hungry eye and global sweep, which he picked up in his years in the hospitality sector, learning not just how to manage large teams, but to deal with demanding clients from diverse backgrounds.
“I think my most unique career trait is applying the people skills I learned in my hospitality career to production, putting people first,” Smith says. “And I’ve always been drawn to different cultures, music, visuals, travel,” he adds. “My thirst for knowledge and adventure pushes me to stay humble too, and to constantly reinvent myself.”
It’s no wonder that Smith, born and raised in the east of Paris, cites other changelings as influences. Other than his grandmother and his mom, he namechecks chameleon athletes like Dennis Rodman and master actors like Denzel Washington as personal heroes. He’s also been inspired by iconic musicians like Bob Marley and Nina Simone, and even Alexandre Dumas’ Count of Monte Christo, who despite much adversity, managed to come out on top in the end.
And to reinvent himself.
Part of that reinvention is his career as a creative producer that has taken him around the world. Smith got the opportunity to work as a creative producer with Sid Lee Global, where they collaborated on FILA’s global rebranding campaign, debuted the sparking ad “Bellissimo,” a minute and forty seconds of bliss, full of nods to FILA’s roots in Italian culture and lifestyle.
Bruno Luglio, an ex-executive creative producer for Sid Lee US, who worked with Smith not only on “Bellissimo,” which debuted earlier this year, but another FILA campaign produced recently in South Korea, said that the whole thing wouldn’t have come together without Smith’s help.
“His sense of style, knowledge of culture and experience in the industry made the campaign jump from ‘great’ to perfection,” he says. “I’m confident to say that Smith was a key piece of the puzzle that made the project not only happen, but has proven to change the trajectory of FILA.”
Smith also collaborated with FIFA, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, where he worked with the Sid Lee Global team on FIFA’s 2022 World Cup Qatar commercial. Kristian Manchester, ex-chief creative officer at Sid Lee Global, said that Smith was key to realizing the vision of the ad. He asked Smith to partner on commercial projects for GURU, Allbirds, and Nutrafol.
“His many years of experience show up when there are difficulties and challenges during the process,” says Manchester.
The accolades don’t stop there. Le GED, the director of the Zach Zoya trilogy and commercial musical video director, recalls that while others might have cracked under the pressure of producing a video, Smith thrived, consistently delivering when it mattered most. “His leadership kept everyone on track, and his out-of-the-box thinking solved problems others couldn’t even see,” recalls Le GED. “Smith didn’t just meet expectations—he blew them out of the water.”
Zach Zoya’s video for “Slurpee” eventually went on to garner a nomination for Video of the Year at the Berlin Music Awards, and another video for “Da Way,” was nominated at the Dynastie Gala for Music Video of the Year. Another standout musical creative project produced by Smith was the inspired video for “Bun Dem” by Sarahmée, a Senegalese-Canadian rapper, which was shot in Dakar, Senegal.
“His depth of cultural awareness helped me navigate the different environments,” he says. “His memory is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed; he remembers details most of us would forget.”
“Bun Dem” was later nominated for a Juno Award, the Canadian equivalent of a Grammy. And the work in music video production continued. That same year, Smith worked as a line producer on Pink featuring Khalid’s “Hurts 2B Human”, which has garnered more than 37.5 million views.
Smith recently joined the ranks of Division, a creative production company with offices in Paris, Los Angeles, and Sydney. With an exclusive roster of creators and filmmakers specializing in the conception and production of branded and music content, Division has worked with some of the most recognized and well-respected artists and brands in the world, including Nike, A$AP Rocky, Calvin Klein, Cartier, Diesel, Travis Scott, Louis Vuitton, and Pharrell Williams, among many others. Now working with Division, Smith is an executive producer for the Americas.
“I’m very happy with my new adventure,” he says, adding that he looks forward to pushing the boundaries of creativity with new, groundbreaking music videos, to developing relationships with new directors and artists, as well as to producing the next culture-shaping commercials. He plans to keep things fresh by staying curious and by “trying to understand people and culture the best I can.”