about me

short bio

Yilmaz describes himself as a multidisciplinary media artist. He has directed music videos , branded TV stations, created motion graphic design, in addition to having written and directed TV campaigns, commercials and short films. As a director/creative director, he boasts over a decade of international experience.

extended bio

I was born in Canada in 1975.

After completing high school, I attended Temple University Film school for four years, learning about film theory, history, and film production. During university, I also worked as an AVID editor at Mosaic Media, a Philadelphia based production company.

I completed my studies with a thesis film (Lovers Grave) which I wrote, produced, directed and edited. The film, shot on 16mm b/w stock with sync sound, was screened at the moving image film festival in Philadelphia.

I went on to work as a promo producer for TV stations in Canada, where I wrote and directed on-air promos, campaigns, bumpers, ID's, and image spots. During this time period, I also directed music videos for indie artists. The videos were broadcast on music video channels such as MTV and MuchMusic.

After receiving an offer from Istanbul based TV network STV, I moved continents to head a creative services department. During my employment there, I managed staff time and resources while providing creative direction to a team of graphic artists, producers, writers and editors.

We developed and implemented campaigns, promotional spots and station ID's. I also developed and maintained the network's branding strategy including the on-air look of the station as well as print and outdoor advertising. Around that time both YTV (a childrens television network) and S-News (STV's news network) was about to hit the airwaves.

For YTV, I created the logo, on-air style and design. I was creative director to a team producing bumpers, interstitials, promo styles, logo animations and overall station branding. I then created a launch campaign for S-News. The campaign informed viewers about the launch date of the station, and advertised the news reporting style/direction of the network.

In 2009 I decided to embark upon a film making journey. I wrote, directed, produced and edited Dr. Zack, a 14 minute short film shot in Canada, on high definition video. The film was nominated for the "Best short film" prize at the Marbella International Film Festival in Spain. It has was also selected for screening at the Independent Film Days Film Festival in Germany and won the Audience Choice award in the YIF online film competition.

In 2011 I directed, produced and edited Borders, a 30 minute short film which tells the story of a Middle Eastern couple who escape the turmoil back home and seek refuge in a European metropolis. Borders experiments with a unique story telling technique; the whole film takes place from a first person perspective, through the eyes of the main characters.

I currently reside in Vienna and spend my time shooting or developing projects.

My journey is a unique one. I have obtained a vast amount of experience and knowledge over the years, having worked at various levels of the industry in a wide range of roles and duties. I have created advertising campaigns, managed a team of creatives while developing on-air styles for TV stations, developed branding, wrote, produced and edited spots, directed musicians, on-air talent, actors, voice-over talent and everything in between.