CASSIANO PRADO

Senior Motion Designer / Stage Visuals

Live-Action Animation Director

Screenwriter

Hi, I’m Cassiano Prado, a Brazilian-British live-action and animation director / senior motion designer based in Berlin. I divide my time between directing commercials and drama and crafting motion design. My latest fiction project is the supernatural thriller INVISIBLE CITY for Netflix.

Here’s a teaser —

In the world of advertising, I’ve shot over 40 commercials over the years—plenty across Europe and the UK, a good few in South America, and even some in Asia and the Middle East. Most were produced through Stink Films International and O2 Films. They often star sports celebrities.

Some films are more narrative than others.

Some have more post-production than others.

My Background

Over 20 years ago, I began my career in motion design and postproduction, starting as a Flame artist in the early 2000s before transitioning into motion graphics at Lobo Animation in Brazil. Later, I moved to the UK and began freelancing as a motion designer in London, collaborating with some of the industry’s top animation studios, including Passion Pictures, Nexus, Intro-UK, Moving Brands, United Visual Artists, and MTV UK, to name a few.

Somewhere along the way, I wrote, directed, and animated my first (and only) animated short—the retro-sci-fi KANANANA.

Back then, my work wasn’t just tied to animation—it was deeply connected to Broadcast and Music.

Broadcast — Growing up in the ‘80s and ‘90s—and working for MTV — of course I had a passion for designing TV idents and title sequences. While living in London, I created bumpers for numerous MTV shows, both internationally and the UK, as well as opening titles and idents for several broadcasters, including Channel 4, Five, the BBC, and Magic FM.

Music — In the past I directed music videos for Canadian DJ TIGA, Electrelane, The Emperor Machine, and White Belt Yellow Tag. I also designed stage visuals for artists like Elton John (with Kate Dawkins, Intro-UK), Jay-Z (with UVA), No Doubt, Sade, and the Foo Fighters (the last three in collaboration with legendary Music Video director Sophie Müller).

Having come full circle—from directing to writing, from exploring the boundless possibilities of animation to the equally boundless nuances of working with great actors—I’ve realised that, above all, I love telling stories.

Shooting commercials still excites me, but without the same anxiety. Having navigated every stage of the process—from concept to execution—I’ve reached a point where balancing commercials between fiction projects has become my professional sweet spot. And let’s be honest: after crafting a 12-episode story arc for a TV series, directing a commercial feels like a refreshing stroll in the park.

Biography —

Cassiano Prado is a Brazilian-British screenwriter and director for film and television, known for his genre work in suspense and fantasy storytelling. His recent projects include writing and directing for Netflix’s supernatural thriller Invisible City (Season 2) — which ranked among the world’s top ten most-watched non-English series — and directing Tales of Edgar for Fox, a contemporary horror adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories set in the underworld of São Paulo. His short film IDA screened at several international festivals, including Screamfest Horror Film Festival (Los Angeles), Atlanta Horror Film Festival, and Abertoir Horror Film Festival (UK).

An alumnus of the UK’s National Film and Television School and Serial Eyes — Europe’s leading postgraduate programme for television writing at the DFFB (Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie Berlin)— Prado is also a Nipkow Fellow, a Projeto Paradiso member, and a Torino Film Lab alumnus. Before turning to fiction, he spent over a decade directing high-profile international campaigns for brands such as Adidas, Gatorade, Getty Images, and Microsoft, honing a cinematic visual language that now informs his atmospheric narrative work.

Currently training as a Jungian psychoanalyst at the SAAJA (The Southern African Association of Jungian Analysts), Prado explores the unseen forces that shape human experience through complex, character-driven genre storytelling. His work confronts guilt, faith, and justice, revealing how even in the darkest places, hope endures.