JAY KLEIN / FILMMAKER & CREATIVE LEADER
AUSTIN, TEXAS
I’m a storyteller first.
I turn complex ideas into something human, tangible, and emotionally honest. The tools evolve. The story comes first.
ON LOCATION
Guardian Sports / ShipStation
Video Strategy • Creative Direction • Motion Design • Generative AI • Filmmaking
01 / SELECTED WORK
Different tools. A human story at the center.
The work starts with a question: why should someone care? These films bring that question to life through people, visual storytelling, and a little room to explore.
INSIDE THE PROCESS / SHIPSTATION × RUSSELL BUTLER
A few lines of brief. A whole human story.
I turned a loose brand brief into a film built around Russell Butler’s personality—using real office locations, AI-assisted storyboards, and a moving animatic to bring the vision into focus before the shoot.
STORYBOARD / ANIMATIC / FINISHED FILM
MY ARTIST STATEMENT
The medium evolves. What makes us human doesn’t.
JAY KLEIN / FILMMAKER
Video is the native language of the internet. It’s how we communicate, connect, and experience the world. But just because everyone is creating content doesn’t mean everyone is telling a story. As a filmmaker, I take complex ideas and turn them into something human, tangible, and emotionally honest. Nobody wants another corporate sales pitch. People want to feel understood. They want to see how something connects to their lives. And that takes vulnerability, authenticity, and a story worth telling. Whether it’s thirty seconds or three hours, the fundamentals haven’t changed. We’ve been telling stories since the beginning of time. The medium evolves, but what makes us human doesn’t.
AI is changing the filmmaking landscape, and I’m all in on what it makes possible. I’ve developed workflows that bring speed, precision, and creative flexibility to the process, stripping away the friction so I can spend more time on the work that matters. But I’m not interested in technology for technology’s sake. AI is a tool, not the storyteller. The instinct to find the human element, to recognize an emotional truth, to know when something actually connects — that’s still the filmmaker’s job. Technology changes how we tell stories. It doesn’t change why we tell them. And at the end of the day, I’m a storyteller first.
IN MOTION / SHOWREEL
A glimpse of the stories I tell—and the craft behind them. Press play.
02 / VIDEO + AI
AI is a tool, not the storyteller.
I’m all in on what AI makes possible. I’ve developed workflows that bring speed, precision, and creative flexibility to filmmaking—stripping away friction so I can spend more time finding the human element.
I’m not interested in technology for technology’s sake. Live action, motion, or generative AI: I choose the tools that serve the story, the people watching, and the realities of the production.
FULLY AI-GENERATED VIDEO
BEHIND THE FILMS / MY NODE-BASED PROCESS
Fully generated. Deliberately directed.
A fully AI-generated film isn’t a single prompt. I build a connected production workflow that links character references, environments, shot-specific direction, image generation, and motion. That structure gives me room to experiment without losing the story—or the brand’s reason for telling it.
Quicksand / Multi-angle character references feed connected shot-generation steps, giving each composition a shared visual foundation. Select image to view full size.
Quicksand / Wide shots, close-ups, and motion prompts stay connected to the same character and environment references. Select image to view full size.
Continuity is built into the workflow.
In Quicksand, a multi-angle character sheet anchors the face, wardrobe, and silhouette. Shared environment references and detailed shot prompts guide lighting, palette, framing, and performance. Still frames developed in Nano Banana Pro feed Kling 3 motion steps, where I direct camera movement and action. I review and refine the results for continuity rather than assuming the model will preserve it.
The brand objective stays in the frame.
Quicksand turns shipping frustration into a story about relief. The Migration of Greatness uses the language of a nature documentary to make an everyday package feel important. The creative idea sets the tone, pacing, and visual choices; the workflow supports those decisions. I judge each shot by whether it serves that idea—not simply whether it looks impressive.
01
Explore
I explore the idea through concepts, storyboards, and visual development. AI helps me see possibilities earlier; instinct helps me decide which ones matter.
02
Produce
I bring the story to life through live action, hybrid production, editing, motion, sound, and color. Every choice should make the idea feel more real.
03
Review & adapt
I review the work with care, then shape each version for its audience. The format can change. The emotional truth shouldn’t.
HUMAN JUDGMENT IS THE FINAL FILTER
Creative freedom comes with responsibility. I consider likeness and permission, copyright and source material, disclosure, provenance, brand safety, and accuracy. Human judgment stays in the process—not outside it.
03 / MOTION DESIGN
Movement should mean something.
I started in graphic design. Typography, composition, and visual hierarchy are still part of how I tell a story. Motion gives those ideas rhythm, helping people follow a thought, feel a shift, or see something differently. It’s not decoration. It’s another way to connect.
Product explanation · Animated storytelling · Transitions · Titles · Social versions · Graphic toolkits · Consistency across formats
Motion design examples available upon request.
04 / FILMMAKING
Find the human element.
A thoughtful interview. An honest moment. The right image held just long enough. Whether I’m directing, behind the camera, or in the edit, I’m looking for what feels true—not what sounds like another sales pitch.
Creative direction · Directing · Cinematography · Interview direction · Commercial production · Documentary storytelling · Editing · Sound · Color · Photography
05 / APPROACH
The medium changes. The story still matters.
Thirty seconds or three hours, I start in the same place: what makes this meaningful to another person? The goal, the audience, and the channel shape the work. The human connection gives it a reason to exist.
01
Understand
I listen first—to the people behind the work, the audience, and what the project needs to accomplish. Before making anything, I want to know why it matters.
02
Find the Story
I look for the human idea beneath the complexity. What will someone recognize, feel, or connect to their own life?
03
Make the Work
I choose the right mix of filmmaking, motion, design, editing, and AI. The tools serve the idea—not the other way around.
04
Build for Distribution
I shape the story for the place it will live, from a brand film to social, web, presentations, and internal communications. Each version should feel considered.
A story doesn’t connect just because it fits the screen. Pacing, framing, and context should meet people where they are—without losing what made the story worth telling.
06 / EXPERIENCE
Different roles. The same storytelling instinct.
Oct 2025 — Present
Senior Video Content Manager
ShipStation Global / Austin, TX
I lead concept, scripting, directing, editing, motion, sound, color, and delivery across the full video lifecycle. I create generative-AI commercials and hybrid films, build repeatable workflows, and collaborate with brand, product, social, and growth teams.
May 2016 — Sep 2025
Video Content Creator / Producer
Arena Edge / Austin, TX
I led integrated video, web, digital campaign, and print work. As primary editor, lead cinematographer, and creative director, I built cohesive visual systems, introduced generative AI into production, and managed teams, client pitches, schedules, and budgets.
Jan 2015 — Jan 2016
Creative & Interactive Marketing Strategist
AMD / Austin, TX
I developed visual narratives and interactive experiences that translated technical products into clear audience stories, connecting film, motion, web, and campaign messaging.
May 2012 — Jan 2015
Video Content Creator / Producer
AMD / Austin, TX
I produced, shot, and edited product films, executive stories, events, and motion-led global marketing assets.
Dec 2004 — Dec 2006
Creative Content for Marketing
Dell / Austin, TX
I created visual content for product marketing, brand communication, and sales enablement across digital and print.
07 / ABOUT
I’m Jay. The human part is what interests me.
I’m an Austin-based filmmaker and creative leader. I work across video, motion, design, and generative AI, but those are the tools. Finding a story that makes someone feel understood is the work.
I began in graphic design and moved through web, interactive design, motion, photography, and filmmaking. Each taught me another way to see. That background still shapes how I compose a frame, build an idea, and help a story find its audience.
Over the past two decades, I’ve made work for technology companies, brands, artists, and creative teams. I can help find the idea, work with the people behind it, direct the production, and carry it through the edit. I care about the details because they change how a story feels.
I’m excited by what comes next. New tools give me more room to explore, but the instinct to recognize an emotional truth—and the willingness to be honest about it—still comes from being human. That’s the part I don’t want to lose.
BFA, GRAPHIC DESIGN / THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
CAVALRY KICKSTART / SCHOOL OF MOTION / JUNE 2026
08 / CONTACT
Let’s tell a story worth telling.
Austin, Texas