John Darbonne
Writer · Director · Cinematographer · Editor & VFX · AI Filmmaker

Light first.
Pixels second.

Twenty-five years writing, directing and shooting in Hollywood: features, music videos and commercials for Sony Music, Apple, Universal and more. Now I bring that craft to AI filmmaking.

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Watch the reels

Reels

Click to play

Clients

  • Sony Music
  • Universal Music
  • Universal Pictures
  • Apple
  • Microsoft
  • Intel
  • Lincoln Mercury
  • Skechers

Selected Work

Companion
Feature · Sold to Level 33 Entertainment

Companion

A horror feature I wrote and directed. The screenplay won the Filmmatic Horror Screenplay Award in 2017, and the finished film was acquired by Level 33 Entertainment.

Format
Feature film
Role
Writer · Director
  • Winner — Filmmatic Horror Screenplay Award, 2017
Automatic
Feature · SXSW premiere

Automatic

Feature film that premiered at the SXSW Film Festival.

Format
Feature film
Role
Cinematographer
Wanna Be a Baller
300M+ views on YouTube

“Wanna Be a Baller”

The Lil’ Troy music video that became a Houston rap landmark, with more than 300 million views on YouTube.

Format
Music video
Role
Cinematographer
The Devil's Elbow
Festival run

The Devil's Elbow

A surreal drama shot on Padre Island, every shot relit in post and graded toward a hard noir look.

Format
Short · Sony S-Log3
Role
Writer · Director · Cinematographer · Editor & VFX
  • Winner — NeoCinema AI International Film Festival
  • Best AI Film — Los Angeles Film Awards
  • Best Cinematography — Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival
  • Best Actress — Gulf Coast Film & Video Festival
  • Official Selection — HorrOrigins Film Festival
Manhole 646
In post-production

Manhole 646

Analog body horror in the Videodrome tradition. A sleep-elimination clinic, dead CRTs, and something that crawls out of a projection screen.

Format
Short film
Role
Writer · Director
Vanilla
Coming soon

Vanilla

Details coming soon.

Commercials
Commercial reel

Commercial Reel

Spots and branded work for record labels, studios and technology brands, plus recent broadcast work including three :30 spots for Golden Crescent CASA.

Clients
Sony Music, Universal Music, Universal Pictures, Apple, Microsoft, Intel, Lincoln Mercury, Skechers
Spec Work
Spec reel

Spec Reel

Concept spots made on my own, including a basketball spec where two pairs of shoes, one retro and one futuristic, play a street game with no players in them.

Format
Spec commercials

Recognition

Winner, Filmmatic Horror Screenplay AwardCompanion · 2017
SXSW Film FestivalAutomatic · feature premiere
Roadmap Writers Top 50Screenwriting
Stowe Story Labs, 2× AlumnusWins for The Cottages (webisodic), Salt War (episodic), Casket Girl and Companion (features)
Winner, NeoCinema AI International Film FestivalThe Devil's Elbow · 2026
Best AI Film, Los Angeles Film AwardsThe Devil's Elbow · 2026
Best Cinematography & Best ActressGulf Coast Film & Video Festival · The Devil's Elbow

About

I've spent twenty-five years making films in Hollywood: shooting features and the “Wanna Be a Baller” video, operating camera for Michael Goi, ASC, and writing and directing my own work, including the horror feature Companion.

From 2002 to 2011 I ran Wicked Post, an editing house on Hollywood Boulevard whose clients included Microsoft and Intel. I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from Full Sail University.

Today I'm Assistant Professor of Media Production at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, where in Spring 2025 I taught the first for-credit AI filmmaking course in Texas.

25years in film and television
32feature film credits
300M+YouTube views, “Wanna Be a Baller”
1stfor-credit AI filmmaking course in Texas
Directing · Cinematography · Post · Collaboration

Let's make something.