Historical stories / Cinematic visuals / Traditional + generative production
AI Los Angeles · Award Winner · 2026
The Santa Ana — Best AI Short
A darkly comic true story of Operation Magpie: two German spies arrive in America in 1944 on a mission that goes spectacularly wrong.
A film by Gavin Carlton
Produced by Gavin Carlton and Tim Galvin
Austin AI Film Festival
Austin AIFF — Finalist
They survived the Civil War, only to face disaster on the journey home. The Sultana Disaster revisits the forgotten story of one of America’s deadliest maritime disasters, overshadowed by the end of the war.
Research, direction and VFX by Gavin Carlton
Ideas first. Tools second.
Films, visual effects, and the space between.
My background is visual effects, compositing and production. The newer tools simply let me solve a wider class of visual problems.
The standard is still the same: intention, continuity, performance, photography, rhythm — and whether the thing actually works on screen.
Two spies. One mission.
An America they never expected.
A WWII espionage short blending direction, performance, visual effects, and generative production.
A film by Gavin Carlton. Produced by Gavin Carlton and Tim Galvin.
Watch film ↗
They survived the war.
Then came the journey home.
Research / Direction / VFX
View project ↗
I’m a Los Angeles filmmaker and VFX supervisor with more than two decades across features, television, commercials and branded work.
My work now combines traditional filmmaking, compositing, 3D, editorial and generative production into one process.
My short Goodnight, Milwaukee won The Santa Ana — Best AI Short at AI Los Angeles 2026. The Sultana Disaster is a Finalist at the Austin AI Film Festival and an Official Selection at AI Zone International AI Film Festival 2026.
I’m most useful when the brief is ambitious, the path is unclear, and the answer probably isn’t just one tool.
Direction, visual effects, and generative production for brands.
Explore the work by category.
Skin, texture, and product detail.
2 ads
Fabric, movement, and performance.
8 ads
Flavor, atmosphere, and product storytelling.
2 ads
Products in motion and extreme environments.
3 ads
Everyday products and creator-led stories.
4 ads
Vehicle design, light, and camera movement.
Coming soon
Everyday products and creator-led stories.
Skin, texture, and product detail.
Fabric, movement, and performance.
Products in motion and extreme environments.
Vehicle design, light, and camera movement.
New automotive films are currently being developed and will be added here soon.
Flavor, atmosphere, and product storytelling.
Historical espionage short
AI Los Angeles · Award Winner · 2026
A darkly comic true story of Operation Magpie: two German spies arrive in America in 1944 on a mission that goes spectacularly wrong.
A film by Gavin Carlton
Produced by Gavin Carlton and Tim Galvin
Direction · VFX · Editorial · Generative production
Historical documentary short
Austin AI Film Festival
They survived the Civil War, only to face disaster on the journey home. The Sultana Disaster revisits the forgotten story of one of America’s deadliest maritime disasters, overshadowed by the end of the war.
Research, direction and VFX by Gavin Carlton
Research · Direction · VFX
Also an Official Selection at AI Zone International AI Film Festival 2026.