Rachel Canavan is a creative director, filmmaker, and visual artist with extensive experience in commercial photography, brand film, screen-based work, and interdisciplinary performance. Her practice blends visual design, movement, and cinematic storytelling, delivering work that is conceptually strong, visually distinctive, and audience-focused.

Trained in Dance and Visual Art at the University of Brighton (First-Class, award winning),with a Diploma in Film Direction from Brighton Film School, and further design training at Leeds College of Art and Design, Rachel combines formal design and movement expertise with practical production fluency. She has a long-standing track record of working directly with clients to develop, direct, shoot, and edit both photography and film, ensuring a consistent, high-quality visual output aligned to creative and commercial briefs. Commercially, Rachel was a lead photographer at Venture UK, one of the UK’s leading portrait studios, where she directed photoshoots, designed imagery, edited content, presented work to clients, and sold final images. This role required balancing creative direction with client engagement, brand alignment, and commercial delivery — experience that continues to inform her work across film and visual campaigns.

Her screen-based work has received significant national recognition. She was commissioned by the National Review of Live Art as part of the New Moves Elevator programme to create Refraction, a screen-based dance installation presented within agallery installation space. The work was later exhibited internationally and shortlisted as a finalist in the Experimental Film category at the  New Blood D&AD Awards.

Rachel has worked within professional film production environments, including collaboration with the National Film and Television School on Justified Technophobia (dir.Conal Percy), and as second camera on Anarchic Variations (dir. Liz Aggiss and Billy Cowie) and The Men in the Wall — both widely recognised as groundbreaking works in the development of dance on screen. She has recently worked on a commercial feature film directed by John Madden, scheduled for cinema release, where she was selected for her specialist expertise in movement and performance developed through her long-term research-led work. Alongside commissioned work, Rachel regularly originates and directs her own briefs, collaborating with fashion designers and musicians to create screen-based projects where movement, sound, and visual design are deeply integrated. She designs all visuals and edits all film work herself, allowing for a coherent creative vision from concept through to final delivery.

Rachel is sought by clients for her ability to translate briefs into compelling visual narratives that combine artistic integrity with commercial clarity. Her multidisciplinaryapproach, award-recognised practice, and end-to-end production capability make her a trusted creative partner for brands, agencies, and production teams seeking distinctive,emotionally resonant visual content.

Film and Television Work

Anarchic Variations 2002 Dance film produced by Channel 4 Dance4 season Break (2005) choreographed by Liz Aggiss and Billy Cowie.

Men in the Wall (2004) was produced with an Arts Council England Capture 3 Award and an FRSF Award. Liz Aggiss and Billy Cowie.

 Refraction 2003 Screen Dance Installation commissioned by National Review of Live Art.  Directed and choreographed by Rachel Canavan

 Refraction Screen Dance.  Dazed and Confused Re:Creation Awards with Franz Ferdinand and other finalists in the New Blood Awards.

 Justified Technophobe 2000.  Directed by Conal Percy. Starring, Will Mellor, Martin.L Evans and Melanie Sykes. Northern School of Film and Television.