Paul Johnstone

I have spent twenty years working at the intersection of film and graphic design. Much of that time was spent in the UK film industry as a creative director on award-winning film advertising campaigns for print and digital, trailers, production company idents and title sequences, often seen internationally and on the film festival circuit.


During this time, I developed my filmmaking, writing and photography chops 
and completed my first short film - crime thriller Versus - in 2015, with key crew members from Ben (In The Earth, Free Fire, Sightseers) Wheatley's production team.
Since then I have moved to the Bay Area, and written, designed and directed short films & promos in the thriller & suspense genres. Lately, I directed Bonnie Morgan - Samara from The Ring franchise - as a latex and slime-covered contorting creature in a creepy John Carpenter-honoring short that I also wrote.

 As an art director for Apple TV and Apple Music, I helped launch the Apple TV + subscription service globally, directing LA-based TV & movie motion agencies such as Imaginary Forces, Elastic and Buck on platform art campaigns for some of Apple TV+'s titles.

I recently sold a script that I devised and co-wrote which became ‘The Girl On The Third Floor’. The film landed on Netflix early 2020, reaching # 4 in their Daily Top 10 trending list.

I recently became creative director for California's Poppy Jasper Film Festival.

I am developing scripts in the horror, thriller and drama genres and producing an upcoming horror thriller.