Born in Louisville, KY and raised south of Nashville, TN, Ballard C. Boyd is a product of the American South. He began directing short films in high school, where his work played in numerous film festivals, as well as on HBO Family in 2000. He was also known locally in TN and KY press for the “lawn art” movement, along with documentarian J. Rory Fraser and brother Ross Fraser, which consisted of building exceptionally large-scale sculptures out of everything in their parent’s garages, then analyzing its deep meaning afterwards. The movement, largely misunderstood by neighbors as a bad yard sale, hit a chord in the media due to Ballard’s and the Frasers’ early skills in self-promotion.
Ballard attended Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, in 2000 where he graduated magna cum laude in 3 1/2 years with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film Production.
Following college, Ballard worked at the human consciousness think-tank Integral Institute in Boulder, Colorado, as a director, then manager of the company’s in-house production company, by the age of 23.
He is a member of the Boulder, CO-based comedy troup Secret Circus, along with fellow Emerson alumni Dave Burdick and Elisha Yaffe, working as director, writer, and official “third guy”. and where he was also frequently featured wearing a dress.
He has directed and produced programs spanning the divide from music videos to educational docs, promos to independent shorts, and ranging in format from 16mm to 35mm, and SD to HD video. His work in viral videos has been featured on the front pages of NBC.com, YouTube.com, SuperDeluxe.com, and dotcomedy.com. He has received awards at festivals for directing, cinematography, as well as best film.
Ballard C. Boyd currently lives in Park Slope, Brooklyn, and plays the ukulele.
His résumé is available here. Information on rates and further samples are available at: ballard@ballardcboyd.com.
Clients:
Mountain Dew
CollegeHumor.com
Emberwilde Productions
Rounder Records
Dharma Pop Records
Daily Camera / dirt, Boulder, CO
Integral Institute, Boulder, CO
Peacemaker Institute, Boulder, CO