Life at the Edge, CBC, Passion Pictures
Shared Plaet, CBC, River Road Films
About Nice Light Films Ltd
Nice Light Films, located on Dresden Row, Halifax, is an independent production company founded by filmmaker Russell Clark.
Russell is a natural history and documentary filmmaker whose work has taken him from Pacific kelp forests and Newfoundland shipwrecks to Spanish cork woodlands and Indonesian coral reefs. His work has appeared on CBC, PBS, Netflix and Arté.
His credits include producing, directing and shooting the Atlantic episode of Life at the Edge for CBC, PBS and ARTE, and working as Assistant Producer and Field Director on Shared Planet for CBC/PBS. He is an Emmy Award-winning cinematographer, Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Jackson Wild Award winner, as well as a commercial diver and founder of the Canadian Underwater Film Network.
With more than 25 years in film, publishing and digital media, Russell has worked on major international productions and small, independent films. He can lead a production, build a story, shoot a sequence or head into the field as a one-person crew, above or below the water.
Nice Light makes films about people, places and the natural world, with a particular interest in the connections between them.
Russell has worked with:
Directing & Producing
Russell is an independent director and producer focused on character-driven storytelling. Credits include episode Director and Producer for CBC/PBS’s forthcoming Life at the Edge series, director on Shared Planet for CBC/PBS, and the Jackson Wild Award-winning Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration.
Cinematography
While Russell strives for striking visuals, advancing the story is always at the heart of his creative decisions. His experience as a director, producer, and writer has given him a unique, hard-earned skill set that makes him a stronger camera operator, visual storyteller, and a more efficient, self-reliant cinematographer.
Visual Communication
Russell has a 26-year history in visual communication, spanning newspapers, magazines, digital media, and interactive projects, photography, and branding. He was an Adobe ambassador, has won numerous publishing awards, is a published photographer and writer, and knows how to bridge visual storytelling with community.
Diving & UW Video
Russell is the founder of the Canadian Underwater Film Network, served as Dive Advisor for CBC’s Shared Planet and Life at the Edge series, and collaborates with documentary productions across Canada including the BBC. He is also a certified commercial diver, an experienced dive supervisor, and UW videographer.
In 2023, Russell won an Emmy Award in cinematography as part of the team behind Netflix’s Island of the Sea Wolves
In 2021, Russell wrote, directed and produced Maxwel Hohn's Jackson Wild Award winner Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration
Russell's credits:
Life At The Edge
CBC / PBS / Arté (post-production)
Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Dive Advisor & Supervisor
Shared Planet
CBC / PBS / Arté
Assistant Producer, Director, Cinematographer, Dive Supervisor
To Be Announced
CBC
Development for new three-part series 2026/27
To Be Announced
PBS
Development for documentary feature
West Harbour Heroes
CRAVE
Cinematographer, Director
Island of the Sea Wolves
Netflix
Cinematographer, AC, Diver Safety
Emmy Award for best cinematography
The America's S2
BBC / NBC
Dive supervisor for episode sequence
Ceremony
Banchi Hanuse
Camera Operator
Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration
Seaproof.tv
Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, B-cam
Jackson Wild Award winner
TerraX
ZDF
Safety Diver
Mountains on the Moon
Las Vegas Sphere
Dive Supervisor
Part large format, part theatrical documentary
La Mer
Pachamama
Underwater Cinematographer, Dive Supervisor
Secrets of the Octopus
Disney+ / Nat Geo
Dive Supervisor
Islands: Natures Wild Laboratories
SkyTV
Safety Diver, AC
Call of the Coastal Wolves
Seaproof.tv
Writer, Director, Producer, Editor
Award winning short
Exploring Bell Island
Seaproof.tv
Writer, Director, Producer, Editor, Cinematographer
Award winning short
Absolutely Canadian
CBC
Underwater Camera Operator
Directing & Producing
Russell is a documentary director and producer with a background in natural history, adventure and human stories. He was Producer and Director of the Atlantic episode of River Road Films’ forthcoming CBC/PBS series Life at the Edge, from developing the original pitch through research and production. He’s experienced leading shoots in remote and challenging environments, working with wildlife, people and complex underwater operations. Practical, adaptable and hands-on, Russell builds productions that are safe, efficient and tailored to the story.
Cinematography
Russell has filmed from the Pacific to the Atlantic for the forthcoming CBC/PBS series Life at the Edge, following earlier work on Shared Planet and cinematography on the Emmy Award-winning Island of the Sea Wolves. A cinematographer by experience, he brings a strong visual sensibility to his directing, with expertise in underwater, wildlife, people, macro and drone cinematography. He can work as a fully self-contained unit or integrate into a larger crew. Russell is comfortable taking a story from research and interviews through production, directing and cinematography, above the water, below it, and everywhere in between.
Production
For more than 15 years, Russell built Seaproof into a successful independent production company creating films for ocean-focused organizations, businesses and audiences. The company produced award-winning mini-documentaries including Tadpoles: The Big Little Migration, Call of the Coastal Wolves, Exploring Bell Island and The Great Bear Swim, as well as leading HD underwater video production for the scuba, tourism, and freediving industries. Today, that work has evolved into Nice Light Films Ltd., a new name reflecting a broader focus on stories about people and the natural world connected to it.
Diving Operations
Russell is a certified commercial diver who meets CSA Z275 requirements and works as a safety diver, dive supervisor and underwater production advisor, including on CBC’s Life at the Edge. He also works as an underwater operator and AC, bringing a production-minded approach to safe, efficient in-water work. He founded the Canadian Underwater Film Network and is a PADI Divemaster with extensive cold-water diving experience. Naturally, he prefers a drysuit to a wetsuit. Weirdo.
Fellow RCGS
Russell was elected a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society following his work documenting and promoting Canada’s underwater environments. He co-led The Great Island Expedition with Jill Heinerth, a flag-carrying RCGS expedition that uncovered a 1942 Liberator bomber and documented WWII shipwrecks around Newfoundland, generating international attention.
Today, Russell continues the RCGS mandate of “Making Canada better known,” with a growing focus on Atlantic Canada and beyond.
Rustlings.
Now on Substack! Tales from production, on-location commentary, and observations from a documentary filmmaker roaming the world.