We don’t just create visuals. We experiment — until it works — and design how brands move.
Studio Ballena was founded by Bert Balcaen — a Visual Director with the mind of an engineer and the instincts of a storyteller. Working across photography and video production, Bert creates high-impact commercial visuals built for motion, precision, and attention.
This is not a traditional studio.
Studio Ballena is a visual laboratory — a place where ideas are tested, systems are built, and controlled chaos is part of the process. We treat every project as an experiment: push it, break it, refine it, repeat — until the result feels inevitable.
Where others focus on capturing moments, Studio Ballena focuses on controlling them. With a background in graphic production management and technology, Bert approaches visual creation like a scientist approaches a hypothesis. Light, camera movement, timing, and texture are variables. Change one, observe the effect, adjust again. Nothing is accidental. Nothing is left to chance.
At the core of the studio is a motion-control robot Robbie — our favorite lab assistent and the engine behind some of our most complex work. It allows for ultra-precise, repeatable camera movements across both stills and video, opening the door to seamless transitions, layered compositions, visual effects, and motion experiments that demand absolute consistency. Once a move works, we can repeat it perfectly — again and again.
This level of control turns experimentation into reliability. Bold ideas become executable. Risk becomes calculated.
Studio Ballena specializes in food, beverage, and product campaigns where motion, detail, and timing make the difference between “nice” and unforgettable. From razor-sharp stills to kinetic video sequences, every visual is designed to perform across platforms, formats, and campaigns.
Before opening Studio Ballena, Bert spent years refining his craft alongside a mentor — learning not just how to shoot, but how to think structurally, plan obsessively, and execute at a commercial level. That mindset defines the studio today.
We collaborate with agencies, global brands, and ambitious challengers who understand that visuals are not decoration — they’re strategy. Bert leads projects as Visual Director, Director of Photography, and Motion Lead, working closely with creative teams from first concept to final delivery.
Inside the studio, we build sets, test movements, tweak variables, and chase the details most people overlook. Outside the studio, we bring that same precision on location. Every production is planned, measured, and pushed — because great visuals don’t happen by accident.
We value clarity, craftsmanship, and collaboration. We respect deadlines. We respect budgets. And we respect the responsibility that comes with representing a brand visually.
If you’re looking for safe, static imagery, we’re not your studio.
If you’re looking for visuals that move, sell, stay remembered and you’re curious, ambitious, and willing to experiment— welcome to Studio Ballena.