I am Ertu
Some people know me as a musician. Others as a filmmaker or designer. I also write film and TV scripts, build apps and make games, so I’m still working on a short answer to “what do you do?”
Probably easier to show you.
Jack of all trades, master of some.
Recognition
telly award, 2023.
Fidelity in 59 for Fidelity International. I came up with the concept, edited the film and created its motion graphics. Charlie Humphreys produced it and helped me pitch it.
recruitment marketing awards, 2019.
Best Video for Unsung, and the Grand Prix for its Greater Manchester nursing campaign. I directed, produced and shot the film.
Unsung ↗ppma awards, 2019.
Best Creative Concept Recruitment Campaign, won by Manchester University NHS Trust through TMP Worldwide for the Greater Manchester nursing campaign.
cannes, 2016.
Inside (İçeride) was presented through the Short Film Corner at the 69th Cannes Film Festival.
Inside ↗About
I started out playing guitar in a school band called The Masterpiece. In 2008 I became Alp Turaç’s assistant at Stüdyo 101, then went on to work as a sound engineer and audio designer at Babajim. I recorded artists including mor ve ötesi and Yüksek Sadakat, and produced, recorded and mixed Multitap’s Özel Birisin with Sertaç Özgümüş.
Away from the studio, I mixed concerts for 110, Kreş, Ceylan Ertem and Multitap, worked in live television and recorded and mixed broadcasts for channels including Mezzo TV. At Istanbul Jazz Center, I mixed front of house for performances by Ron Carter and Victor Wooten.
I learned filmmaking on set, assisting on music videos and commercials before working as a camera operator. My own films followed: Sourdough, about a cyclist turned baker I met on holiday, and Inside, about a boy who has never left the straw hut where he was born.
In 2012 I co-founded Act Creative, where I worked as creative director across identity, publishing, photography and film. During our collaboration with Can Yayınları, I designed every book cover or directed the team producing it. I also designed or directed the publisher’s advertising and catalogues. At the studio I also made Weekend Wonderland, an adventure game for children with learning difficulties, for the Erasmus+ project ISG4Competence.
Since 2014 I’ve directed, shot, edited and animated commissioned work for brands, agencies, public services and musicians. From 2019 to 2024 I was Senior Video Editor and Motion Designer at Fidelity International.
On Mottos TV, I research, write and present films about history, science and ideas. I also write screenplays for film and television in English and Turkish, from science fiction and thrillers to drama and black comedy.
More recently, I’ve been building apps from ideas that used to live in my notes. Ikigai Daily is out on iPhone and Android, and Rebuild is a browser-based PDF tool. I’m now developing Documni, a larger document studio.
Contact