Raf Wathion is a Belgian-born commercial director and animator specializing in graphically strong, visually driven work that brings inanimate objects to life through technical innovation. Trained at St. Lucas Academy in Antwerp with a master's degree in animation from SHIVKV in Genk, he began his career creating stop motion idents for Belgian TV before transitioning to commercial direction in the late 1980s. His breakthrough came with the 2008 Electrabel campaign featuring 300,000 candles in stop motion, which won the APPE Award for Best European Spot and CCB Best Direction Award in 2009. He followed this with another CCB Best Direction Award in 2011 for Samsonite's 'Crash' campaign. Over his 20+ year career, Wathion has established himself as an automotive specialist, directing for Audi, Lexus, Nissan, BMW, Infiniti, Acura, Ford, and Lincoln. His 2014 Pennzoil campaign pioneered a first-of-its-kind technique projecting 3D animations onto real vapor clouds, captured in-camera using motion control after nearly a year of development with JWT Atlanta and MPC NY. His client roster also includes McDonald's, Delta, Sony, Exxon Mobil, Bacardi, and Deutsche Telekom. He is currently working with CZAR across Belgium, the Netherlands, France, and Germany, by Skunk in the US, and by Partners Film.