Uprising: Axel Byrfors’ “Wicked Biological Machinery” for Creativity

Axel Byrfors, now a director for Reset Content, has always been artistic; growing up in a bohemian, free-speaking home, his mother allowed him to indulge in his creative pursuits - be it painting, reading or watching films - even when he ought to have been at school.

“Censorship, etiquette and superficiality bother me quite a bit. I guess that is connected to my upbringing,” he says, telling LBB’s Ben Conway about his journey thus far. While Axel rapidly devoured new hobbies one after another in this time, two in particular have stuck with him to this day: herpetology (the study of reptiles) and horror films. 

When the time came for college, he decided to put his creativity (and “not very good” high school grades) to use, eventually landing on media studies. And putting his punk band behind him, he began to make short films. 

“I got into screenwriting and later did a semester at the Swedish Institute of Dramatic Arts,” he says. “I don’t know how much I actually learned from my brief studies. I always felt that just to live out, get life experiences and be curious about people you meet is the best path to become a good storyteller.”

One of these catalytic life moments was the arrival of affordable Canon DSLR cameras. “I had almost forgotten that I had an eye for framing and creating visuals by then,” he says. “Those cameras were revolutionary to me. I started making free backstage films on fashion shoots, I experimented, and quite quickly I got scouted by a production company.”

In these early days, Axel worked on a number of scrappy projects with “a crew of friends and own-pocket finance” which helped him develop his craft and a feel for genre and comedy work. A spot for Brahma beer and back-to-back success with an art-fashion film called ‘Alen’ and a music video for Francisca y Los Exploradores helped him catch some eyes, eventually leading to boards that more closely aligned with his vision.

One such project was “a tacky (although fair sized for a first)” TV ad for Coca-Cola Zero, which he co-directed for the South American market along with two other emerging talents. “I recall realising that ‘this is something I can actually do’, like a natural confidence thing, but at the same time, I realised that I most probably shouldn’t co-direct.” 

Discussing what else he learned on these projects, he says, “Before knowing what actually worked for me in terms of ’style of directing', I used to try to improvise and experiment a lot on the spot. I’m happy I realised quite early that really planning ahead and having as many details figured out beforehand as possible give much better results in my case.”

Axel is now based in Sweden, following ten years in Buenos Aires, and a brief year-long stint in Paris before the covid pandemic. Describing his previous locales as more “emotionally and socially vigorous” than his current hometown, Malmö, he says he’s still adjusting to the more muted Swedish culture - though already very aware that Malmö FF must win the football league. 

Speaking on his current inspirations, he says, “Laughter is king,” citing all the brands, agencies, creatives and directors that are dedicated to making funny content as key drivers. On top of that, “new technology, new voices and broader perspectives” also excite the young director. “That is something always in the making I feel,” he adds.

Conversely, something that frustrates Axel is when the industry ends up underestimating its audience - something he attributes to a reliance on statistics and polls. “It can become a vicious loop that lowers the bar for creativity.”

Highlighting some of his own recent work he says, “The three films for Bloomberg were a fun, creative challenge in many ways - the technical craftiness of it, being responsible for illustrating a quite complex message, and keeping up with all the very smart people involved!”

He continues, “Were the budget to allow for it, that would probably have been a motion control job… using a robot to get the whole camera trajectory impeccable. But in this case, we hired the best crew and planned the outcome like little machines ourselves instead. The miniature model elements of the project was something I always wanted to play with and hopefully will do more of. That approach was partly a problem solver in the storytelling but often problem solvers bring their own little problems to solve. Something beautiful that becomes evident on a set is that everyone there loves fixing and solving problems one way or another.”

Seeing these problems being solved and their outcomes appear on the monitor is Axel’s favourite part of the process. “Comparing that with the image you had in your head is always a special experience,” he says. Despite it not always being as rewarding as you’d hope, he says that each project - successful or not - always provides a learning opportunity regardless, which in turn improves his skillset.

On the flipside, he adds, “The most challenging aspect for me is just getting good sleep! Many would relate, I imagine.”

Still continuously ‘ploughing through’ hobbies as he did in his childhood, Axel can only put his innate voracious hunger for creativity and development down to some kind of “wicked biological machinery”. Particularly passionate about movies, travel and experiencing nature, he says that this omnipresent creative drive is something that is shared among creatives, and that the industry should feel responsible for proliferating into the wider world.

“[The industry should] lead the way and not just give people what they think they want. The industry has so many smart, creative and artistically ambitious people who are also deeply interested in advertising as a phenomenon. I can’t help but feel we could do more to enhance the artistic input in everyday society. We’re all at the receiving end as well.”