Director

Before lionel became the composer you hear on film soundtracks, he was a film student who wanted to make them. He trained formally in cinema at Vanier College in Montreal and continued at Ryerson University in Toronto, where the curriculum covered directing, screenwriting, cinematography, and editing in equal measure. The goal at the time was narrative filmmaking; what emerged instead was an understanding of how music and image work on each other — an understanding that has quietly shaped everything he has done since.

Directing for lionel has not been a primary discipline since his music career gained momentum, but it is a recurring one. He has directed a number of short films and music video projects over the years — where he could control the full audiovisual experience from conception to final cut. The work reflects what happens when a composer directs: sound and image conceived simultaneously rather than one serving the other after the fact. Every cut is a musical decision. Every held frame is a rest in the score. The short films below are available on YouTube, alongside lionel's broader catalogue of music videos, demos, and documentary content.