BACKGROUND
I was born in Jersey and spent two years at Highlands College studying Advanced Art & Design. My studies encompassed various art practices, including sculpture, 3D design, creative writing, painting, photography, and videography.
I later attended the University of Plymouth studying Fine Art for 3 years, where I specialised in film, photomontage, and installations, with a dissertation on Hypnopaedia.
After university, I spent five years backpacking across Australasia. During this time, I first heard about Bitcoin, met my partner, and in 2013 went on to settle in Sweden. Once in Sweden, I refocused on 3D design through my up-cycle design blog, MakeMendMakeDo, which also allowed me to experiment with videography and early crypto projects.
CRYPTO EXPERIENCE
Since 2014, I have developed a strong interest in the blockchain industry, focusing on understanding the goals and beliefs of its key players. My observations are documented through interviews and recordings, providing accessible insights into the industry’s real-world applications.
Over the years, I have interviewed over fifty unique individuals across Europe, including Swedish politicians, Russian e-sports professionals, innovative goldsmiths, and Capoeira masters. My focus eventually moved toward entrepreneurs and software developers advancing blockchain technology.
Between 2016 and 2018 I founded my first startup – Qwids, a token based Loyalty rewards solution for brands, providing an easy way for any organisation to build a token-based community. Between 2018 and 2020 I worked as Creative Director for Chromaway which provides a platform for smart contracts and issuing and transferring assets through a blockchain.
VIDEO PRODUCTION EXPERIENCE
I started producing videos in 2014 with ‘How to’ videos for my up-cycle blog, MakeMendMakeDo. In 2015, I founded Tellafoto and began shooting videos commercially, focusing on real estate and startup stories. I later produced short documentary-style commercials, and in early 2017, under my label Bitjoin, I published my first documentary short about six blockchain startup founders in Stockholm, Sweden, titled Founded.
As part of Bitjoin, I interviewed notable blockchain figures, including Andreas M. Antonopoulos, resulting in a three-part series on Money, Politics, and Business. Since 2017, I have produced several more documentary shorts, including a short documentary about the origin story of the Swedish Chef from the Muppets.
EXPERIENCE AS A FILMMAKER
In 2019, I transitioned from short-form documentary and interview-based content to developing a character called Bitman 360 for the Making an Influencer Project. This YouTube experiment as an “honest crypto influencer” allowed me to explore on-camera performance. By 2020, I wrote my first feature film script for The Fakefluencer, introducing a new character, Tom Gillespie.
I role-played online as Tom Gillespie, a crypto scamdemic investigator, and published The Fakefluencer in 2021. This was followed by a mini-series, Hexicans and The Time Value of Money (2022), which examined the Hexican crypto community built by Richard Heart.
Contact:
Email: rich@bitjoinstudios.com
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richtella
Twitter: https://x.com/richtella