The Director Who Taught Himself Everything
Uriel Araujo never went to film school. He taught himself to edit in 2023, cutting short form daily for months and posting to a page that grew its first three thousand followers one reel at a time. The rule was simple: make something every day until the work speaks louder than the resume.
It spoke. A reel he made about Bruno Casanovas got reposted by Bruno himself, and within a year the people he studied from became the people he worked for. Daniel Dalen's team reached out first, and Uriel grew his Instagram from eight thousand to seventy thousand followers in seven to eight months. Then Bruno called, and the co-founder of Nude Project had a new short form editor.
Next came the agency era: co-founding a content company where he managed a team of editors and clients from Olympic athletes to consumer brands. He learned how to run teams, run clients, and run out of patience for work that looks good but means nothing.
That impatience became URAL Studios, founded with Aidira Smailova in 2026: fewer clients, deeper relationships, films built around the idea nobody has made yet. Making content for brands, founders, and athletes since 2023, an MSc with distinction, a first class BSc, and six languages, all pointed at one thing now.
The Record, Clients & Projects
James Magnussen
Olympian and the first enhanced athlete. Brand identity, creative direction and short form with URAL.
Bruno Casanovas
Co-founder of Nude Project. Uriel has edited his short form since 2024, and URAL runs his short form creative direction.
Daniel Dalen
Grew his Instagram from 8,000 to 70,000 followers in seven to eight months, motion graphics built into every cut.
The Dijkstra Brothers
Building BrightFunded, a YouTube series filmed with the founders across Europe.
Fin Kwong
Built the content engine behind his channel.
The agency years
Co-founded a content company and ran its team of editors, with campaigns for athletes and consumer brands.