Chelsea Pictures

Describing his own work as "well-observed fiction", Nicholas' film style incorporates real life subject matter with the sensibilities of still photography. He trained as an anthropologist before joining the BBC as a radio producer, and went on to create three TV series for the BBC: "Washes Whiter," "Signs of the Times", and "From A to B." Following his BBC work, Nicholas directed his first feature, Unmade Beds, produced by Chelsea, which played at film festivals around the world.

Acclaimed for "his extraordinary ability to distill something quirky from ordinariness," in the words of David Reviews UK, "Barker is the creator of masterful miniatures of understatement." His wealth of advertising directorial credits include Carte D'Or, Centraal Beheer, Nike, VW, Heineken, Dyson, and McDonald's.

Nicholas joined Chelsea in 1996.