Kelly emerged from a creative background with a BA in Arts (Performance in Theatre & Screen) and MA in Creative Writing (Screenwriting), before transitioning into production and producing roles. Kelly worked as an actor on films such as Avatar and The Hobbit before producing his NZFC financed short film, Cub. Kelly then co-developed, field produced and was the writer on the award winning observational documentary series, Songs From The Inside. Since joining the Models Department at Weta Digital , Kelly has also produced two micro-budget feature films, Chronesthesia and Status Pending.