Adam Nelson was born in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, and started his filmmaking and writing careers before the age of ten. He would write short stories based on films he had seen and then make stop-motion films based on these with his Dad's VHS camera. He studied both film and media studies at A-level and developed a knack for using analog editing equipment to cut short films. He carried this passion into his degree (also in film studies) where he cut a lot of short films for other students. It was whilst teaching BTEC film production and running the media department at a large further education college that Adam took to directing.