Following his stint in advertising and prior to 1990 he established Vern Gillum & Friends Inc., where he produced and directed hundreds of commercials (among others, for McDonald's, General Foods, American Express, General Motors, Mattel) and short subjects throughout the US and around the globe, through his offices in Hollywood and New York.

During this period he won gold medals in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Clios and numerous Clio nominations, the U.S Film Festival, and International Film Festivals.

In 1988, Michael Mann hired him as the first West Coast commercial director to direct Miami Vice.

His episodic directorial work includes a number of episodes from each of the television series Firefly, The Big Easy, The Untouchables, Angel, Profiler, Sliders, Law & Order and Pros and Cons.

His work includes a number of episodes from dozens of television series, including, amongst others, ER, Prison Break, Walker, Texas Ranger, The Commish, Prey, Haunted, The Twilight Zone, JAG, Nash Bridges, Gabriel's Fire, Baywatch and Under Suspicion.