Commercial Spotlight: Alexis Zab, ASC, AMC
17/05/2022
He pursued that interest to Mexico's Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematogr ficos and then into a career as a cinematographer, landing his first big break on director Fernando Eimbcke's 2004 black-and-white feature Duck Season. Zab 's feature credits also include Eimbcke's Lake Tahoe, Carlos Reygadas' Silent Light and Post Tenebras Lux, and Sean Baker's The Florida Project. Along the way, he's also photographed a wide range of short-form projects.
With a 2-year-old son at home, Zab has recently been focusing his career on commercials. I like the rhythm of commercials, he says. I've consciously not done a feature for the last couple years because it would pull me away from seeing my family for three months. Especially when my son is so young, I wake up to go to work and maybe he's still asleep, and then I get home and he's already asleep. But he's starting to understand why I'm gone, so I'm more flexible now about doing a feature than I have been the last couple of years.
The cinematographer began 2021 with a string of three commercials shot back-to-back: a Klarna spot ( The Four Quarter-Sized Cowboys ) directed by Andreas Nilsson, a Mark Romanek-directed McDonald's commercial ( Thank You for Driving Thru ), and an Evian shoot with director Vincent Haycock. Both the McDonald's and Klarna commercials premiered during the Super Bowl broadcast on Feb. 7, while the Evian spot was made for the European market.
Zab recently took some time to discuss these projects and more with Panavision.
Panavision: Early in your career, you took a year off to study yoga in India. What led to that decision?
Zab : When I graduated from film school, there was a big economic crisis, and a lot of the DPs in Mexico left the country, which left a huge opportunity for us. We just got out of school, and there was a lot to do. So I worked and worked and worked. I did a lot of special effects, and we would sometimes work 24, 36 hours straight just crazy hours, and eventually I burned out. I'd recently started practicing yoga with some friends, and I was really interested in it and where it comes from and what it does. Certain things lined up in my life that made it perfect for me to leave for a year, and I decided to go and study yoga and travel and figure things out.
When you study in India, it goes beyond just the asanas, or the physical practice. It's basically a philosophy for life. Everything you do is influenced by that knowledge. You end up practicing yoga every day, with every decision. It changed my perspective on life, and that changes everything. My approach to the work did a complete 180 after that practice.
In terms of the projects you choose to take?
Zab : Yeah, eventually. Especially in feature work, if you don't fully believe in it and have the correct circumstances in your life, it's hard to do, because it's such a huge investment in time and energy and compromise. I try to choose features that are trying to say something that I want to tell the world. You can't always do that. Sometimes you've got to do things for different reasons.
It's changed the way that I work with lighting as well. I became way more flexible about it. It's less about control and much more about flowing. I remember when I got out of school, it was always a struggle to get things exactly as I thought I wanted them. It was totally about controlling the light, and it was a very strenuous effort. But now I start with whatever's there already, and I then work on top of that. I learned to value reality. It's a more observational and flexible approach to the work.
And for handheld work it's been really useful. It's kept me lean so I can squeeze into nooks and crannies and get into weird positions to find angles. It definitely influences you that way.
What brought you to Panavision for these three recent commercials?
Zab : I've been working with Panavision for quite a few years. I really like the approach that Panavision has to filmmaking, and I have a great partnership with Rik [DeLisle, marketing executive at Panavision Hollywood]. He's been really supportive. And there are always new things, new lenses, or new old lenses, to try. When I talk to Guy [McVicker, technical marketing manager] and he does special adjustments to the optics, I learn a lot about a part of my craft that's really a mystery for most of us who are out in the field. Since everything's designed in-house, people have a real knowledge of the lenses, what they can do and how you can move them around. It's a great experience.
What's also cool about Panavision is that not every lens series matches every other series. They all have their own particular personalities and identities. There's always something you can take off the shelf, and you never feel like you're getting an industrial' look. It always feels personal. It just makes the whole process more fun.
What was the basic premise of each commercial?
Zab : The first commercial was comedy, with director Andreas Nilsson, who's really quirky and funny. He juxtaposes elements of reality in such a bizarre way that creates these great little universes. There's a new online store, Klarna, where you can buy things and pay in four smaller payments. So we had Maya Rudolph as four tiny cowgirls, quarter size, riding miniature ponies. It's a funny commercial, very simple, but there was a wink to old westerns.
After
LINK: | https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/commercial-spo... |
See more stories from panavision |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
30/05/2024
When to Upgrade Software or Firmware
When to Upgrade Software or Firmware This post is from our blog and news archive. The information may be out of date. Please contact us for further information ...
30/05/2024
The City of San Jose Chooses Utah ScientificAgain!
The City of San Jose Chooses Utah Scientific Again! This post is from our blog and news archive. The information may be out of date. Please contact us for furth...
30/05/2024
Empowering Media Leaders: Transformative Insights from the Executive Learning Series
Navigating Strategy, Ethics, and Innovation in the evolving European media lands...
30/05/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Thea Hvistendahl, the Filmmaker Behind Handling the Undead
By Bailey Pennick One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festi...
30/05/2024
CHOOSE CHICAGO, CITY OF CHICAGO ANNOUNCE PROGRAMMING DETAILS OF SUNDANCE INSTITUTE X CHICAGO 2024 (June 28 - 30)
Tickets are now available for the first-of-its-kind event in the United States f...
30/05/2024
UNICEF and Spotify's Award-Winning Mental Health Hub, Our Minds Matter, Comes to Latin America
Mental health and well-being are fundamental components of a child's healthy...
30/05/2024
After 64 days, the winner of Alone Australia has been revealed
After 64 days, the winner of Alone Australia has been revealed 29 May, 2024 Media releases *Contains Spoilers* After 64 days alone in the extreme and wild...
30/05/2024
Alone Australia finale delivers strongly as SBS confirms it will join VOZ streaming
Alone Australia finale delivers strongly as SBS confirms it will join VOZ stream...
30/05/2024
Alone Australia finale delivers strongly for national broadcaster SBS with 4.2m tuning in across the season
Alone Australia finale delivers strongly for national broadcaster SBS with 4.2m ...
30/05/2024
Lockheed Martin Canada Awards L3Harris the Integrated Communications System Contract
Photo credit: BAE...
30/05/2024
The New Standard for Unmanned Ground Vehicle ISR
L3Harris' WESCAM MX -10 RSTA provides advanced ISR and targeting capabilities for land-based platforms including Unmanned Ground Vehicles....
30/05/2024
AccuWeather Inks Deal With Comcast Technology Solutions For Channel Origination
DENVER AccuWeather has selected Comcast Technology Solutions' (CTS') Managed Channel Origination (MCO) to create, manage and distribute linear TV, on-de...
30/05/2024
Samsung, LG Adopt IAB Software Kit
NEW YORK The global body that sets technical standards for digital advertising has expanded the reach of its measurement software development kit to include Sam...
30/05/2024
Amazon Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Fire TV Devices with an AI Upgrade
As Amazon celebrates the 10th anniversary of the launch of the first Fire TV devices in 2014, the company has unveiled new AI-powered search capabilities for th...
30/05/2024
Finding the sustainability balance with personalised video streaming
As the expansion of personalised video streaming continues apace, JUMPs CEO and co-founder, Jer nimo Macan s and Fran ois Polarczyk, sustainability director at ...
30/05/2024
EditShare boosts sales direction with alumnus Grant Carro...
EditShare, the technology leader that enables storytellers to create and manage collaborative workflows at every stage from storyboard to screening, has appoint...
30/05/2024
COW Featured Resume: Paula Zimmerman - Video Editor - Motion Designer
COW Featured Resume: Paula Zimmerman - Video Editor - Motion Designer Brie Clayton May 30, 2024 0 Comments Paula Zimmerman Looking for work? Sign up...
30/05/2024
Palme d'Or Winner Anatomy of a Fall Finished with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Palme d'Or Winner Anatomy of a Fall Finished with DaVinci Resolve Studio Brie Clayton May 30, 2024 0 Comments Winner of the Palme d'Or at the ...
30/05/2024
Real-Time Workflow Masterclass
Real-Time Workflow Masterclass Michael Cioni May 30, 2024 0 Comments Would you rather have your workflow move at the same speed it always has, or woul...
30/05/2024
Ending a Loop Expression in After Effects
Ending a Loop Expression in After Effects Graham Quince May 30, 2024 0 Comments This question comes up quite a bit on forums and it seems to trip peop...
30/05/2024
Parks: Prime Video Has Lowest Churn Rate
DALLAS Consumers who subscribe to streaming services are the least likely to cancel Prime Video among all major providers, according to Parks Associates' St...
30/05/2024
SMPTE/RIS-OSVP tests model for circle of confusion'
According to Camera and Lens Metadata committee, modern digital cinema cameras are not accurately representing the usable depth of field achieved with various l...
30/05/2024
Meet the vice president of product management
Dave MacKinnon, vice president of product management at Clear-Com, explains the value of collaboration and networking in building a media career By Matthew Cor...
30/05/2024
That Station Launches New App, Website, Filled with Features, Music, Interviews and More
That Station's app and website just got a major upgrade. The station crew co...
30/05/2024
SWR Deploys Rohde & Schwarz Pixel Power Software Playout Solution
MUNICH, Germany Regional German broadcaster S dwestrundfunk (SWR) has deployed the Rohde & Schwarz Pixel Power graphics and playout solution....
30/05/2024
Hollyland Technology Unveils Pyro Wireless Video Transmission Series
IRVINE, Calif. Hollyland Technology has launched Pyro, a wireless video transmission system designed for the multi-person, mobile transmission and monitoring re...
30/05/2024
AIMS Opens Call for Presentations for Media-Over-IP Pavilion at AES New York
AIMS has announced it will once again collaborate with the Audio Engineering Society (AES) to bring the popular Media-Over-IP Pavilion to the AES New York show,...
30/05/2024
FCC Announces Opportunity for LPTV Stations to Change Channels
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Media Bureau has announced that beginning on August 20, 2024, Class A television, Low Power Televis...
30/05/2024
Comcast's StreamSaver Streaming Bundle Goes Live
Comcast has officially launched its discounted $15-a-month StreamSaver streaming bundle of Netflix, Peacock and Apple TV+ services. The previously announced bun...
30/05/2024
AMG Launches TV Stations, Local Now FAST Channels on Amazon's Fire TV Channels
LOS ANGELES Allen Media Group (AMG) is launching three of its streaming brands o...
30/05/2024
Viant Integrates with Google Cloud's BigQuery Data Clean Rooms
IRVINE, Calif. The ad tech company Viant Technology Inc. has announced a new integration with Google Cloud's BigQuery data clean rooms that enables the seam...
30/05/2024
Marshall Brings Selection of New and Proven AV Solutions...
Marshall Electronics will highlight several of its newest product offerings at InfoComm 2024 (Booth C8982), including the CV612 auto-tracking PTZ camera and the...
30/05/2024
Triveni Digital Streamlines TV Operations at the 2024 ATS...
Triveni Digital today announced that the company will showcase its end-to-end ATSC 3.0 offering at the 2024 ATSC NEXTGEN Broadcast Conference, June 12-14 in Was...
30/05/2024
Riedel Bolero Empowers Student Production Excellence at O...
Riedel Communications today announced that Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) has successfully integrated the Bolero wireless intercom system into their st...
30/05/2024
SWR moves to software playout with integrated Pixel Power...
Rohde & Schwarz has implemented its Pixel Power graphics and playout solution at S dwestrundfunk (SWR), the regional German broadcaster based in Baden-Baden. SW...
30/05/2024
Media Asset Management vs Inventory Management
From their inception, media asset management (MAM) systems have been a crucial component of the media supply chain. Traditionally MAM systems service customers ...
30/05/2024
Disguise launches new generation of EX media servers to p...
Disguise has announced the next evolution of its hardware solutions with the launch of the new generation of EX media servers, following the recently launched R...
30/05/2024
PlayBox Neo Highlights Smart Media Playout Innovations at...
PlayBox Neo, a globally active producer of broadcast media playout and channel branding solutions, sustained its industry event visibility at three events durin...
30/05/2024
EMG Gravity Media Announces Martyn Edwards as General Man...
EMG / Gravity Media, the leading force in production and content, media services and facilities, is pleased to announce the appointment of Martyn Edwards as the...
30/05/2024
Screen Australia, Australians in Film and VicScreen announce FUTURE VISION
30 05 2024 - Media release Screen Australia, Australians in Film and VicScreen announce FUTURE VISION Lee Sung Jin and Joanna Calo Australians in Film, Scree...
30/05/2024
AI Benefits Come at a Cost
AI Benefits Come at a Cost Brie Clayton May 29, 2024 0 Comments After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill the story ends, you wa...
30/05/2024
Morgan Spurlock, Super Size Me' Director, Has Died
Morgan Spurlock, director of Super Size Me, died May 24 in New York. He was 53 and had been battling cancer....
30/05/2024
Departing Longtime Local Anchors Share Their Lessons Learned
A pair of beloved local anchors with extraordinary runs at their stations are finally stepping down. Tom Wills signs off at WJXT Jacksonville May 31, 49 years a...
30/05/2024
Inscape Founder Zeev Neumeier Launches GraySwan To Optimize CTV Ads
Zeev Neumeier, who founded Inscape and was a pioneer in automatic content recognition, is beta-testing his new venture, GraySwan....
30/05/2024
Robert De Niro To Get Service to America Award From NABLF
Robert De Niro will get the 2024 Service to America Leadership Award from the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation. The award is presented...
30/05/2024
AGT' is Back, With More Golden Buzzers and Youngest Contestant Ever
Season 19 of America's Got Talent is on NBC starting May 28. The new season features more Golden Buzzers, which send a standout act directly to the live sho...
30/05/2024
The Quiz With Balls', Game Show That Pits Brains Against Boldness, Starts on Fox
Jay Pharoah hosts The Quiz with Balls, a game show that Fox says pits brains ag...
30/05/2024
Netflix's Bridgerton' Keeps Top Spot in TVision Power Score Rankings
Netflix's Bridgerton (season three) repeated as the top show in TVision's Power Score ranking of programs on connected TV for the week of May 20....