
Released this past January, the music video for Ariana Grande's yes, and? brings a modern approach to vintage allure. The video was directed by Christian Breslauer, who worked for the first time with cinematographer Gaul Porat. Together, the filmmakers found inspiration in well-chosen references and showcased the dynamic choreography with intentional framing and subtle, deliberate camera moves.
Working with Panavision New York, Breslauer and Porat chose to work primarily with H Series spherical primes for the production, which came together quickly in December 2023. Panavision recently caught up with both filmmakers for insights on their inspirations and collaboration.
Panavision: How would you describe the look you wanted to create for yes, and?'
Gaul Porat: Our look was definitely inspired by classic music videos from the mid-'80s to '90s, which were also inspired by the classic Vogue black-and-white photography of Richard Avedon and Herb Ritts. The most direct homage is Paula Abdul's Cold Hearted' music video, with its bold angles and compositions paired with soft yet strong directional window lighting.
How did you decide to frame for the 1.33:1 aspect ratio?
Christian Breslauer: Well, the song has a very late '80s, early '90s dance sound, and when you watch videos in that time period, they were often shot in the 4-by-3 format. So it felt right when we got into our set and saw the choreography. It just made it very flattering.
What drew you to H Series lenses for this music video?
Breslauer: I've used the H Series on a few projects and have always loved the vintage portrait characteristics they give, with the softness and roll-off on the edges. We wanted the video to have a nostalgic feel as well as look beautiful while softening skin tones and blooming highlights.
Porat: We wanted a set that could have a strong and classic look but without sacrificing optical quality, and the H Series are exactly that. Those were our main primes used for wides and our portraits of Ari during specific beats of the song.
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Porat: This project came up super last minute, and I knew I needed a camera vendor I could count on for having what we needed to achieve the look we wanted. So naturally Panavision was the place we wanted to go through that would have the expertise and quality of lenses that was right for us.
Christian, you've previously worked out of Panavision Hollywood, but for yes, and?' you prepped out of Panavision New York. How have your experiences been in both facilities?
Breslauer: Fantastic! Its great to know Panavision has my back no matter where I'm shooting, and the quality of service transcends each facility. I started working with Panavision a few years ago, eager to get my hands on their world-famous glass, and once I started shooting on it, I havent been able to stay away!
How did the two of you communicate with each other over the course of the project to ensure you had a shared vision for the look?
Porat: Christian is very collaborative yet, at the same time, very clear with what he wants. This was super-helpful, as it was our first time working together and we were on a very expedited timeline, so we quickly had to develop a shorthand for understanding each other. We didn't have the luxury of time to send a lot of references back and forth aside from what was in Christian's treatment from the get-go, so we just jumped headfirst into planning it all by getting into the location and seeing what it gave us and what we still had to augment and improve with lighting, set design, etc. It's not always ideal to have such a short timeline, but in a way it let us be very focused because 100 percent of our time for those few days was just spent on creating the look.
How do you approach camera movement when it comes to shooting a music video?
Breslauer: It varies from project to project, but on this one in particular, I was very intentional with our camera blocking in that we really hero the choreo and performance. When you see the choreo, its very elegant and like a hybrid ballet vogue. I didn't want to overly move the camera I love the idea of setting a clean frame and moving subtly to enhance a beat.
Any final thoughts?
Porat: The yes, and?' music video was such a great experience as a last job of the year before the holiday break because of who I got to work with, from Christian, the production team and Ariana, to my amazing crew. They all brought their A game, and I loved seeing everyone flow so well together. Our crane operators brought lots of great ideas to play with the camera angles, the AC team was super-focused yet also didn't take things too seriously, and our grip-and-electric team worked through torrential rains and not the easiest location. I want to recognize all their hard work and passion for their craft, which helps feed-back into my love and excitement for it, too.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
16/06/2026
Thomson's highly regarded expert-led online learning courses are now easier to access on the go via our new App.
Available now on Google Play Store, the J...
16/06/2026
Neumann.Berlin has released firmware version 2.0 for the MT 48 audio interface, adding plugin compatibility, expanded Dante networking options, broadcast encode...
16/06/2026
TVNewsCheck has announced that nominations are now open for its 2027 Women in Technology Awards, to be presented at NAB Show 2027 on Tuesday, April 6 in the Med...
16/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced Avalon, a 1RU IP intercom platform for broadcast, live events, and production environments. Designed for IP-only workflows, Avalon suppo...
16/06/2026
SNS has published a guide to remote video editing workflows using its EVO shared storage platform and companion tools, covering use cases ranging from home edit...
16/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that the Richmond Flying Squirrels, a Minor League Baseball affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, have deployed five Grass Valley LD...
16/06/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced the launch of the Official IPMX Training Series, a free online program covering the design, configurati...
16/06/2026
Swerve TV has announced distribution agreements with Fubo, Plex, Amazon Fire TV,...
16/06/2026
ATP and TikTok have announced an expansion of their global content partnership, extending the ATP's TikTok hub powered by TikTok GamePlan to cover all nine ...
16/06/2026
Network's LA facility serves as the heart of a sprawling operation built to ...
16/06/2026
At Pico, the network's media-management team is supporting a flood of HBS fe...
16/06/2026
The NHL will no longer air on CBC after the pulic broadcasters and national rights-holder Rogers Sportsnet were unable to come to agreement.
After a successfu...
16/06/2026
As live sports broadcasters continue to seek new ways to make complex action mor...
16/06/2026
Built with the 2026 FIFA World Cup in mind, these small but mighty IP-based tran...
16/06/2026
Boasts individual synths for each band
UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each operate...
16/06/2026
New intelligent auto-fader plug-in unveiled
PSPaudioware's latest release offers automatic level adjustment and provides more detailed control than many...
16/06/2026
New performance-focused library announced
Crystal Pads is the latest addition to The Crow Hill Company's ever-growing product range, and according to th...
16/06/2026
Developed in partnership with Sequential
In recent years, GForce Software have branched into official emulations of classic hardware synths, delivering a ha...
16/06/2026
Designed specifically for live performance monitoring
beyerdynamic's latest announcement sees the company introduce an affordable in-ear monitoring syst...
16/06/2026
Official emulation celebrates iconic synth's 40th anniversary
Cherry Audio have just introduced Ensoniq ESQ-1, an official recreation of the 1986 polyph...
16/06/2026
Australians place growing trust in SBS News
16 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has been recognised as one of Australia's most trusted news providers, ran...
16/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz achieves highest number of GCF validated 3GPP NR NTN test cases ...
16/06/2026
Bydgoszcz to Become a Local Centre of Excellence for Advanced Rail Technologies....
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
87 Percent of Creators Who Use Creative AI Say It Is Growing Their Business and ...
16/06/2026
Historic Zhuque-3 Reusable Rocket Test Mission Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton June 16, 2026
0 Comments
Apple Immersive Video puts view...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Rise WIB, the award-winning advocacy group championing gender diversity and career progression across the broadcast and media technology industry, today announc...
16/06/2026
Limecraft today announced the availability of Limecraft 2026.4, the fourth of eight planned platform releases this year. The update introduces Team-Based Access...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/06/2026
Free Program Supports IPMX Education from Foundational Concepts Through System and Network Design
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) today announced t...
16/06/2026
Share your views on Screen Australia and the future of the industry 15 June 2026
Your feedback matters.
Following the instrumental insights provided in 2025,...
16/06/2026
Techtel Supports T-Motion RCCP-2A Controller Upgrade for Major Australian Broadc...
16/06/2026
Tuesday 16 June 2026
Record audiences tune in for opening weekend of ICC Women&...
16/06/2026
Every breakthrough AI model starts the same way: with a training run. The infrastructure running those training jobs shapes everything: how fast teams can itera...
15/06/2026
One of the more exciting internal video production divisions within a college at...
15/06/2026
The deal valued at $22 Billion is expected to close in the first half of 2027...
15/06/2026
Golf Channel and the Arnold Palmer Cup have announced a partnership to livestream the 2026 Arnold Palmer Cup on Golf Channel Mobile and GolfChannel.com. The tou...
15/06/2026
TikTok and Panini have announced a partnership to bring a digital collectible ca...
15/06/2026
Cosm and Monster Energy have announced the debut of the first full-dome immersiv...
15/06/2026
Real American Freestyle (RAF) and Fox Nation have announced an exclusive streaming agreement for three RAF international events, beginning with RAF Georgia on J...
15/06/2026
FanConnect has announced a partnership with Extreme Networks integrating FanConn...
15/06/2026
Ten Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Will Start Fellowship Year at Ignite Lab from June 14-19
LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institut...
15/06/2026
Innovative three-band soft synth introduced
UVI's latest synth takes an interesting approach to synthesis, offering a trio of synth engines that each op...
15/06/2026
Applications now open for 2026
The Oram Awards have returned for 2026 to celebrate the unusual, unique and unfiltered creative worlds of women and gender-di...