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 ...
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...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
19/05/2026
Actus Digital, a LiveU company, and a leading provider of intelligent media monitoring and broadcast compliance platforms, announced today that METEO CONSULT ha...
19/05/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of managed services for the broadcast and media industry, today announced the completion of a major renovation of its Singapore fa...
19/05/2026
Following a major upgrade to its Connecticut remote production centre with the installation of three 60-fader Argo S consoles in 2023, RPS has switched one of t...
19/05/2026
PlayBox Technology today announced the launch of Celebro Play, a browser-based media orchestration platform designed specifically for broadcast facilities and p...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/05/2026
LYNX Technik, provider of modular signal processing solutions for broadcast, post, and professional AV will showcase its latest signal processing solutions at B...
19/05/2026
Media Links, a leading developer and manufacturer of IP media transport solutions, has announced the integration of its Xscend platform with Skyline Communicat...
19/05/2026
Collaboration expands regional partner ecosystem as Media Links showcases IP media transport solutions on stand 4M4-4 and alongside Clearcast Asia on stand
Me...
19/05/2026
Company Highlights Labor-Saving Control and Custom Branding Opportunities Designed to Increase Integrator Profitability
LynTec, a leading manufacturer of ele...
19/05/2026
Mago Studio Moves AI Video Beyond Prompts with New Production-Focused Tools
Brie Clayton May 18, 2026
0 Comments
New Capabilities Bring Controllable, ...
19/05/2026
It May be Time to Stop and Take an AI Breather
Brie Clayton May 19, 2026
0 Comments
If the rock you stay on starts to roll, jump clean. Or you'll...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
Agentic AI inference at one-tenth the cost per token with NVIDIA Vera Rubin NVL7...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
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.
