Both commercials and music videos are fields with high aesthetic stakes. ARRI France dove a bit deeper into these types of productions and first spotlights cinematographer Kanam Onoyama, a Japanese national who has lived in France for fifteen years. He came to study cinema at the ESRA International Film School in Paris after completing his degree in French literature at the University of Tokyo. Initially confronted with the difficulties of becoming an assistant, Onoyama was able to establish himself as a cinematographer in advertising and music videos, where he has since become very popular in France and abroad. However, his ambitions remained in fiction. In 2019, he authored the photography of Abou Leila, a feature film by Amin Sidi-Boum di ne, selected at La semaine de la Critique in Cannes, shot with the ALEXA Mini. He recently worked on several episodes of the second season of Top Boy, a cult series in the UK, relaunched by Netflix; a project shot with ALEXA Mini LF and ARRI Rental's DNA lenses. Today, Onoyama is busy with international fiction projects, while pursuing a solid career in advertising. Advertising is a very flexible business, always looking for new talent, explains the cinematographer. It was the first field that accepted me and gave me a chance. It's much more difficult with French cinema. That's also why I created the Div + association, which seeks to open up the field to more diversity, to discover new talent from minorities with a mentoring system.
Watch Nike's New Girl : A commercial produced for the Asian market
In advertising, Onoyama has worked on a string of big projects with brands such as Pepsi, Uber, Dior, Mercedes-Benz, and most recently Nike with their campaign New Girl, directed by Caroline Koning (Bwgtbld). Nike wanted to make a feminist film for the Asian market, explains the director of photography. A Spanish creative who works in Japan liked my work, so he thought of me. It's an advertisement that I wanted to treat as fiction. I used the ALEXA Mini LF with Zeiss Supreme Prime, because I wanted a modern, sharp image with nice contrast and detail. I really like working with the ALEXA, especially because it is very reliable in terms of color. Whatever my visual intent, I get exactly what I want. For the past two to three years, I have been developing LUTs that I modify for each film. As I work on a wide variety of projects, scattered in many countries, these LUTs allow me to give my intention to the directors and postproduction teams and not have any surprises in the end. The image is already colored, contrasted, saturated, as I want it to be.
Watch Kanam Onoyama's visualization of Stormzy's mega hit Vossi Bop
In 2017, Onoyama took on an agent in Great Britain, where he has since been shooting projects with some of the best directors. These projects also include high-quality music videos: Stormzy's Vossi Bop, Dua Lipa's Break my Heart, or Justin Bieber's Yummy. I do a lot of advertising, but music videos are visually more free, especially in England, says Onoyama. On the Stormzy Vossi Bop' video (Caviar), director Henry Scholfield and I took a lot of risks. I worked with an ALEXA Mini and shot everything at wide angle with a 14 mm Cooke S4/i. This video changed my life. It got a lot of attention, it got me a lot of offers and kind of started this trend of a very wide-angle camera, with characters very close in the foreground, with transitions.
Watch Dua Lipa's Break My Heart , a blockbuster music video with 500 million views on YouTube
Today, I work a lot with ALEXA Mini LF, Onoyama notes. One of the reasons is the size of the sensor. It's hard to explain, but I have the impression that the character is more present, more real. The image exists, a bit like when I shoot with a medium format Hasselblad. I also really like the viewfinder of the Mini LF. With it, I can check my images at any time, without the need to install an external monitor. I like to keep the camera as light as possible, so that it remains mobile, intuitive.
More of Kanam Onoyama's work can be found on his website or social media account:
https://kanameonoyama.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dive.plus.fr/
Opening image: Maxime Congi
Related Products ALEXA Mini LF Large format, small camera
ALEXA Mini More than just a camera
DNA Personalize your lenses.
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...
08/05/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit La Palma
Entertainment
08 May 2026
GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden
Link copied to clipb...
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Both commercials and music videos are fields with high aesthetic stakes. ARRI France dove a bit deeper into these types of productions and first spotlights cinematographer Kanam Onoyama, a Japanese national who has lived in France for fifteen years. He came to study cinema at the ESRA International Film School in Paris after completing his degree in French literature at the University of Tokyo. Initially confronted with the difficulties of becoming an assistant, Onoyama was able to establish himself as a cinematographer in advertising and music videos, where he has since become very popular in France and abroad. However, his ambitions remained in fiction. In 2019, he authored the photography of Abou Leila, a feature film by Amin Sidi-Boum di ne, selected at La semaine de la Critique in Cannes, shot with the ALEXA Mini. He recently worked on several episodes of the second season of Top Boy, a cult series in the UK, relaunched by Netflix; a project shot with ALEXA Mini LF and ARRI Rental's DNA lenses. Today, Onoyama is busy with international fiction projects, while pursuing a solid career in advertising. Advertising is a very flexible business, always looking for new talent, explains the cinematographer. It was the first field that accepted me and gave me a chance. It's much more difficult with French cinema. That's also why I created the Div + association, which seeks to open up the field to more diversity, to discover new talent from minorities with a mentoring system. 
