Zhang Ziyue[张子越]

Clip by Zhang Ziyue[张子越]

Profile

Nick Zhang is a cinematographer based in Los Angeles, represented by the Gersh Agency. He is experienced in shooting high-end narrative driven commercials. The commercial he shot for Meta won the 2025 Telly Award, multiple campaigns lensed by Nick have been featured by presses such as Vogue, WWD, Elle, and Forbes. By blending narrative camera techniques and artistic styles from his origins, Nick’s work embodies a sense of natural intimacy and cultural authenticity.

About the Video

A ballet dancer’s rehearsal is continuously interrupted by mysterious blaring music taking over her speaker. We wanted to tell a simple story about what happens when you’re pushed outside of your usual preferences and routines. Sometimes, giving in to a bit of chaos can lead to an unexpected rhythm and a new flow.

Key Points / Highlights

Since this short film is all about music and dance, the director and I really paid attention to camera movements. We designed each camera movement to be precise, meaningful, and with purpose, so that they can all help express the sense of feeling we are trying to convey throughout the story. Lighting change was also an important aspect, since we were only shooting in one location, we really tried to use different lighting setups to convey her inner thought and support the story.

How I used the EOS R6 V

Since we really wanted to incorporate a lot of camera movement into the piece, I took full advantage of the camera’s lightweight body. We mounted it on a gimbal for more freeform movement, placed it on a hi-hat on top of a ladder, and used it on a Dana Dolly for many of the push in and trucking shots. We even put the camera on a snorricam setup for some shots. I also incorporated a number of handheld shots whenever I wanted to introduce a bit of natural handheld shakes when the story called for it. Because the camera body is so lightweight, it was incredibly versatile and quick to work with, allowing us to achieve a wide range of shots in a much shorter amount of time than would have been possible with a heavier camera package.

First Impression of the EOS R6 V

It exceeded my expectations, especially considering how compact the camera is and its price point. Having built-in false color in the camera is wonderful, it’s a very useful and convenient feature especially when everything needs to move fast on set. I always prefer to shoot open gate, so having that in such a compact body is also a great plus. This camera can help achieve many different specialty shots that would be harder to achieve on a heavier camera and at the same time achieving these shots without many limitations to the image.