Profile Spotlight: Zach Wise

[Profile Spotlights]

This week, One Day on Earth brings you New York Times media producer Zach Wise.

Demo Reel 2008 from Zach Wise on Vimeo.

Who are you and what is your profession?

My name is Zach Wise, and I'm a Multimedia Producer for The New York Times and an independent cinematographer.

Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?

I'm originally from the foothills of Appalachia in Southeastern Ohio. I
worked as a multimedia producer for years, creating educational video
games etc before going back to school for Photojournalism. I later
married my love of photo and multimedia together and started working on
short docs. Recently I've been moonlighting on some short (fictional)
films which has really been exciting.

What inspired you to be a filmmaker?

Baraka. Such an amazing piece of pure visual storytelling. Before seeing that
film, I had no idea what you could do with motion picture. It really
opened my eyes about how camera technique could show you something
you've never seen before. I'm fascinated with techniques that slow-down
or speed-up reality to show you something that was outside of your
eye's perception. Along the same lines I also love extreme macro
photography.

Who are your heroes?
Terrence Malick, because his movies are beautiful, poetic and deep. Emmanuel
Lubezki, amazing cinematographer. Bob Dylan, the definition of
everything I love about America. And I can't forget all of my friends
who always inspire me to do better, be better and just make life fun.

What do you plan to film on 10.10.10?
I'm interested in finding a vignette or portrait of an interesting NYC
character. I'm going to try to find someone who's story or job is
something that you won't be able to find in the near furture. If I
can't find a good character, I might take on something a little more
abstract, like a day in the life of NYC transit.

Why is this important to you?

I love the idea of collaboration on a grand scale. It's something new
that we can do because of the internet and projects like this really
have the power to expand our understanding of each other and capture a
dynamic piece of time to inform the future.

[Heather Morrison]

Wow - beautiful work - inspiring - thanks - Heather