Half-British, half-American, Zak Emerson is best known for his blend of heart-warming performances, paired with painterly cinematography. His work is beautifully well-observed, tapping into the minutia to find the warmth, emotion and lightness in the everyday. As a father to two fast-growing children, he is particularly equipped when capturing sentimental family-centred narratives.
Zak trained in fine art painting at Central St. Martins, before establishing a career as a storyboard artist for feature films, a skillset that undoubtedly helped hone his intuitive understanding of drama.
Since stepping into his director’s shoes, Zak has built up a critically-acclaimed body of commercial work in the UK, Europe and the USA for global brands including Vauxhall, Amazon, Pandora and Skoda.
When he’s not shooting commercials, Zak loves his extreme sports, as an ultra-runner, climber and surfer. His split-boarding documentary, ‘First Day of Summer’ was awarded at multiple mountain film festivals in 2017. For epic landscape photography and high-octane action, check out the snowboard magazine he co-founded – www.backdropjournal.com.
