ABOUT JIAZE ZOU

Jiaze Zou is a Los Angeles based cinematographer and image-maker from Shenzhen, China. He studied visual arts and media at the University of California, San Diego, and is continuing his film training at Loyola Marymount University.

Jiaze's relationship with image-making began through still photography, especially 35mm film. His continued work with analog formats, including 16mm and 35mm motion picture film, has shaped his sensitivity to texture, color, contrast, and the physical quality of light. He is drawn to older cinematic images not simply as nostalgia, but as a way of understanding how atmosphere, imperfection, and material process can become part of storytelling.

While rooted in traditional cinematography, Jiaze is also interested in computational image-making, AI video, and emerging visual technologies. With a background in media and a growing interest in computer-based creative tools, he actively explores how new systems - from digital workflows to generative image-making - can expand the language of cinema rather than replace it.

His visual approach changes with each project, but he often gravitates toward images that feel natural yet heightened: grounded in real spaces, while carrying rich color, strong contrast, texture, and emotional tension. Across narrative films, commercials, music videos, photography, and experimental visual work, Jiaze approaches cinematography as a flexible artistic language, using both traditional and emerging tools to build mood, reveal character, and give each story its own visual memory.