Zack Young

Zack is a writer and documentary filmmaker based in Ridgewood, Queens. He’s spent much of the past decade in Brooklyn making shorts, web series, branded docs, and a feature film. He also hosts interactive performance art around the city and publishes a bi-monthly zine about dreams.

Latest Articles

12 Great Gifts for Emerging Filmmakers

2 days ago

Video is getting bigger and better every year, and I’m sure nearly everyone knows at least one aspiring filmmaker. I love filmmaking and photography, but the main problem I have with it is the amount of equipment one needs to get the job done. This can mean big, important pieces such as a camera or lights as well as tiny, essential accessories that make life a whole lot easier. If you are looking…

DSLR Cameras

Photography Accessories

4K Video Camera

Holiday 2026

Lighting Gifts for Studio Photographers

2 days ago

With the deluge of new cameras hitting the market, it has been easy to miss the latest studio tools that have been released over the past few years. Never fear! We’ve rounded up the most-wanted studio gear from our holiday wish lists so you can treat your favorite photographer—or yourself. The season of lights is upon us and nothing brightens up a studio more than a new set of lights. Two lights…

Studio Photography

Photography Lighting

Holiday 2026

Best Monitors for Video Editing

1 week ago

Many budding filmmakers have toiled away on the color correction and grading of their first masterpiece, watched it over countless times, hit the export button, pulled it up on a TV, and been shocked. "This looks nothing like I was expecting. The colors! The contrast! The saturation!" Although there's no universal fix for differences in how devices display an image, the most common culprit of…

Editing Monitor

Computer Monitors

Holiday 2026

Our Lighting, Video, and Audio Favs of 2026

1 week ago

Another year, another fresh cornucopia of video production offerings. Today, we're looking at six of our favorite new releases from 2026, ranging from affordable creator-focused gear to high-end professional tools that might just unlock your next masterpiece. These are the products we can't stop thinking about. Lighting Nanlite PavoSlim 360C RGB LED Light Panel While high-output panel lights have…

Holiday 2026

Headphones

Lenses & Accessories

Assimilate Live FX Studio: Beginner's Tutorial

2 weeks ago

Virtual production is a fast-growing space with ever-evolving tools, but one mainstay for media servers, playback, and compositing is Assimilate’s Live FX Studio. Available with a perpetual, yearly, or three month license, this powerful…

Virtual Production

The Best Mirrorless Cameras for Open Gate Video in 2026

2 weeks ago

Open gate recording is an invaluable tool for video shooters making content that will be delivered in different aspect ratios. By recording the entire camera sensor, not just a traditional 16 x 9 frame, open gate video has more information on the top and the bottom of the image, which aids cropping, social media delivery, and overall post-production flexibility. More and more mirrorless cameras…

Open Gate

Mirrorless Cameras

Hybrid Cameras

Hands-On Review: Nanlux Evoke 5C RGB LED Spotlight 8-Light Kit

3 weeks ago

With LED lights getting smaller and more powerful, it’s only a matter of time before what used to take a grip truck will soon require but a carry-on suitcase full of fixtures. And while that utopian vision may still be a ways off, it’s undeniable we are living in an era of great tiny lights. The Nanlux Evoke 5C, released earlier this year, certainly fits the bill. This palm-sized 6W RGB spotlight…

LEDs

Spotlights

Everything You Need to Know About the XGRIDS PortalCam

1 month ago

While you may have heard about the XGRIDS PortalCam in our introduction to Photogrammetry and Gaussian Splatting, inside the…

Virtual Production

Best Gimbal and Camera Stabilizers

1 month ago

There's nothing like the feeling you get after playing your footage from an arduous day of filming, when you realize that everything you shot looks like your camera stumbled into a rogue washing machine, which then toppled down a comically large mountain range. Nothing like it. Unintentionally shaky footage can make a seemingly successful shoot become the bane of one's career. While there are…

Tripods Supports & Rigs

Stabilizers & Gimbals

Holiday 2026

OBSBOT Details Talent 2 All-in-One Streaming and Switching Monitor

1 month ago

For those needing a portable monitor, switcher, and streaming device, check out the new OBSBOT Talent 2, an all-in-one multi-cam live streaming and production studio. With the Talent 2, you can stream, record, and switch up to 11 video…

Production Studio

Live Streaming

Panasonic Announces First PTZ Cameras with Global Shutter Sensors

Panasonic Announces "World's First" PTZ Cameras with Global…

1 month ago

Panasonic is shaking up the professional PTZ game with the new AW-UE200, AW-UE210, AW-UER200, and AW-UER210, all available in black or white and featuring a groundbreaking global shutter MOS sensor. The R-variations add a roll functionality while the 210-versions sport built-in SMPTE ST 2110 and Dante…

IBC 2026

Sony's Cinema Line Monitor Controllers

1 month ago

Sony is giving a big hand to video shooters with the new RM-DP7 and RM-DP5 cinema line monitor controllers. These 1920 x 1080 7” and 5” monitors have factory-calibrated colors, 2000 nits of brightness, BIG6 setting adjustments, and more. Both feature user-adjustable LUTs, dust and moisture…

IBC 2026

Sirui Announces Saturn V2 1.6x Anamorphics with Vertical Support

1 month ago

Sirui continues to provide anamorphic innovation with their new Saturn V2 series, 1.6x-squeeze T2.9 cine lenses with full-frame coverage and support for both horizontal and vertical anamorphic shooting. The lenses weigh under 500g and have neutral flaring that adapts to the color of the light…

Anamorphic Lenses

Cinema Lenses

IBC 2026

Hands-on Review: Kondor Blue Opaline Diffusion Filter (Screw-On, 1/8 Grade)

1 month ago

With cameras outputting increasingly higher resolutions, many creatives are deciding to de-sharpen their images and find new ways to wipe away some of that digital sheen, easing highlight transitions in the process and adding analog warmth to modern video. Kondor Blue’s first entry into the world of softening is their…

Diffusion

Filters & Accessories

Hollyland Drops Pyro 7 Ultra Wireless Transceiver Monitor with TWiFi

1 month ago

Hollyland’s Pyro line of wireless products has a new standout, the Pyro 7 Ultra, a wireless 7” transceiver monitor with professional twin dual-band Wi-Fi transmission (dubbed “TWiFi”) and broadcast-ready QD-LCD architecture for high-level color accuracy. With…

Wireless Transceivers

Production Monitors

IBC 2026