Meet Boaz Freund

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Boaz Freund. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Boaz below.

Boaz, so many exciting things to discuss, we can’t wait. Thanks for joining us and we appreciate you sharing your wisdom with our readers. So, maybe we can start by discussing optimism and where your optimism comes from?

My optimism is directly drawn from my mom and the way she raised me. Things weren’t easy when she was raising my brother and me in the 80’s as a struggling single mom, but we woke up to a smile each and every morning of my childhood, and a promise of a good day. It was in her loving eyes that I felt optimism day in and day out and the way she sheltered us from the world and taught us to believe that we can do whatever we set our mind to, even when the going gets rough. I have seen the tide change, at work and in life, and I know a basic truth is that if you keep believing in what it is that you’re doing, and it is good, well, then you can affect any given situation and turn any negative into positive. In 2020, just a couple of weeks into the pandemic, I got a job to shoot a documentary for Amazon. I felt I was on the top of the world going to work at a time when everyone was sitting at home. However, on my way to the first day of camera build, I fell down and broke my femur bone. It was terrible, and I had to go to a hospital in NYC and into major surgery right when New York was the epicenter for Covid. Life was suddenly very difficult as I had to re-learn how to walk again as part of my recovery. It was that same optimism, instilled in me at a young age, as well as wanting to set the same example for my own kids, that encouraged me to do the hard work of excruciating physical therapy to get back to myself, always reflecting on turning a bad moment into an opportunity to have strength and resilience. I tried to keep a positive spirit. I think I did alright.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I am a Director of Photography based in New York City. I specialize in the Documentary and Commercial fields of the industry and I am fortunate to have my work take me around the globe.

I have loved visual storytelling from a young age as I grew up a movie fanatic, but my first discipline in the arts was actually music. I am a trained guitar player and have played since I was twelve. If I wasn’t a cinematographer, I would definitely be a musician and I do believe that me having rhythm in my bones is something that reflects in my motion photography. Whether it’s a slow push in from a wide shot to a “choker” (what we use to call an extreme close up) to having the camera handheld and flowing an action, the rhythm reverberates through me always.

My favorite moments at work are when my eye is in the viewfinder and some action is happening in front of me, with perfect lighting, and all of a sudden the world around me disappears and I get lost in the story. There is nothing quite like it other than maybe losing yourself in dance or the feeling of being in love. It is a very special emotion.

I really get excited by exploring stories and themes I didn’t know existed and that is a part of the genius of documentary work, you get to be an “expert” on something very specific and in a short amount of time you learn so much and gain a deep perspective into a subject matter that maybe you previously knew nothing about.

I recently shot a documentary called “Space: The Longest Goodbye” directed by Ido Mizrahi for “PBS Independent Lens” about NASA’s commitment to send a manned mission to Mars, and it was a fascinating experience not only photographically but also philosophically and personally, dwelling on the question, if I was offered to go, would I?

At the same time, I was also shooting a Netflix doc named “Mer-People” directed by Cynthia Wade about people who put on mermaid tails and splash underwater where they find calm and serenity, being mermaids. I loved the community and the stories we told, and it also made me get a scuba license so I could shoot with them underwater. I discovered a whole new world down there through these beautiful humans and that great experience.

I love it when work opens these new worlds to me and I find great inspiration in working with my creative collaborators and of course with my crew.

I recently took the plunge and upgraded my camera system from the ARRI Amira to the new ARRI ALEXA 35 because streamers mandate 4K resolution and this new system satisfies this mandate and beyond. I’ve had it for about six months now and it is an incredible system. I’ve mostly used it on commercials, thus far, but I am about to start filming a show for Peacock and am very excited to use it for a more “long form” narrative project.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Looking back, I was rather lucky to be a young assistant in the moment when the first professional 24p camera came out (Sony F-900) and George Lucas used it to shoot the prequel trilogy to Start Wars in the early 2000’s. Learning that camera manual, from top to bottom, gave me a great understanding into video technology, and knowing how to work that machine allowed me on set as a technician, so I was exposed to high level sets at a very young age. On top of that, I was trained in the celluloid workflow and knew how to bridge the terms for Cinematographers who came from the 35mm film background into this new technology so that made me attractive as an assistant to “Older-School” DPs.

Lastly, I learned early on that people often hire because of your personality. Yes, being good at your position is important, but set hours are long and you spend so much time with your crew on set that the tendency is to call people you like to work alongside. So, being calm, diligent, efficient, self-motivated, and responsible were all important traits that I realized early on. Once I became proficient as an assistant, I put emphasis on making the days fun, easy-going and smooth. I am sure that detail has helped me to get called back consistently for projects alongside great people and that dynamic continues today.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

As a freelance Cinematographer, I’m always interested in meeting new potential collaborators. As a matter of fact, not doing enough networking is often detrimental.

An ideal partner can come in one of few ways. It can often be a director or an artist who is original and just has a great story to tell. Whether funded or not, I really find the greatest pleasure working with people who have a strong personal point of view; a vision. And I love working with people who share a similar taste for aesthetics and a shared sense of mission in storytelling.

Of course, it is nice to work on properly budgeted projects, but I find that every now and then you have an opportunity to sign onto a promising project that is still seeking funding, but one you believe in and has a director or producer whose vision and experience you trust. For projects like these, I usually also need to have a strong connection to the subject matter so I can be confident that it will turn into a worthwhile project.

A great partner can also be a producer who is looking for someone seasoned to do great work with and who likes your reel and wants to work together. I’ve had quite a few cold calls or emails that turned into fruitful and long-standing creative and business relationships.

At the end of the day, I am always looking to partner with good people who are looking to create inspiring work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://boazfreund.com/
• Instagram: @bofreund
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boaz-freund-20892a3/

Image Credits

Itzik Belenitzki
Alexa Hiratsmu