
Jackson Heights: A New York Story

1.518.527.9512
zach.rockenstyre@gmail.com
I grew up In Schenectady, New York and first fell in love with cinematography shooting on my DV camera in my film course in high school. After attending a few years at SUNY Brockport dabbling in various fields, I decided to risk it all to pursue my passion for filmmaking. I transferred to the NYU/Tisch Film program & graduated in 2011.
I spent a few years in the offices of Salaam Remi's production company, Re-Mi-Fa, as a production coordinator. After filling in for a sick DP on a documentary project, I got my first professional exposure to cinematography. Afterwards, I went to work at Hello World Communications to hone the technical side of my knowledge as digital cinematography was really reaching the masses.
With the advent of Freefly Systems' movi pro, I became the in house "movi guy" and quickly people wanted to bring me on set. Next thing you know, I had a reputation as a movi operator in the city and my freelance career was underway.
In 2014, I formed Artek Pictures, a production partnership with Andi Obarski with our purchase of a Red Epic Dragon we lovingly named "Puff". Our equipment needs grew to meet the needs of our jobs, and next thing we knew, we were running our friend's projects through our burgeoning boutique production company.
My work has come full circle as I've bridged from movi technician, to movi operator, to camera assistant, to cinematographer, producer, and even director. Every job seems to be full of unique new stories and crazy adventures along the way.