Korean cinematographer Jae Hong Kim sharing experience about Angénieux EZ Series
Could you introduce yourself? Who are you, and what journey led you to where you are today?
My name is Jae Hong Kim, and I am a cinematographer based in Seoul, South Korea. I work across feature films, music videos, and TV commercials, collaborating with a wide range of directors and production teams.
During my graduate studies at the Korea National University of Arts, I directed several short films, which deepened my understanding of storytelling and visual language. I consider myself someone who truly loves the filmmaking process, and I continuously pursue work that challenges and inspires me both technically and artistically.
Where do you live and work? Do you travel abroad often for production?
I currently work out of my studio in Gangnam, Seoul, where I maintain my camera and equipment inventory. My current gear includes Alexa 35, Alexa Mini LF, Red V-Raptor, and more.
Most of my recent international travel has been driven by K-pop music video productions. In 2025 alone, I worked in Paris, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, New York, Bangkok, Tokyo, and Sapporo: so yes, international shoots have become a regular part of my workflow.
What type of projects do you usually participate in, and which do you enjoy most?
While I enjoy working across different formats, filmmaking remains my favorite form of storytelling. There is something incredibly rewarding about spending a long time developing a narrative with a director and crew, refining the visual language together, and slowly shaping the emotional texture of a story.
What type of projects do you usually participate in, and which do you enjoy most?
While I enjoy working across different formats, filmmaking remains my favorite form of storytelling. There is something incredibly rewarding about spending a long time developing a narrative with a director and crew, refining the visual language together, and slowly shaping the emotional texture of a story.
How do you choose your camera and lens setup? What matters most in that decision process?
Today’s camera technology is excellent across the board whether using FX6, Alexa 35, Mini LF, or Venice. For me, the camera body is the secondary decision.
Lens choice, however, dramatically affects the tone of a project sometimes even more than lighting. The climate, space, atmosphere, and emotional direction of the story all influence my choice, so I always run lens tests and make a selection based on how the optics interact with the world and characters.
You mentioned owning EZ lenses (EZ1, EZ2, and EZ3). How did you decide to invest in them, and which do you use most?
Yes, I own the full EZ lineup, EZ1, EZ2, and EZ3, with both S35 and FF configurations.
Among them, I use the EZ1 Full Frame the most. The 45–135mm range fits many of the projects I shoot, and having the flexibility to adjust focal length quickly is crucial, especially compared to working solely with primes.
The EZ3 is also one of my favorites. In fast-moving environments, especially when I operate a B-camera or must respond instantly to an unfolding moment, it performs exceptionally well.
Could you share a project where Angénieux lenses played a key role?
One of the most memorable recent projects is the feature film Halo, directed by Young-Wan Noh, which I worked in as the cinematographer. The film won the Asian Future Best Film Award at the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival in 2025.
More than 80% of the film was shot using the EZ1, EZ2, and EZ3 lenses. The entire movie is shot handheld with long takes, not a single static shot, so the compact design and responsive zoom mechanics of the EZ series were essential.
We also used tools like Cmotion Panbar Zoom and ZMU-4 mounted to handheld grips to allow rapid and intuitive zoom operation during performance-driven scenes.
The film will be released in Korea in 2026.
Is there another film, commercial, or music video you’d like to highlight?
The project mentioned above represents an important milestone for me.
For commercials and music videos, many of those works are posted on my Instagram if viewers would like to see a broader range of my portfolio.
Have you used other Angénieux lenses in your cinematography journey?
Yes, one notable project was Kim Cheolsu the Magical Girl, a short film by Hye-yeon Jung, produced under the CJ Culture Foundation’s program, which is one of the most respected creative platforms in Korea.
The project involved a combination of live-action and AI-generated animation elements, and we shot the action sequences using Alexa Mini (S35) paired with Angénieux EZ lenses across A- and B-camera units.
Looking back, Angénieux lenses have appeared consistently throughout my career, and I believe that trend will continue.
