Jesse Zook Mann
Producer/ Director
Jesse Zook Mann is an Emmy-Award winning documentary director, and cinematographer. Jesse’s special on the Olympic Summer Games, My First Time, won top ratings for NBC. After producing his own series Jesse went on to produce international segments for Vice’s The Vice Guide to Everything on MTV.
Recently Jesse finished directing Oddities San Francisco for Discovery Networks, and field producing Monster Mansions for Travel Channel. Jesse’s past producer credits include LXTV First Look (NBC), Open House (NBC), I Do! (NBC), The Listening Post (Al Jazeera) and Splitting Hairs (Silverdocs).
Jesse’s web credits include creating the first webisodes covering Broadway with documentaries on Broadway.com, and directing several series for Cafemom.com generating videos with millions of views.
Jesse’s feature-length documentary Punk Jews was recently featured in The New York Times and currently screening at festivals. Zookmann.com
Websites
Portfolio Site
NFS Score
172
(Sophomore)
Article Comment
–
Modern Filmmakers Are 'Content Creators': How to Break into Digital TV
4 years ago
Article Comment
–
Take Your Documentary Skills to the Next Level with UnionDocs Labs: Applications Now Open
4 years ago
I wouldn't underestimate the power of snapchat to distribute video on phones. I didn't believe it until I used it, and felt it. The most emotional response I have had to video on mobile was vertical shooting.
Article Comment
–
Panasonic Introduces New 4K Cameras with HDR Movie Recording & 1080p Up to 240fps
5 years ago
I mean this HDR effect... is there no way to edit/ delete posts on here?
Article Comment
–
Panasonic Introduces New 4K Cameras with HDR Movie Recording & 1080p Up to 240fps
5 years ago
HDR isn't anything you can't do in post.
Boards Comment
–
School or self-taught?
5 years ago
If you want to work on film sets, or on TV shows, I think it is worth it. If you want to shoot indies, unless you have another source of income I think the debt is too much. Doing indie films, or documentaries is hard, and that extra 3-600 dollars a month you have to pay on your school loans can really limit what you can do out of college. I wrote a piece about it here for doc makers: http://www.zookmann.com/thinking-of-film-school-what-aspiring-documentar... .
Like others have said though... if you don't have the drive, none of it is worth pursuing. This world is so competitive that you need to be able to work very long hours, over extended periods of time, just to stay in the game. There is a lot to learn. If you don't LOVE this world, there are much easier things to study to make money.
Good luck!
Article Comment
–
Sarah Jones Set Safety App Allows You to Report Issues Anonymously
6 years ago
Does this app work on non-union reality shows?
I think something new is developing, and maybe content is the right word, maybe it is not. I do think that creatives can no longer ignore the audiences that young people are developing in their mom's basement in a year. YouTubers are able to generate audiences that rival TV networks now, and it takes grinding, time, and hustle... but if I could have all of the years I spent writing grants back to develop online platforms I would have made at least an extra couple of films in my career.
Corporate content thus far has largely been uninspired but I for one am dedicating the next couple of years to doing exactly this kind of work. There seems to be a critical mass of people watching video online now. Money isn't being thrown at indie film anymore, but if you can develop a platform and raise money on your own, the world is yours.