A Victoria-born cinematographer is currently busy at work as a camera operator on the dynamic set of The Last of Us, season two.
Jeff Zwicker’s work is gaining international recognition after 13 years in the industry, as he has won several awards and is now working on one of the most celebrated and anticipated television show’s sophomore season.
Zwicker found joy in making backyard films growing up and premiering them in his family’s living room before he graduated from Saanich’s Spectrum High School in 2011. After this, he knew he wanted to work in the arts and enrolled himself in Vancouver’s the Art Institute.
“I was only there for maybe a semester, maybe a month or two and then I got my first bill,” Zwicker told Victoria Buzz.
He says he thought it would be easier than it was to access the filming equipment from the facility, and once that became difficult, he realized it was not for him and he would rather learn by doing, so he dropped out.
After his departure from the Art Institute, he set his sights on becoming the best cinematographer/director of photography he could be.
Zwicker says that on a film or television set, the cinematographer is the person who coordinates with the camera operators, lighting department and grips to see that every shot will fully realize the director’s vision for the project.
Because of this, he had to ensure he learnt the ropes for all these departments by working in various roles on every project he could get his hands on.
“I just hit Craigslist and Facebook, independent Vancouver filmmakers groups, anything film, TV, video related and would just do whatever,” Zwicker explained.
“I think the first thing I did was just volunteer on this independent feature called Primary… I just volunteered and stood outside a door, making sure people weren’t talking.”
“I was just obsessed with the process of making movies.”
After many years of climbing the industry’s ladder, Zwicker has had the opportunity to learn and show off the skills he has garnered on several projects. He says his favourites are some of the horror and thriller shorts he has collaborated on.
For his work on In the Shadow of God he has earned several awards in cinematography and the short film itself has earned a total of 15 awards. Zwcker says he was excited to be able to collaborate with the same director, Brian Sepanzyk, on an upcoming short, whose working title is Defile.
In addition to his work in the horror and thriller genre, Zwicker has become known for his prowess behind the camera and has gotten to work on several prestigious projects including Snowpiercer, The Adam Project, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and most recently, The Last of Us.
Zwicker says that he jumped at the opportunity to get behind the camera for season two of The Last of Us because he knew they would be shooting in and around BC, and he really looked up to the showrunner of the series, Craig Mazin.
“I’m a big fan of the show,” he said. “The look is beautiful and it just seemed like something I’d love to be a part of.”
Thus far, he has been moving around a lot because the series has been shooting in Alberta, BC’s interior, Metro Vancouver and even on the coast—which was appreciated by Zwicker because he had the chance to see some of his family in town while filming on Vancouver Island.
He also says he loves these opportunities to work as a camera operator because it gives him the chance to see how other cinematographers work.
“The camera operator doesn’t have anything to do with the lighting—you’re just building shots and executing shots, working with the cast and other people to make that happen—it’s a wonderful place to watch cinematographers work and to not be the cinematographer yourself,” Zwicker explained.
“Once you’re in the role of [cinematographer], you only learn from your own mistakes or your own successes.”
Unfortunately, Zwicker cannot share any details of the content of the upcoming series, but he says that the show’s filming should be finished by the end of the summer or a little later.
After The Last of Us wraps up production, Zwicker says he is unsure what he will do next, but it would be a dream of his to get to work with the studio A24, who he says is at the forefront of the thriller and horror genres.
In order to try to achieve this, the Victoria-born cinematographer says he plans on moving state-side for a while to nurture the relationships he’s been building in Hollywood.
