zanNI Productions
videography for live performance
Hi new friend. It’s good to meet you :)
I’m joy burklund (she/her), and I’m the founder and director of ZANNI Productions, where I have the privilege of producing rigorous, heart-led video captures of some of the boldest work in live theatre across Philly, NYC, and regionally.
Let me introduce myself!
roots in the theatre community
I found my way to this vocation by way of my experience as a performer and director in the nyc downtown theatre scene to which I dedicated 10 years of my early career.
In 2015 I started to notice how much of the wealth of ideas and artistry around me went completely undocumented. Performing artists weren’t having their work properly filmed for lack of monetary resources (it’s true!), but also for lack of a trusted collaborator.
I had long held a passion for camerawork and video editing, so I started filming my friends’ shows.
joy burklund with Diana Oh filming My Lingerie Play (2016)
Fast forward just a few years and I found myself developing deep, personal collaborations with artists in the off-broadway world (such as Diana Oh and Dan Fishback), and longstanding partnerships with renowned NYC and regional producing hubs such as New York Theatre Workshop, Musical Theatre Factory, Arena Stage, 59E59 Theaters, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and many more.
ZANNI grew quickly to be able to produce 4- and 5- camera live captures of performances. In just the first four years, my crew and I documented and delivered over three hundred live-captures of theatrical performances, as well as dozens of pieces of short form and documentary content.
When the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, theatre’s need for videography collaborators became clearer than ever as producing companies took their performance offerings online. I took the chance to deepen my commitment to serving the theatre community: In the week of the impending shutdown, ZANNI filmed 5 off-broadway performances on the brink of closure, some of which became available for streaming once theaters had shuttered (landing me a spot in the NYTimes). I collaborated with The Brick theater in Williamsburg to produce a series of multi-cam live-streamed performances from their stage. I served as director of photography and editor with ZANNI on numerous filmed-for-streaming theatrical productions such as “Kristina Wong Sweatshop Overlord” and “Sanctuary City” at New York Theatre Workshop; “Where You Are Now” at Ensemble Studio Theater; “Where We Belong” at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and many others.
I edited The Homebound Project, a four-installment online fundraising effort for No Kid Hungry, featuring monologues written by contemporary playwrights. And I served as DP, editor, and video producer for RENT 25, a digital work by NYTW celebrating the anniversary of the iconic musical by combining documentary storytelling and new music videos to reach an international online audience of over 20 thousand.
ZANNI’s core crew upon wrapping a shoot: Milan Misko, Adele Overbey, joy burklund, Stephanie Beattie
Upon theatre’s reopening, I returned to this work with a renewed sense of gratitude and pleasure. ZANNI has since thrived in opportunities to sustain long-term partnerships, documenting full seasons of new work at Arena Stage, New York Theatre Workshop, and The Exponential Festival. My east coast based crew (all artists in their own right) makes it possible by bringing their easeful expertise to each shoot.
working with ZANNI Productions
Photo by Maria Baranova for her series Faces of the Downtown Scene
Our theatrical capture work serves two main purposes!
To create exciting, emotion-driven marketing content to increase a production’s visibility over the course of its run, AND to invest in an artful, complete, and transparent capture of a live performance to preserve the work.
Working with me, you’ll find not only a technically savvy creator with years of experience navigating the unique challenges of filming live performance, but also a creative collaborator able to identify, affirm, and amplify the unique vision of each particular creative team.
more than a montage
When building promotional materials alongside bold artists, we have an opportunity to create something artful and bold ourselves! I love calling on my directing background to craft emotion-forward trailers that pull audiences towards the ideas and stories on our stages.
documenting the process
The process of making theatre can be just as fascinating as the final product. That’s why I love getting into rehearsal rooms and workshops, capturing the magic at its inception, and channeling those ideas into concise, idea-driven mini documentary features.
detailed, immersive multicam captures
When time allows, one of my favorite things is to make a thorough, artful, beginning-to-end document of a work of theater. These multi-cam (and often multi-performance) captures not only serve as a vivid document for the archives, but have provided an invaluable tool for my clients who seek to give a show further life by pitching to a new producer or touring partner. In many cases, these captures have been streamed online, amplifying the works beyond their local attendees to a much wider digital audience.
eager to see more? view our full portfolio
equipment
Our gear kit is hand-selected to suit the demanding lighting and sound conditions of a theatrical performance. We always include our complete kit, including 4K, high dynamic-range camera bodies, cinema-quality lenses, and 32-bit high-resolution audio capture devices in our estimates and fees, so you won’t be on the hook for a big bill from the rental house. See our complete gear list here.
Let’s chat!
As a valued prospective client, you’re welcome to email me directly at jb@zannivideo.com
Thank you so much for getting to know my work. I very much look forward to hearing back from you!
<3 joy