Graphic Designer. Compositor. Editor & Media Specialist.

// In the fall of 1986, a child was born to an eccentric family in the Bay Area. His father, the paterfamilias Solomon (from the tale of King Solomon), loved his own name so much so that he longed for a son named Solomon Jr. Far be it known from him that the mother had already rejected this title in her mind, for she had far greater plans for her firstborn. Upon his delivery, the child's hairless crown reminded his mother of the popular cartoon character Ziggy. It was then that she knew that she wanted his name to start with the letter 'Z', solidifying union with his bald, yet fictional brother. And so out of these circumstances, a compromise was born. They settled upon the name, "Zakaman". Not only did they both agree that it was a bold choice--a name of regal fortitude that could roll off the tongue throughout the ages, but it also both appeased the mother's wishes by starting with the letter 'Z' and the father's by adhering to the same consonant-vowel pattern with the same vowel repeating throughout--S-O-L-O-M-O-N, Z-A-K-A-M-A-N. How little they could have anticipated that this child, Zakaman, son of Solomon, would grow into a character as unique as his own namesake's origins.

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In 2009, Zakaman graduated from the University of Southern California with a Bachelor’s degree in Film & TV Production. After graduating, he worked for 3 years as a technical director and editor for an infomercial channel based in LA that broadcasted in the UK. There, he learned in the ins & outs of TV broadcast and what it took to run a live, televised show. In 2012, he branched out on his own, working as a freelancer on indie films, TV, and music video projects, in post-production as an assistant editor / editor, and on-set in both camera and art departments. His work has included collaboration with artists such as Jamie Lynn-Sigler, Giraffage, Rex Lee, and Margaret Cho. From 2012 to 2014, he also served as Multimedia manager on the board of Project by Project’s LA Chapter, a non-profit group that raises funds for a different charitable cause each year through their annual tasting benefit, Plate by Plate. 

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An avid photographer, Zakaman has been taking photos all his life; he also has over 4 years’ professional experience as a photographer for live events. The many late nights spent retouching dailies incited within him a passion for still compositing. He was constantly building up software proficiencies to add to his tool belt. It had all prepared him for a move to the Bay Area in 2017 to pursue an education in Visual FX and become one hell of a compositor!

Zakaman graduated with a Master’s of Fine Arts from the Academy of Art University in VFX Compositing in early 2020. He has been credited for his compositing work on several projects (Me Time, A Star in The Desert, Beached, Blood, and All the Old Bells) through the University’s Studio X pipeline. Since graduating, he has worked as a freelance VFX artist on mostly commercials for clients such as LG and Del Taco. He has also had a steady role working for AC Transit as the Media Affairs assistant--a versatile, multiple hat-wearing still & video media specialist. Here he honed his compositing and design chops while graciously looking forward to the next venture in his career!

In his spare time he likes to fly his drone, explore beaches and trails with his 2 dogs, has a passion for VR/360-degree photography and shoots custom calendar composites of the losers in his fantasy league! //

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Software Proficiencies: Photoshop, Illustrator, Nuke, After Effects, Premiere, Lightroom, CaraVR, Maya, Unity, Blender, BiFrost, V-Ray, Arnold, Substance Painter, Mudbox, Mocha, PFTrack, Avid, FCP, DaVinci Resolve

Compositing Skills: Keying, Roto/Paint, Matchmove, 3D, Color Correction, Multimatte, CaraVR/360, Stereoscopic