Bright Black was born in a winter whiteout in the middle of the night somewhere between San Francisco and NYC. They are the directing duo and studio of filmmakers Austin Rhodes and Ivan Landau. They combine their expertise in cinematography and post-production to create bold visual content; the kind that can only be seen when you close your eyes and drift away into the shimmering phosphenes beneath your eyelids. That is the liminal spectrum they play in - the psychoactive spark right between understanding and the suspension of disbelief.
A skilled photographer, Rhodes spent six years earlier in his career embedded in Ciudad Juarez as a DP, capturing documentary footage that was used by Frontline for programming on human trafficking. He also spent several years in New York collaborating with a variety of musicians to create visual projections for their live shows.
Landau earned a degree in film studies at UC Berkeley before landing a job at Francis Ford Coppola’s American Zoetrope, launching his career in editorial and sound on films such as “The Virgin Suicides.” He later transitioned to VFX, working at renowned shop The Orphanage on features including “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.”
The duo is behind eye-popping music videos for artists such as Beats Antique and Sigur Ros, and docu-style branded content and ads for Apple, Nike, Wilson, Grey Goose, Beck’s, Beats by Dre, Neff, Vans, and others. Along the way they’ve worked with leading talent and athletes including Lebron James, Nicki Minaj, Gina Rodriguez, Norman Reedus, Kim Jones, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Travis Scott, and more.
Their most recent advertising work includes campaigns for Dick’s Sporting Goods, Lululemon, Applebees, and a broadcast and social campaign for Canon.
