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Skate expectations A love of skateboarding gave Mason Horacek his first lessons in filmmaking, which he now uses when shooting commercial and personal work
skateboarding,” he says. “One classic skate camera angle I always come back to is shooting with a wide lens low to the ground. “To this day I’m always trying to find a way to incorporate my skateboard into a shot, whether I’m skating alongside a bike or car, or cruising down an incline. It’s a unique skill I’ve carried over from skateboarding and can incorporate into filmmaking.” Learning at full speed The leap from filming friends to earning a living behind a camera came when Horacek joined Lawrence & Schiller. He describes it as his biggest break – and something of a baptism of fire. “It was very much a sink-or-swim situation and it forced me to learn the ropes very quickly,” he says. Suddenly he was making commercials and testimonial films for major clients, with the expectations and responsibilities that entails. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to learn as much as I could and make the highest- quality videos possible,” Horacek explains. “Working alongside my agency for so many years, constantly meeting the expectations of large clients and learning
long time before Mason Horacek was storyboarding commercials, shooting anamorphic glass or recording ProRes Raw, he was
carrying a very different camera around his local skatepark. It was a JVC MiniDV camcorder, and what initially fascinated him wasn’t resolution, dynamic range or any other technical specification – it was the feeling created when pictures, movement and music came together. “The excitement and energy of those first skate videos was what really hooked me,” he remembers. “I can still go back and watch them today and feel that same nostalgia. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to recreate that feeling for other people through filmmaking.” Today, Horacek is a cinematographer based in Minnesota, working full-time for advertising agency Lawrence & Schiller. His output spans broadcast commercials, documentaries, testimonials and short films, but many of the instincts he developed following skateboarders with a camera remain part of his professional work. “I’m a huge fan of camera movement and I feel like I learned a lot of that from filming
how to deliver at a high level has been one of the biggest things that pushed me forward in my career.” That variety also means there is no standard formula for how he approaches a production. Documentaries and short films are particular favourites because they allow him to concentrate on storytelling and emotion, but Horacek believes every project needs to be considered individually. “My approach changes with every video, whether that’s because of budget restrictions, the style we’re shooting for or the story we’re trying to tell,” he says. “Every type of project requires a different approach and a different team, and I enjoy figuring out what each one needs.” Keep it moving Horacek's adaptable attitude extends to equipment. After spending much of his
High point A love of unusual angles marks Horacek‘s work
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September/October 2026
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