Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicholas EZ Rios.
Hi Nicholas EZ, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Growing up as an only child, I spent a lot of my time watching TV and movies and creating my own movie scenes with my toys in my room. I think it trained a part of my brain early on to stage scenes and to think about arranging 3D objects on a 2D plane like a screen.
When I graduated from Stephen F. Austin High School, I had big plans to play Division 1 basketball, but toward the end of my senior year I tore every ligament in my left ankle and those dreams died quickly. After surgery, all I could do was sit at my computer, and that’s when I discovered a very basic editing program and fell in love. Editing felt so natural, and once I ran out of things to edit, I had to figure out how to film and light my own footage so I could feed my new editing addiction. That’s what led me to shooting music videos and commercials in the Houston area in the early 2000s. These were pre-YouTube days, so most of the learning happened on set through trial and error.
I did commercial work and traveled the country for the next 17 years or so honing my craft. Eventually I stepped away from filmmaking and was working at my stepfather’s oil and gas company when my wife and I walked into Space Center Houston to see the Apollo 11 spacecraft. Seeing the center reignited something in me. I told my wife it would be amazing if I could take my skill set and apply it to a place like this. Oddly enough, four months later a job opened up for their first full time content creator. I applied and got it.
Three years later, an opportunity opened up at Intuitive Machines, a technology company building the first private lunar lander, IM-1. I spent the next two years documenting the build, and we ultimately became the first private company to soft land an autonomous vehicle on the moon, which was an extremely proud moment for me. My last project at Intuitive Machines was their NASDAQ IPO (LUNR). Once that was complete, I decided it was time to move on and return to the freelance world.
For the last two years I’ve been running my own production company, Parabolik Media, where we offer hybrid real world film production and AI media creation. We’re excited for the future.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
If I had known how challenging this career was going to be, I honestly may not have taken this route. I sometimes tell people it would have been easier (and more financially rewarding) to just become a family doctor or a surgeon.
Filmmaking is a very physical job. It’s a contact sport. It’s also mentally exhausting. Very little sleep, tough deadlines and lots of caffeine take a toll on your body over the years. With all that being said, I’m grateful I’ve been able to make a living as a filmmaker in Houston for the last 25 or so years. That’s a very rare thing.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work as a Hybrid AI Director of Photography. What that means is I can create moving images and stills in the real world just as easily as I can using artificial intelligence.
As far as what I’m known for, it would definitely be the five years I spent in the aerospace industry. What I’m most proud of is getting to write my name and my father’s name on an inside panel of the spacecraft we sent to the Moon. He had just passed away, and knowing our names would be together for the next few billion years felt amazing at the time and still does.
As far as what sets me apart, I’d say I have a unique way of seeing images/light and I enjoy making them come to life to tell a story.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nickezrios
