The story behind the studio
Built on movement.
Driven by story.
On set · Camera in hand · In his element
My name is Zen Nguyen.
I was born in Vietnam, where movement was my first language. Before I ever picked up a camera, I was a dancer — learning how to tell a story with my body, how to command a room without saying a word. That instinct never left me. It just found a new medium.
In 2013, I moved to the United States for college. A new country, a new language, a new lens on the world. Kansas City became home — a city that quietly holds more culture, more hunger, and more talent than most people realize.
I started Zenematic because I believed something: that every brand has a cinematic story inside it. Most never find it. Not because it isn't there — but because nobody looked for it with the right eyes.
I look for it. Every single project.
Zen is my name.
Cinematic is my obsession.
The two were always going to find each other.
But it's more than a name. Zen — the philosophy — is about presence. Intention. Doing one thing with complete focus. That's how we approach every frame we shoot, every story we tell, every brand we work with.
“Zenematic isn't just a name. It's a standard.”
3rd
Year with Big 12 Media
Official tournament media coverage for one of the most prestigious college athletic conferences in the country. Three years running in Kansas City.
10
Years teaching dance in KC
Professional hip hop choreographer. Red Bull Dance Your Style — KC Champion 2024. Top 16 USA 2025. Movement is in the DNA of everything Zenematic creates.
∞
Stories left to tell
Sports, fashion, entertainment, culture. Local brands, global clients. Every project is a new story. We're just getting started.
Every project starts with a visual language. We don't shoot and figure it out in the edit. We know the story before the camera rolls. Every frame is intentional — never accidental.
We don't take every project. We take the right ones and give them everything. Quality over quantity is not a philosophy — it's a practice. It shows in the work.
Sports, fashion, entertainment, community. We work where culture lives and moves. Our lens is shaped by Vietnam, KC, dance, and a decade of reading rooms and reading crowds.
Zenematic isn't a one-time vendor. We build creative partnerships that compound over time. The best work happens when we understand your brand as well as you do.
Zenematic is led by Zen Nguyen and built on a growing network of Kansas City's most talented creatives.
Editors, photographers, producers, and directors who share one standard: cinematic or nothing. We collaborate with the best in KC to bring every project to life at the level it deserves.
We're building something here. Come be part of it.
You've heard the story
Now let's write
yours.
Tell us about your project and let's create something worth remembering.
Start a conversation