2013, 2014, 2015

 

        Between 2013 and 2015, I received more and more offers for

cinematography and editing; my orders jumped significantly starting in 2012. During this time, I wasn't just editing but independently filming theater performances, so these cultural productions made up a significant part of my work. Additionally, I worked with Zoltán Villányi on „mock-live” reports and B-roll for MTVA (Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund), providing further professional experience.

        My portfolio grew more diverse. I created numerous promotional materials,

short corporate videos, commercials, and event recordings, but I also found time for volunteering. I regularly helped my mother, who is a teacher at a special needs kindergarten, by making various videos to support her work. These three years built the routine and versatility I would rely on for later, larger projects. Not many teens worked as much as I did back then.

 

 

Raspberry Flavored Honey (Málna ízű méz), short film – 2014

    In 2014, I was preparing for the cinematography program at

BKF (Budapest College of Communication and Business – now Metropolitan University) with high hopes, and I put together a short etude for my application. This work was so convincing that I was accepted, but fate intervened. I failed my Romanian baccalaureate exams in math and Romanian that year, and since my admission result was already finalized, I couldn't start the program. Technically, the shoot was a challenge: I worked with a mechanical gimbal and the Canon HV20 tape camera I got from Olivér. My sister, Réka Veronika Édua Szabó, and my friend Csaba Ákos Szász were my main helpers. We captured a unique, wordless encounter where only music underlines the emotional connection between a boy and a girl. The film explores the recognition of „subconscious junk” appearing in a shared inner space through a metaphor where a whole lifetime passes, and the two characters seek explanations in each other’s eyes.

Medzsix: With a Pure Heart (Tiszta szívvel), music video – 2014

 

        At that time, my friends Csaba Magics and Gergő Köteles were

experimenting with rapping, and I made them a truly „homemade,” low-budget music video. The technical gear consisted of a single light and two cameras, with a simple white wall as the backdrop. The guys used lyrics written on sheets of paper and various objects to enhance the visuals. The dynamic editing and bold camera movements gave this little story a unique effect that reached far beyond its humble circumstances.

Echo (Ecou), short film – 2015

        The idea for the short film Echo (Ecou) came from my mother,

who works as a psychologist and a kindergarten teacher for children with disabilities. The story uses symbolic tools to depict the process of processing a severe trauma. The film centers on a child desperately clinging to a giant teddy bear. However, this bear occasionally comes to life in a horrific way, becoming prickly and cruel—a metaphor for a toxic parental relationship. The child repeatedly turns to it with trust and hugs, but the bear only startles them every time. The turning point comes with the appearance of an impersonal, mysterious figure who takes away the toxic toy to protect the child, aiding in the painful detachment from the abusive parent. Due to the loss, the child initially rages and storms, but slowly settles after the initial anger. Then, the helper puts clay in their hands and blindfolds them. Relying only on touch and instinct, the child begins to mold the material, eventually kneading the shape of a bear themselves. When the blindfold is removed, the figure they created—no longer scary—finally brings inner peace and tranquility. This film was written and directed by my mother, who also plays the role of the child.

 

Mariann, short film – 2016

        I was still deep in the extensive post-production of

Sky High Blunder when Lénárd Fodor and I started thinking about a new short film. My sister and a friend, Ingrid Sfet, were also interested, so we brainstormed the basic plot with them. Based on the agreed ideas, I wrote the script and, after developing a tight four-day schedule, we began shooting. Professionally, this was a milestone: in January 2016, I bought my first professional video camera, a Sony PXW-X70. This technology, with its 10-bit color and XAVC L codec, opened a whole new visual world for me as both a cinematographer and colorist. I co-directed the film with Lénárd, with Attila Tarsoly assisting us. Besides directing, I handled cinematography, editing, color grading, compositing, and visual effects. We drew heavily from our surroundings for locations. My father’s apartment served as the main interior, its old furniture and unique atmosphere evoking a 19th-century palace. For exteriors, we used the gardens of the Roman Catholic Episcopal Palace of Oradea and the Rulikowski Cemetery. Zoltán Villányi provided a professional Sony light and mic stand, and Károly István Tóth from the CineFly team provided the opening drone shot for the original version. The budget was symbolic: we spent only 150 lei, and even that was on food consumed in the scenes.

        The story follows Anton Kelemen, a dedicated,

obsessed detective from the nineties. Anton has been a prisoner of a single case for a year: investigating the mysterious murder of his ex-wife, Mariann. The tragedy haunts him, he has visions of her, and he slides deeper into manic research every day, while his current wife, Rebeka, grows increasingly worried about his mental health. One afternoon, while being chased by an unknown assailant, a mysterious professor suddenly appears. He hands Anton a sealed envelope containing information that not only puts Mariann’s death in a new light but also destroys the man’s remaining trust. The work achieved nice success: it took second place at the Regina Maria Theater Company's short film festival and was screened at the BuSho Festival in Oradea. Additionally, at the invitation of Dr. József Katona, it was screened during an evening for the Cluj Society (Kolozsvár Társaság) along with several of my other works. The story reached a new chapter in 2025 when I created an AI-enhanced 8K HDR version. This made the visuals much more spectacular, and I performed aesthetic refinements using Fusion. I re-color-graded the entire film in DaVinci Resolve Studio, so it is now visible in a more modern and fresh form in every respect.

Unseen Angles (Látatlan Szögek), short film – 2017

        In 2016, following the theatrical premieres of my first feature film, I began my undergraduate studies in film at Sapientia EMTE (Sapientia Hungarian University of Transylvania). I made the short film Unseen Angles (Látatlan Szögek) for one of Dr. Róbert Lakatos's exams. The project's goal was to find a location that inspired a story and realize it. It was important that I could not use artificial, motivated lighting to enhance the location’s lights. One character does use a flashlight, which was acceptable because it wasn't a „motivated” source but a „practical” light in the actor's hand, thus considered part of the scene's content.

 

        The film is primarily a cinematographic etude rather than a standard film. I directed, filmed, edited, and color-graded it. I chose the interior of a house for sale in our courtyard. For the shoot, I first tried out camera movements and sub-scenes that looked good visually, then improvised slightly to create a story from these good-looking shots. Since my camera's sensor was too small, my friend Dávid Lévai lent me a Sony A6500 mirrorless camera, so more of the incoming light was visible.

 

        Márk Kádár assisted on the shoot. Starring: Renáta Deák, Réka Veronika Édua Szabó, and Lénárd Fodor. The film introduces two drunk girls who break into an apartment for a prank, but it soon turns out they are not alone, and it’s possible neither will return home that day...

Talent Show (Ki Mit Tud), talent competition – 2017

 

        In the spring of 2017, I dropped into a large-scale,

county-level series of events whose finals and gala were held in Oradea in late May and early June. The competition was supported by the DAHR (Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania – RMDSZ) Bihar County Branch and the Bihar County Council. Students and amateur groups arrived from every corner of Bihar County—from Marghita to Salonta to Săcueni—to compete in folk dance, modern dance, music, or poetry recitation. Category winners and featured finalists received an introductory short film or music video as a gift. Zoltán Villányi took on the production of these and entrusted me with the task: he left the entire creative process to me, from concept to execution. It was an exciting, fast-paced time. Zoltán would pick me up by car in the morning, and I would find out that day who we were working with. We had only 5-6 hours to meet the group on location, come up with a script, shoot the interviews or videos, then edit and color-grade. I loved this improvisational creative freedom. These reports were screened at the gala before the performances, and although they were television-quality materials, I couldn't officially publish them due to contracts, so many have unfortunately been forgotten since.

 

The Unique Dance Studio and the „Doomed” Masterpiece

 

        The most memorable story from this period is linked to the

Unique Dance Studio music video. That morning, I got into the car without a clue what awaited me, only to find out we had to produce a video for a dance group. We took my own camera and Zoltán’s TV gear to the Bodega in Oradea. The magic happened instantly: choreographer Noémi Simon directed the youth with incredible professionalism, and I easily came up with the visual world. We divided the music mix and recorded scenes utilizing various interior spaces of the Bodega. The kids were exhausted by the end, but I felt we had captured excellent raw material. When I got home, the cold shower came: Zoltán called to say there had been a mistake—this group wasn't supposed to get a video, so I should delete the footage. As a creator, this hit me hard. I knew we had created something special on zero budget and couldn't bring myself to destroy our work. I contacted Noémi, and we agreed that I would finish the film for a symbolic fee. I spent two weeks on the editing, color grading, and effects. I even asked for the opinion of my friend Attila Tarsoly, who helped with a professional eye as a hip-hop dancer. The result was brilliant. Despite being „doomed to be deleted” and barely paid for, I still consider it one of my best music videos professionally because it proved that passion and creative defiance can transcend budgetary constraints.

Ash and Wish (Hamu és Kívánság), situational documentary – 2017

        Ash and Wish (Hamu és Kívánság) is a deeply personal work

born after the death of my grandmother, Ilona Bujdosó. The story began when my grandmother’s sister, who lives in Canada, visited to fulfill the request in the deceased's will: to scatter her ashes at the locations she had designated. I made this film during university for Dr. Róbert Lakatos’s class, with the goal of following the day of farewell with a camera in hand. We traveled to Tinca and Gáborján as well. The main character is my aunt, Tünde Szabó, who set out with her friends to visit my grandmother’s birthplace and the village where her summer house stood. The film's uniqueness lies in its realism: it shows the process of grief and letting go through scenes that are sometimes slightly grotesque or startling. It features the opening of the urn, the scattering of ashes, and even a video call where Tünde shows the moments of the ceremony to her daughter back in Canada. The emotional power of the film is further enhanced by my use of an earlier interview. Just months before her death, for another university task, I had recorded a conversation with her about the beauty of life. I wove these two timelines—the affirmation of life and the final honors—together, creating a heartbreaking contrast. Ash and Wish also brought professional recognition, as I took second place with it at the 2017 National Scientific Students' Association Conference (OTDK). Despite its success before the jury and my peers, I never published it online due to the intimacy of the subject, and I don’t plan to make it public in the future because I feel this story is too personal for the world.

 

 

Song of a Crumb (Egy Morzsa Éneke), short film – 2018

        In 2018, I began to delve more seriously into the theory of screenwriting

with the help of a defining piece of literature. When I had to make a film for Dr. Cecília Felméri’s class at the university, this more conscious mindset guided me: I analyzed existing scripts to map out the secrets of well-functioning structures. Thus was born Song of a Crumb (Egy Morzsa Éneke), for which I was the producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, and colorist—but most importantly, this time I was credited as a fully independent director rather than a co-director. During casting, I looked for new faces beyond my family circle. Alongside my maternal grandmother, Éva Olga Schreier, and my sister, Réka Veronika Édua Szabó, I invited Bianka Szabó for the third role. I didn't know Bianka personally, but I had noticed her in the Szigligeti Theater's „School in the Theater, Theater in the School” project. Feeling her character was a perfect fit, I messaged her on Facebook, and she accepted almost immediately.

        I scheduled the shoot for four days, and the creative process was aided by Attila Tarsoly, who assisted with all the background work as the only non-acting crew member.

Resident Evil II 20th Anniversary of the Raccoon Incident

(Fan Made Promo), short film – 2018

        This short film idea was Lénárd Fodor’s;

I was only the cinematographer, editor, and colorist. It was made on zero budget with the participation of Bianka Szabó and Ingrid Sfet.

Saint George on the Heath and Neudorf

(Erdőszentgyörgy és Bözödújfalu), documentary – 2018

        Commissioned by film director and university professor Dr. Zsolt Balogh,

our entire class worked on a large-scale documentary along the Târnava River. Everyone was assigned a village or small town to present; I was given Sângeorgiu de Pădure (Erdőszentgyörgy). However, I soon realized you couldn't make a credible film about Sângeorgiu de Pădure without talking about Bezidu Nou (Bözödújfalu), as the fate of the two settlements is historically inseparable. I decided to make an independent documentary, from which they could edit whatever they saw fit into the joint production.

        

        While the others waited for the designated three-day shooting weekend, I traveled up earlier to map out the location more thoroughly on my own schedule. I worked as a one-man crew, and although they tried to assign three other students to me, it soon became clear our attitudes didn't match. Since they preferred to do nothing and even argued over tasks, I eventually stayed with just one colleague. I let the others do what they liked best: nothing. During filming, I conducted many interviews, mainly with elderly people who still remembered the village-destroying flooding operations of the Romanian communist regime.

        

        The film thus became a sort of evergreen memory for posterity. Although it contains parts that have since been realized—such as the construction of the Temple of Belonging—this only increases its documentary value. This temple, consecrated in August 2024 on the site of the former Bezidu Nou, is not a traditional parish but a memento honoring the victims of the village destruction.

        My film turned out very well, and I received special praise from the professor.

Though I expected only segments to be used in the final class-wide version, the real disappointment was the post-production. I was saddened to see that the colors of the scenes I had carefully lit and graded were completely ruined in the collective version. This reinforced my belief that I can best preserve my creative vision in my independent projects.

 

Music Therapy, the Film (Zene terápia, a film – Resurse în lucrul terapeutic cu muzica) – 2018

        This production was commissioned by the Sound Art E-Motion

Association (Sound Art E-Motion Egyesület) in collaboration with the British organization Music as Therapy International. As a cinematographer, I followed and documented professional training sessions and conferences for an entire year. The documentary premiered at the 2018 Music Therapy Conference at the Transilvania University of Brașov. Because the footage features many children with autism, the production was not released for public distribution to protect their privacy rights.

 

 

TVR Cluj – Cinematographer for „Transylvanian Watch” (Erdély Figyelő) – 2019

 

        Starting in October 2019, I worked as a cinematographer for the

Hungarian-language broadcast of the Cluj television station (TVR Cluj). During my probationary period under the leadership of Áron Antal, I participated in numerous television productions and collaborated with experienced reporters such as Csaba Szabó, Enikő Pákai, Katalin Orbán, and Judit Spitzer. Our joint work was cut short by the outbreak of the global pandemic in March 2020, which made on-location filming completely impossible. Since I secured a position at the Hungarian Opera of Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvári Magyar Opera) starting in the fall, I did not return to television work after the restrictions were lifted.

Northern Lights (Északi fény), portrait documentary – 2019

        I received an interesting university assignment:

„Create a portrait film about yourself.” This never-published 70-minute portrait film presents me from my birth until 2019. it summarizes many deep interviews and old, silly footage.

 

 

Succor (Felszabadulás), short film – 2019

        Succor (Felszabadulás) is my diploma film, made under the direction

of Dr. Róbert Lakatos. I must admit I overextended myself during the project because I wanted to handle every process from directing to post-production. Thus, I was simultaneously responsible for production, visuals, editing, and effects. Financial backing was provided by the university and the Communitas Foundation (Communitas Alapítvány), but due to bureaucratic difficulties, I also needed help from my father, who trusted me and advanced the shooting costs until the invoices were settled. The shoot was a true team effort: the leads were played by Noémi Harangozó and Attila Deák-Hunor, with technical support from Lénárd Fodor, Előd Török, sound engineer Ádám Józsa, Róbert Harangozó, and Norbert Salamon.

        The visual environment is thanks to the interior design work of Răzvan Mahuleț,

and international distribution was aided by British actor Christopher Guard, who took care of the English subtitles. In 2019, I had the honor of screening this and several other films as a guest of the Cluj Society (Kolozsvár Társaság) led by Dr. József Katona. The film’s central theme is the power of presence: it depicts the fateful nocturnal meeting of two single young people in the middle of an emotional crisis.

Euphoria Show Band – 2019

        In 2016, during an event filming, I met Nándor N. Balogh, the manager of the then

Euphoria Show Band (previously known as Euphoria Music Band). Our relationship quickly grew beyond work into a close friendship and fruitful professional collaboration.

        At first, I only filmed for him for larger projects, but later it became regular for me

to edit party footage he recorded with his phone. In 2019, we put together a particularly large-scale shoot, where I invited several cinematographer friends, Olivér Oláh and Norbert Salamon, to participate. Nándor rented a banquet hall for the recording, where we worked with a stage and spectacular lighting. The work was grueling—we filmed non-stop for eighteen hours with multiple cameras—but the energy invested paid off, as we captured a wealth of excellent material that day.

 

 

Cartea Mortilor - (Halloween Special) - The 4th Horseman, short film – 2020

        This Romanian short film is a horror movie written and directed by Lénárd Fodor.

I was the cinematographer, editor, colorist, and VFX specialist for this film.

 

 

Cluj Society – Interview Shoots (Kolozsvár Társaság – interjú forgatások) – 2020, 2021

 

        I met Péter Buchwald, the then-president of the Cluj Society (Kolozsvár Társaság),

during my television work. Following this, he invited me on several occasions to produce video interviews. During our collaboration, we recorded comprehensive in-depth interviews with successful and esteemed personalities of Cluj-Napoca. These conversations can be viewed on the organization's official YouTube channel.

 

An 'Advent Calendar of Music' (Zenés adventi kalendárium),

musical performance series – 2020

        A defining milestone of my professional path was the six months spent

at the Hungarian Opera of Cluj-Napoca (Kolozsvári Magyar Opera), which began in the fall of 2020. As a cinematographer-editor, I was given the opportunity to create the An Advent Calendar of Music (Zenés adventi kalendárium), a special holiday project consisting of stylized music videos. I worked in close creative unity with head director Emese Szabó to make the opera singers' performances even more memorable with unique visuals. In this process, I handled filming, editing, and color grading, while the vision and aesthetic sense of my colleague Kinga Krisztina Köri helped in lighting the locations tastefully.

"Giovanni Battista Pergolesi: Stabat Mater" – 2021

"Stabat Mater" – Opera Production Recorded with Smartphones

 

The Challenge: Quality on a Budget

 

        When I began working at the Hungarian Opera in Cluj in 2020,

the institution lacked a significant budget for high-end broadcast equipment. However, there was an urgent need for a solution to record musical performances with professional quality. During this period, mid-range mobile phones capable of 4K video recording were becoming widely available.

 

The Concept: Mobiles as Fixed Camera Angles

 

        This choice wasn't without precedent. During a 2019 classical music video shoot,

I had already successfully used iPhone X devices to capture several wide shots. Experience showed that when paired with the Filmic Pro app, the phone footage integrated seamlessly into multi-camera edits, and no one complained about the final result.

 

        I decided that for shots where close tracking of performers wasn't required,

smartphones were a perfect alternative. I eventually chose four Huawei P30 Pro units, which offered outstanding video performance for their price at the time. Although the final product was Full HD, the footage recorded in 4K and then downscaled resulted in a pin-sharp, detail-rich image.

 

Technical Implementation and Settings

 

        The key to a professional result was the precise configuration of the phones. We installed Filmic Pro on every device, providing manual controls similar to professional cameras. This allowed us to lock the following parameters:

 

        - Manual focus and white balance settings.

        - Using the Histogram for accurate exposure.

        - Locking sensor sensitivity (ISO) and shutter speed.

        - Selecting the appropriate codec.

        - To ensure stable operation, I connected every phone to a

continuous power source and set them to airplane mode.

        - After setting the exposure, I dimmed the screen brightness

to the minimum to prevent the devices from overheating during the long recording sessions.

 

The Result of the Hybrid System

 

        The recording of Stabat Mater was ultimately realized using a hybrid system:

two dedicated video cameras — a Sony PXW-X70 and a Canon XA 20 — while the four smartphones provided full shot perspectives.

 

        The shoot was surprisingly successful and proved that under proper lighting conditions,

modern smartphones are suitable for professional tasks. However, an important takeaway is that if the directorial concept doesn't allow for ample lighting, smartphone sensors quickly reach their limits. In such cases, you either need extra lighting or the latest generation of iPhone and Samsung devices for wide shots. While the industry was skeptical of smartphone recording before 2020, today it is clear: with fixed lighting, these tools can be full-fledged assets to any production.

Last Save (Utolsó Mentés), short film – 2023

        During my master's studies in film, we shot the short film Last Save (Utolsó Mentés),

in which I was the creative partner of director Áron Szalka. The work was made as an exam project for one of Dr. Sándor Csoma’s courses; besides cinematography and editing, I was also responsible for color grading. The production was realized as a true independent film: we operated on zero budget, so only friends and colleagues who stood by us out of love for the story and selfless kindness participated. The shoot took only a few days, but despite the frantic pace, the harmony was great. We are especially grateful to Csenge Kurucz, who, though not a film student, helped us throughout and held the microphone for the entire shoot.

Unique Dance Studio Oradea, Summer Dance Camp Shoots (Unique Dance Studio Oradea, nyári tánctábor forgatások) – 2023

        In 2023, Noémi Simon, the leader of the Unique Dance Studio in Oradea,

commissioned me to capture the events of their summer dance camp. My task was to create an individual music video for every choreography learned during the camp, as well as to summarize the best moments of the event in a high-energy aftermovie. The completed recordings can be viewed on the dance group's official YouTube channel.

Excerpt from the Resident Evil Audiobook

(Részlet A Gonosz Rezidenciája című Hangoskönyvből) – 2023

Trailer: