What we make: three lines of work

We describe HEIKN Labs as a studio for cinematic portraits and considered research, but in practice that splits into three distinct lines of work. Here’s what each one actually involves.

Cinematic portraits

Short films built around a single person — their pace, their silences, their work. Usually four to six minutes, filmed over a single afternoon. The subject isn’t performing; they’re doing whatever they’d be doing anyway, and we’re paying close attention. The edit keeps what most films cut: the pause before an answer, the moment someone forgets the camera is there.

Visual research

Not every project is a film. Some are long-form studies — of a person, a theme, a discipline — published as a written and visual essay rather than a moving image. This is where we work through ideas that need more room than five minutes gives, and it’s archived in full rather than summarized down to a highlight reel.

Custom commissions

Tailored work for solo builders and quiet founders who want a portrait made on their own terms — not a stock headshot, not a marketing reel. Scope varies by project, but the practice underneath stays the same: sitting before shooting, attention before output.

Why three, and not one

Some studios pick a single format and repeat it. We think the format should follow the subject rather than the other way around — a five-minute film can’t hold everything a longer research piece can, and not everyone needs either. Three lines of work means we can match the container to what’s actually being said.

Curious which one fits your project? Write to the studio — we’re happy to talk it through before anything is scoped.