Story First, Gear Close

Maarten Bun is a Dutch film director and cinematographer and started his career nearly two decades ago with a strong passion for cameras and visual storytelling. What began with hands-on production work slowly grew into a full-time career as a filmmaker. Over the years, he worked on corporate films, commercials, music videos, documentaries, trailers and fiction projects. That broad background shaped the way he works today: creative, practical, fast when needed, but always focused on making the story stronger.

After years of working both behind the camera and in the edit, Maarten developed into a director with a strong visual instinct. He understands how a scene should feel, but also how it can be achieved on set. That combination is important to him. As a director, he wants to guide the story, the people and the overall vision. As a cinematographer, he understands lenses, camera movement, light and the technical decisions that shape the final image.

Although Maarten increasingly focuses on directing, he still owns his own camera package. Not because he wants the gear to take over, but because the right tools help him make creative decisions faster and with more intention.

“I love directing actors and real people, but I also love the visual language of filmmaking,” Maarten says. “For me, lenses are not just technical objects. They change the feeling of a scene. They decide how close you can get, how the background falls away and how cinematic a face feels. I always joke that I’m a little lens addicted, but it is true.”

His current setup includes an ARRI AMIRA, various sets of lenses, Accsoon monitors and video transmission and different Portkeys monitors. It is a practical but cinematic camera package, built for productions where image quality, speed and reliability all matter. The ARRI AMIRA gives him the colour science, skin tones and organic image he trusts, while the lenses allow him to shape each project with a specific visual character.

For Maarten, owning gear also gives him freedom. On documentary shoots, commercial productions or smaller fiction tests, he can move quickly without compromising quality. On larger productions, it helps him speak the same language as the DOP, camera crew and technical team. He knows what a lens does, how a camera behaves and what it takes to make a setup work under pressure.

That is where organisation becomes essential. Maarten currently uses several camRade bags: one dedicated to his ARRI AMIRA and one for batteries and essential power accessories. For him, a good camera bag is not just about carrying equipment. It is about protecting the tools he depends on and knowing that everything has its place.

“On set, you don’t want to search for batteries, cables or accessories,” he says. “You want to stay focused on the scene, the people and the moment. My camRade bags help me keep the technical side organised, so I can stay creative.”

Now, almost 20 years after the start of his career, Maarten is still driven by the same curiosity that made him pick up a camera in the first place. The projects have become bigger, the expectations higher and the visual ambitions more cinematic, but the core remains the same: tell a strong story, create images with emotion and use gear as a tool to serve the film.

“That is why I still care so much about equipment,” Maarten says. “Not because gear is the story. But because the right gear helps you tell the story better.”