Immersive art · Original sound · Laser light
Studio Z/R
Worlds built from light and sound.
Studio Z/R is the creative partnership of composer and sound designer Ramtin Arablouei and filmmaker and laser artist Zak Forrest. We combine narrative, light, and sound to create immersive experiences that shift perspectives, drawing on the past to imagine entirely new futures.
The partnership
Two disciplines.
One shared world.
Our collaboration brings a musician’s sense of rhythm into conversation with a filmmaker’s eye for movement and space. Original composition, spatial audio, laser systems, and custom optics become parts of the same story.
Nothing replaces the feeling of being drenched in light and sound in a room full of people. That shared experience is at the heart of Studio Z/R.
Ramtin Arablouei
Co-founder · Composer & sound designer
Ramtin is a Peabody and Ambie Award-winning composer, sound designer, journalist, and producer whose work has reached millions of listeners. He co-created and co-hosted NPR’s Throughline and was a founding producer of How I Built This. His work on “David v Goliath” earned the 2024 Ambie for Best Production and Sound Design, sponsored by Dolby. TIME named Throughline one of the 100 best podcasts of all time.
His original themes and scores include TED Radio Hour, Wild Card, The Indicator, and The Great Creators. At Studio Z/R, he brings a musician’s sense of rhythm to original composition and spatial sound, creating worlds audiences can inhabit.
Meet Ramtin →Zak Forrest
Co-founder · Filmmaker & laser artist
Zak is an accomplished filmmaker and artist whose work spans music videos, brand campaigns, and immersive installations. He has worked with brands including adidas. As part of the directing duo ZFCL, he co-directed Deftones’ “Sextape,” whose official music video has amassed tens of millions of views.
His laser work has appeared at SFMOMA, where he contributed laser animation and cinematography to Nicole Miller’s To the Stars, and at Walt Disney Concert Hall for Miller’s LA Phil commission Transition. At Studio Z/R, he brings that experience to evolving worlds of light, form, and motion.
Featured experience · Museum Fiasco · AREA15 · Las Vegas
ANIMALCULE
Journey into the mystery of the microscopic universe.
Inspired by the discovery of microscopic life, ANIMALCULE transforms space into a living ecosystem of light, sound, and motion. Laser-drawn organisms drift through luminous landscapes as spatial audio surrounds visitors in a world that feels both futuristic and ancient.
Created by Zak Forrest and Ramtin Arablouei, the experience moves from vast galaxies to the hidden universe within us. Forms emerge, dissolve, and reassemble in a continuous cycle of discovery.
Step inside. Look closer. Everything is alive.
Collaborate with Studio Z/R
Let’s create a world.
For immersive exhibitions, installations, and collaborations, get in touch with Ramtin.