I'm Aaron Lieber, a director and cinematographer who makes commercials and brand films with professional athletes. I directed the feature documentary Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable and brand work with Kelly Slater, Kanoa Igarashi, and Cal Raleigh, and I filmed and edited Tim Tadder's Ready Nutrition spots with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Aaron Donald, and Jessica Pegula. Every credit on this page is listed with the role I actually had.
Every athlete shoot has the same shape. The talent has a training schedule, a sponsor calendar, and a short window. The brand has a brief that needs more coverage than that window allows. The job is to make the window enough.
That work happens before the athlete arrives. On eero × Cal Raleigh, the brief allowed three hours of Cal's time. I storyboarded every setup, lit every room ahead of the day, and had a stand-in prove each frame, so the three hours went to performance. Filming Tim Tadder's Ready × Giannis Antetokounmpo, a documentary-style spot and a 90-second brand hero came out of one same-day shoot in Milwaukee.
The other half is trust. Athletes open up to one person with a camera in a way they don't with a large crew watching. Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable started as a six-week short and became a six-year feature because that access only existed at one-camera scale. In the water, half the prep was rig design and the other half was earning Bethany's belief that I wouldn't get her hurt.
Six years with one of the most resilient athletes of her generation: a surfing comeback, motherhood, big-wave attempts at Jaws, Pipeline barrels nobody believed she could ride. Premiered at Tribeca, released theatrically, now streaming on Netflix, Prime Video, and Apple TV.
Three board launches with the 11-time world champion: Great White Twin, S-Boss, and Boss Up. Shot at Surf Ranch and in open ocean, with a rollout designed for the brand's website, retail, and social.
An NBA MVP at home surprising a local basketball team in Milwaukee. An NFL defensive lineman walking back into Penn Hills High School in Pennsylvania. A WTA top-ten pro and the routine behind the result. Plus a hidden-camera series with all three inside Walmart, six cameras rolling. The Giannis spot won a Telly Award.
A catcher attempts everyday tasks in his mitt and fails, then sets up eero flawlessly. One-page brief to delivery: boards, location, crew, the shoot, and every format. Social-first for Cal's Instagram, then expanded into paid placements.
| Year | Title | Role | Client |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharkbanz (Bethany Hamilton) | Director | Sharkbanz | |
| G-Shock × Kanoa Igarashi | Director | G-Shock | |
| G-Shock × GBX100 (Kanoa Igarashi) | Director / DP | G-Shock | |
| Ready × Aaron Donald | Film & Edit (directed by Tim Tadder) | Ready Nutrition | |
| Ready × Jessica Pegula | Film & Edit (directed by Tim Tadder) | Ready Nutrition | |
| Ready × Goes Undercover (Giannis, Donald, Pegula) | Film & Edit (directed by Tim Tadder) | Ready Nutrition | |
| FitBit × Lakey Peterson | Cinematography (directed by Nathan Myers) | FitBit | |
| 2015 | The Wild (Noah Beschen) | Director | REDirect Surf Film Festival Grand Prize |
| Shot on iPhone × Dolby Vision (Noah Beschen) | Director / DP | Apple / Dolby | |
| LifeProof × Rob Machado | Director / DP | LifeProof | |
| WSL × Eventbrite (Kassia Meador) | Director | WSL × Eventbrite | |
| Surge Iconics | Director | Surge |
I own the concept, the boards, the performance, and the edit. Best when the brand has a brief and an athlete but needs someone to turn the two into a story that doesn't feel like a sponsor read.
You have a director. I arrive with the gear and the relationships. My specialty on those jobs is action, athletes, brand interviews, water, and drone. That is how the Ready Nutrition work with Tim Tadder was made.
One creative role for tight teams and fast turns. Concept, shot list, performance, and frame from the same eye, which keeps the crew small and the athlete comfortable.
Talent time, training schedule, sponsor obligations, and the deliverables list. The shot plan is built backward from the minutes you actually have.
Every setup boarded and tested with a stand-in before the athlete walks in. On eero × Cal Raleigh that is what made three hours enough.
Documentary instincts inside a commercial schedule. The camera follows how the athlete actually trains and competes, in the gym, on the field, or in the water.
A hero spot for the campaign, cutdowns and 9:16 verticals for the athlete's and brand's channels, and stills when the brief needs them.
Send the talent, the window, the budget, and the deliverables. I'll come back with a plan that makes the time you have enough.
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