About

With a career spanning over 25 years, Ari Hakim is an Emmy Award-winning senior producer with a comprehensive understanding of commercial production — and an increasingly deep engagement with the frontier of AI-driven media.

Having filmed on six continents and in more than 30 countries, Ari brings a wealth of global experience, seamlessly navigating diverse production environments and logistical challenges. From orchestrating complex city shutdowns — such as NYC on a Saturday night — to coordinating high-profile shoots with celebrity talent, executing intimate docu-style projects, or producing precision tabletop moments, Ari has done it all.

Ari has built his career alongside some of the most demanding and visionary directors working today — including Dan Trachtenberg, Salomon Ligthelm, Tony Kaye, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Dan Sackheim, and Dan Trachtenberg, among 30+  others.  In every collaboration, his role is the same: hold the creative vision in one hand and the production reality in the other, and find a way to make both true simultaneously.

In recent years, Ari has expanded his work into applied AI production. As Consulting Producer through B17 Entertainment, he has produced two significant AI-specific projects for a major technology platform — a groundbreaking digital avatar embodiment project in 2023, coordinating the capture of real human subjects for conversion into real-time digital avatars for a publicly released consumer product, and a structured human interaction data capture production in 2025-2026, generating a dataset for open-source research release. Both projects required bridging traditional film production methodology with AI research workflows — with no existing playbook.

Ari is recognized for his collaborative, Zen-like approach, ensuring effective communication between all stakeholders. He excels at keeping clients delighted while bringing a director's vision to life — balancing creative problem-solving, meticulous budgeting, and a relentless work ethic. His ability to adapt to any production scale and his talent for delivering high-quality content on time and on budget make him an invaluable asset to any project.

Clients

Lexus, Meta, Penske, Ford, Home Depot, L’Oréal, Xtandi, Pfizer, USPS, Pizza Hut, Pepsi, USAA, Oculus, NBA, Skyrizi, Marriott, Nikon, Microsoft, Chevrolet, State Farm, Mountain Dew, Ram Trucks, Fitbit, Sauza, Brawny, Clorox, Rexulti, UPMC, Chase, Holiday Inn, Liberty Mutual, ESPN, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Huggies, Bud Light, Callaway, Nissan, FDA, Bosch, First Midwest Bank, Sports Authority, Hillshire Farms, NBC Sports, Fiat, Bright House, EnergySavers.org.

Directors

Salomon Ligthelm, Bradley & Pablo, James Coton, Aaron Stoller, Dan Trachtenberg, Warren Fischer, Michael Downing, Zach Merck, Gabriela Cowperthwaite, Chris Wilcha, Joel Harmsworth, Tony Kaye, Guy Manwaring, Damien Luke Shatford, Matt Lenski, Jeffrey Plansker, Greg Popp, Michael Marantz, David Holm, The Fold, Dan Sackheim, Margaret Elman, Thomas Schauer, Jamie Travis, Paul Gay, Vicky Lawton, Josh Nussbaum, Gabe Spitzer, Josh Taft, Scott Weintraub, Tyler Manson, Amy Nicholson, Sam Smith, Tucker Walsh, Sean Fine, Anton Visser

Awards

Sports Emmy Award - Outstanding Digital Innovation - "Follow my Lead- The Story of the 2016 NBA Finals" NBA/ Oculus/ M ss ng P eces

Specialties

  • Line Producing

  • Bidding

  • Full Production Services

  • Generative Media & Emerging Technology