Biography

Elana Nova Zatzman is a professional digital multimedia developer & producer with extensive experience creating digital content and developing marketing strategies. She has been designing and producing web and digital media content for over a decade, while at the same time working in the entertainment industry as a professional stunt performer/actor.

As the founder of EZ Designs, a creative design, development and marketing studio, Nova creates innovative digital solutions for clients, bringing the visions of others to life in digital reality. Nova has worked with clients such as Bandai Entertainment, Don Carmody Productions, Prodigy Pictures,Pivotal Post, CineGround, Open Entertainment, University of Toronto, Baycrest Hospital and many others since starting the studio in 2006.

In 2012, Nova worked with GreenGround Productions to help produce and market a crowd-sourced, non-profit, live-action fan trailer called The Akira Project. The Akira Project is based off the Japanese animation (anime) AKIRA, the renowned manga-turned-anime film created by Katsuhiro Otomo. The project was shot in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 2012 and involved over 40 artists from 12 different countries. When the project was released in 2014 it went viral, garnering more than two million views in less than a week. To date, “The Akira Project” has over 4.1 million views and is a certifiable fan favourite, linked on thousands of unique web pages including: Mashable, BuzzFeed, The Verge, Wired, Yahoo Movies, Blastr, Gizmodo, Anime News Network and many more. (See case study for additional information.)

Nova’s work began gaining recognition long before that. In 2003, she received accolades from Nike Canada and the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) for creating one of the first online platforms celebrating women’s athleticism and assisting athletes in finding equal sponsorship opportunities. The same year, Nova developed The Anime Station.Net – a website that covered Japanese Animation and was recognized and contracted for online advertising by ADV Films, which at the time was the largest Japanese animation English dubbing company in North America.

Beyond her digital accomplishments, Nova is a professional stunt performer/actor. From a very young age, she knew she wanted to work in both film/television and animation.

Since 2005, Nova has performed in front of the camera in such shows as The Handmaid’s Tale, Shazam, The Expanse, Star Trek: Discovery, Hobo with a Shotgun and numerous other productions and TV commercials.

Nova has made appearances at numerous speaking engagements in North America, including Fan Expo Canada and Stan Lee’s Comikaze (ComicCon), where she has taken an open approach to giving back to the community and industry. She prides herself on her accessibility and willingness to share her creative process, and she is someone who knows how to work a crowd and deliver memorable and engaging experiences to fans.

In addition to working on and off screen for productions and clients, Nova is currently focused on developing several original television series and continuing to collaborate with creative and inspired individuals.