If you’re anything like us and closely followed the red carpets this awards season, you know all about the Glambot. Every awards show, including at last night’s 2025 Oscars, director Cole Walliser and his crew take their premium spot on the step and repeat, and proceed to capture A-list stars doing their best twirls and poses for both high-speed and slow-motion video clips. “The Oscars is a little bit different—there’s definitely more pressure, and more eyeballs,” Walliser told Vogue days ahead of the Academy Awards. “We discuss more in detail about what we’re doing, and exactly how we’re doing it.” Walliser’s Glambot videos have become a signature element of awards shows, with viewers looking forward to them every ceremony. Clips taken last night of stars like Cynthia Erivo and Elle Fanning have already garnered hundreds of thousands of likes.
Walliser started directing Glambot videos back in 2016, when he was approached by E! to work the red carpets. “The Glambot itself is actually used for food commercials—like when you see a hamburger fall in slow motion—and someone at E! had the idea to try and shoot talent with it,” says Walliser. “From there it really evolved into a thing. At the time, a lot of celebrities didn’t even have Instagram; They’ve become much more interested in having social content.”
Few A-listers haven’t stopped for Walliser’s Glambot. Almost a decade in, Walliser has become a pro at capturing celebs, though he admits working the Oscars is always an extra challenge. “People don’t really realize how chaotic it is,” says Walliser. “People are screaming, there’s security everywhere. It’s a chaotic, frenetic environment.” Luckily, he has a whole crew behind him to make the Glambot magic happen. (And happen quickly; clips are posted and uploaded to E! in real time.) “There’s an editing suite, lighting crew. people are running hard drives; there’s a whole team to make it all happen,” he says.
This awards season, some of Walliser s favorite Glambot moments included videos with Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, both of whom always nail the theatricality that a Glambot requires. “I always love a spin,” he says. “[An outfit] that moves and flows is always good. More movement is always better, but it can be challenging to find the camera when you’re spinning, because everything is moving so fast,” says Walliser. Another key trick, he says, is for stars to feel comfortable and at ease while filming it. “If you are feeling good, you will end up looking good on camera,” he says. “Half of my job is to make them feel relaxed and comfortable.”
Walliser himself, meanwhile, has become a celebrity in his own right. While his main duty on Oscars night is to make the nominees look and feel their best, the director is always sure to look polished and red carpet-ready, too. He has even started working with stylists. “I’m developing how I want to represent myself, and what my style is,” says Walliser. “For the Oscars, I like to have fun with my outfits—either bright colors or interesting cuts. I’m okay with pushing the boundaries.” Another signature element of his look, is his epic curls. “Lately I’ve been experimenting with how I’m drying [my hair], and how I’m setting the curls,” he says. (Whatever he’s doing, it’s working.)
Now that the Glambot crew has wrapped up another successful awards season, you may think that Walliser will be resting up until next year. But he has a full schedule ahead of him, filled with more directing jobs and premieres. There are still a few celebrities he has yet to capture, and he has a wish list to fulfill. “Leo [DiCaprio] would be amazing, and Timothée Chalamet,” says Walliser. “And Beyoncé! That would be a moment.”
