I have been working on radically different projects just recently. One is a music video of a band called Alex & Fido. The other ones are political campaigns. Both of these projects were a challenge because the DoP started to film in HDR, which was new for him.  It was a risk that we decided to take after a multitude of research and I got involved from the early production steps. And because it was in HDR all the way through to the finishing, we played with the different colour spaces. We broke from our comfort zone and created an awesome advertisement, I think. We put a lot of passion into it. Financial support was tough, too.

Saul Ramirez, plus FilmLight’s Francisco Monje and Víctor Reyes, supported us by sharing their expertise too.

I have been using Baselight for almost three years now and I love it. I would love to buy my own Baselight system someday, have it at home and grade day and night. I adore my job and with the precise tools the grading system offers it has become like a fantasy that you don’t want to wake up from.

I often work with two DOPs, Tomas Morales and Raul Uribe. They both use Prelight ON-SET and enjoy FilmLight’s BLG workflow. They’d typically send a screenshot of a look they like and at the same time export a BLG with some of the values that they have been using on set. When they join me in the colour grading they always say, “You can do whatever you imagine with this beauty.” Especially after I show them all the tools in Baselight and what can be made possible with just a touch of creativity.

I believe that every project I have graded has become a part of me and I really like this idea.

Having said that, there was a time when I received some material that was so compressed that it seemed impossible to do anything with it. I had to make changes to values like midtones, highlights and shadows and polish the look where it was too grainy - making it look great instead of just compromised.

Of course I would take exactly the same path. I would tell myself that there are some difficulties along the road but keep going and always smile to overcome those bad times.

My dream movie as a colourist is James and the Giant Peach, and the commercials I like the most are the 2009 Jaguar XF commercial made by Euro RSCG and Wes Anderson’s H&M ‘Come Together’. Those were my initial sources of inspiration and after the passage of time I’ve also come to admire 300, Her, I’m Here, Where The Wild Things Are, Follow Me Down and so many more.

That we have to evolve and adapt. There is evolution and we have to pass through this kind of complication at the very beginning. If there were no trends we’d probably continue having frames like the Lumiere brothers used to have. We always feel a bit nostalgic about the older processes but we have to pass and continue. I cannot wait to get some 5D dimension on cinema or even HDR everywhere!

I do love to exercise, read about new processes and technology, and of course watch new TV series and movies. Also being with my family. And for sure laying down, not to sleep but just to lay down and watch the ceiling while dreaming.