What is Tuttograu and where can we find them ?
The Tuttograu borns from the need of wanting to do something different. With Alfonso Grau, Julio Gomez and Pablo Díez , we were sick of seeing German gentlemen telling you what button is for what and what you have to press to turn on, and so on. I had already done tutorials for Panasonic, and in this sense, I have an important background. These Panasonic tutorials had a sense of humor, we caught a famous TV showman and we were devoted to teaching enlighten people very easily. It turned out and become very successful and even translated into several languages. So wen I met with Alfons Grau we finally decided on video blogs but introducing the sense of humor. The idea was creating a short videoblogs, 3 or 4 minutes that explains something of interest, because the more technical parts can be found on the internet. The goal is spending a moment of entertainment with us. This year, the news is to make it more practical, we have a product and we show you how to use it and the final result. You can see Tuttograu everywhere in social networks: Twitters, Facebook,WordPress, Vimeo, You Tube, etc.
What lighting equipment do you feel most comfortable working with?
For now, I just made two films in a row and I’m falling in love with the LEDs. The concept of LED to illuminate is very comfortable. In fact, these films were really low budget and are very comfortable because what “low budget” refers is not to the amount of material you want to wear, but how many people you need to assemble this material. I can afford to carry a 12 kw but not at 3 sparks ride it. Furthermore, these two films I made were with very sensitive camera, and I began to illuminate the exterior using LED light for the base of the street. I wish the funds to strengthen a powerful thing but well, not serious, then I did was use the LED to illuminate the faces. What I like is that I will save battery and the generator, which will also limit outdoor night away by placing the group sound, pulling cable, grupistas, electrical, and obviously this for the low-budget films is a drawback.
Today, with what you like better camera work and why?
Depends on the budget and the project, but … I can tell you what I do not like. Today, I love the F3 Sony external recorder. I started doing some demos for Sony, I did some tests and I liked to the point of making two films in a row, having money to catch any camera, but deciding on the F3. It’s a very light camera, is small (just over an inch) and very comfortable. That talking about low budget but talking about more budget, nowadays, and without having tested the new features, the F35 looks good and I really like Alexa. Now I am about to test the F65 that looks real good and as you see I’m ignoring the Red One issue.
As for optics, which you prefer?
Also depends on the product, but if I had to choose, I’d Panavision anamorphic optics 30 years ago, the series where the flares are easily blue I love, so much so that I lead a week testing software to generate flares. They are very accomplished. To this day, and being realistic because in this country is very expensive Panavision, the Ultraprime I like a lot, I just masterprime convincing, very clean, I always end up messing the image, and to do before I go to a cooke S .4, Ultraprime, and above me I love the multicolored flares old 2.1. I like the image sullied, to go with old lenses really helps me achieve this look. In fact all the films that echo less Black Buenos Aires, I cast Babies lenses in some plane. They are literally a plastic optical, PL mount. They have a strange texture that you can get postpaid.
When you prepare a project, do you prefer to work the look on camera or postproduction?
Depends on the camera used. It depends on the quality that you’re taxing it more worthwhile to shoot or not. For example, when we shot Puigantic,, we caught the halfway theory developed by an American DOP called Sean Fairburn, he says that if you use a camera highly compressed processed you can not go very far in the color correction, which ideally going to shoot in the middle, and you can always go to the end of the road or go back in post. If we were a type F900 or Varicam camera, a low color processing, I prefer to do it in camera, like to generate color texture or modify the intensity of chroma, but if it’s a camera that goes on as the Eepic, I’ll do it in potspo, but even so, you should always know what you will shoot, obviously, the contrast ratio will always be a light marking.
What special lighting fixture you want to try?
The other day I discovered the device Zeferino wanted to try, 24 kw Arri Tungsten. I have made many high-speed filming and of course, always work directly with 10kw 20kw i but a light of 24 kw, I think that would motivate any DP. I am also very fetish of dedolights, I like a lot, even with TuttoGrau, we’re playing a lot with them, is a wonderful light, and I have at hand. But a 24kw is amazing, and not only by power but by the texture of the light that has this type of projector. Recently, I was working in Los Angeles, Sony Pictures, and found the old lights of Mole Richardson, with the glass you see who is 40 years. In working with the Gaffer, lighting a new 10kw next to an old 10kw there was a big difference and the oldest Mole was beautiful. I really like tungsten, acknowledge that the discharge light I like less.
Tell us how was your first experience as Director of Photography
1992, I started with 14 years in the audiovisual world in local TV, with which the first experiences as DOP were enlightening sets of information. But I knew what I really wanted to do. My first experiences were on a local television station with two very tiny quartz, and spent 5 years as well. I started with information, then a music program, and clear I was the one who did not want to do direction, I just wanted to enlighten, I spent all my light work. I started making films there with a group of people called Por la Cara Productions, which were Kiko Grau, current director of Metropolis, Jorge Rodriguez, editor of the last two films I’ve done, and the I’ve worked almost 20 years, and JA Bayona, director of The Orphanage. Between 4 to Cortes with a Video8 and the two crystals did what they could., The truth is that if you look now were pretty disastrous, but now a lot of fun and we learned a lot. Now more seriously, I remember electrical work in a commercial and I will not give names, but the DOP got so drunk at launch, that afternoon I was asked to continue his work. This was the first experience as director of photography collecting.
What are your references and / or influences?
In a masters I did in the United States, I was fortunate to meet John Toll, Director of Photography of Legends of the Fall, Braveheart, Almost Famous, etc.. I have not met anyone in my life that has impacted me as much as he. In the Masters, we were devoted to recreating scenes from his films, made the wedding scenes in Braveheart, a couple of scenes in Legends of the Fall, The Thin Red Line, and of course it’s not just the material we used, rather transmitting in philosophy.
Less direct tract, you might say Conrad L. Hall, DOP of two men and a Target, American Beauty, Camino a la perdición, etc. Of course talking about spanish D.P., Aguirresarobe. It’s funny because every time I’ve worked in Hollywood and work with the light that I normally do, everyone has told me that 20 years ago I would have been the Adrian Lyne’s DOP, in fact, I’m picking up many references to Flashdance, Nine and a half weeks, because I really like it and the last movie I made,it was full of Nine weeks tributes.
What films would you recommend to young students to study light and photography?
From the outset I would say they need to see many movies. Sometimes there are movies that are masterpieces of illumination but don’t interest me such as other movies. In the end the movies that you like photographically just analyze what interests you and motivates you. I am from the 80’ movie generation, so many of my references come from this kind of film. Oliver Stone interests me, Also, I would say :”Start from the beginning, with Greg Tolland, DOP of Citizen Kane, The Grapes of Wrath, Wuthering Heights, that is when photography started as an art.
¿Flags cuts?
I hate them, I learned from John Toll. Toll has a tendency to place a 6 by a window, cut out of black all the light you have left i cream paint everything you want it to reflect. It’s not just a reserve level of light, it also affects comfort in the wing set. One thing is to do a still life where there is no light actors and accuracy is important, the other is to mount a ceferino forest where the actor can barely move, this is when we have a problem, because if the actor is not comfortable, you can have wonderful light will not do anything. My tendency is more towards the rebound, is very personal, I like the freedom that the manager would ask pans and not have to rebuild the set. I try to give them freedom if they can be 180 degrees outside, I give it.