Today at Zeferino Professional Lighting we want to share our interview with the cinematographer Juli Carné Martorell born in Barcelona. He got his degree in Mass Media at Pompeu Fabra University, and then specialized in cinematography at ESCAC (Escola de Cinema i Audiovisuals de Catalunya). He has also complemented his studies at NYU (New York University). And he has been involved in several music videos, fashion and fiction films and documentaries, as well as commercials for brands such as Reebok, Desigual, Massimo Dutti, Tous or Pantene. In 2015, he shot in Nicaragua his first feature film, the documentary “Heredera del viento”, directed by Gloria Carrión (World Premiere at IDFA 2017, in Amsterdam). Last year, Juli Carné Martorell was shooting “Ana de día”, by Andrea Jaurrieta.
Which were your beginnings in the direction of photography?
I studied Mass Media at the Pompeu Fabra but soon I tried to combine it by going to filming in which I could get involved. I was also in summer courses at NYU and in the Master of Cinematography at ESCAC. The mix of all this led me to meet people who gave me my first opportunity. Although I think the hard part is that they give you the second one.
What has been your most relevant job or the one you feel more proud of?
I try that whenever I get involved in something it is to give the best of me. Each work teaches a different part of me and what I do. I am very proud of the documentary that we shot in Nicaragua with my friend Gloria Carrión and that we premiered at the IDFA (Amsterdam) last year. This year it’s Ana’s day shift, Andrea Jaurrieta’s debut, of which I have very good feelings. The whole team traveled with the main actor in her descent to the underworld and, in particular, my challenge was to travel from day to night and from white light to colors.
In advertising, it is always noticed when there is good tuning with filmmakers with whom you work often. Our job is to consolidate the connection with them. And I am sure that the relevance of our work depends on it. I am sure that a good photograph without creativity and an accomplishment that transcends is of little use. In my case, working with Antonina Obrador or Victor Claramunt, for example, is always a pleasure because I keep learning with them and what they do.
What device do you always take to a shooting? Why?
It depends on the type of project and the space where it will be rolled. In fashion, octos / panauras give a beautiful light for skin. In fiction or more limited spaces, kinos are very flexible and comfortable to work with.
What DP’s have influenced you?
Lubezki I think it is to our generation what Néstor Almendros was at the time. They never stop learning, and it is amazing what they do with natural light. But I also admire Steve Annis or Niklas Johansson, and directors like Gordon Von Steiner or Romain Gavras. And Michael Haneke, Jacques Audiard and Yorgos Lanthimos, which of course are always there.
What advice would you give to a person who begins in cinematography? How do you think the position of the director of photography will evolve? What characteristics would you have asked If you could ask for a perfect spotlight?
For me, the most important thing is to be restless, to have passion for what we do because being able to work from it is a privilege. On the other hand, see a lot of movies and advertising, at the same time not be in a hurry. Everything happens for some reason, and people notice when you are comfortable and proud of what you do. Running does not work at long-term, while being honest does. Moreover, from time to time, it has served me to stop to develop personal projects; Waste, de Doscabezas, is proof of this, and we will always be grateful to the project what has given us back.
Try to know how the position of the DOP will be. Without considering how the cinema will evolve before, and by what paths advertising will go, I think it does not make sense.
I think that in the LED field, a lot of progress is being made and that the work of the technical teams is being facilitated or made more comfortable.