La SuperMovida

So, I got a call from Nilver Huarac and Jeanet some days ago. It came out of the blue as I haven't heard from them since four years ago when we worked together on her TV show.

Since I've been away most of 2007 I didn't get to pay attention to local TV and that she was back since september.

We had a meeting and they wanted me to work with them to improve the show. I was reluctant at first as the prior experience working for Panamericana TV (where they air from) was rocky and they still owe me some cash (Panamericana is known for not paying clients and employees) but they were handling the show independently so that was good to hear. I was introduced to the producers of each sequence so we could share ways to make things better. It was a bit odd to decide as I'm flying back n forth and didnt want to attach myself to it. Ive done TV before and it's very frenzy, very demanding in time and mind.

The ratings were going down and they wanted to polish up their TV show with a new look and content. I suggested first to change their show Intro as it would be the inmediate thing people would see before the show began....so off we did, made a script idea, shot it yesterday and this is the result. This time it was done using the Canon XL-1 with four lenses: the 16x, a Tokina AF 19-35mm f/4, a Canon 13x and a Canon EF 35mm f/2 Prime Lens.

After editing I applied our Digital Cinematic Process-PCD to make it look like film but didn't use the 3:2 pulldown cadence as I wanted to keep it more 60i. This time just took a break on that move.

A behind-the-scenes was made also. I will put it in the next post.

Take a look at the final intro below.

Intro "La SuperMovida"

INTRO "LA SUPERMOVIDA" from Juan Carlos Oganes on Vimeo.

Filming confirmed....off to Miami

Now the filming of the videoclip is confirmed!
Will be flying in some days to Miami. Will arrive just a couple of days prior to catch up with pre-production.

Will post more later.

An interesting call

My good friend Ursula Mifflin called from Miami telling that a cuban-american band wants me to direct their new video single. They are called Alain Band and they are formed by some of the fine latin musicians in the city. The singer of the single is the one and only Cheito Quiñonez, known trompet player of Miami Sound Machine.

It's gonna be a nice experience. Good salsa band as she told me.

Let's hear it then....I'd like to hear the song to picture some ideas in mind.

They asked to be recorded in SD so I'm taking the Canon with me. The Canon lens adaptor will be used for the other lenses. I saw a nice Nikon 50mm prime lens on a store there online that's be good for my kit but that adaptor doesnt allow me that brand. I really need to get me one 35mm adaptor. I just tested the Brevis and I like it but I have read some articles about the Letus that has me interested. No more inverted clips.

It will be a nice opportunity to get my hands on one over there.

Festival de la Música 2007

The Festival de La Música 2007.

An event of events sponsored by E.Wong and run by the Patronato Conservatorio Nacional De Música lead by Wong's CEO, Erasmo Wong.

It's main idea was to gather good tasteful music and take it to the masses in different places around Lima. This time they chose the main circle in Miraflores-Lima. Together with their Gran Corzo de Wong held each year around our national holiday, I think this is their main event and showed with much of their pomposity they have all us acustomed to.

I was asked to direct the visual performance of the show as to direct live-show camera work.

Like always, the frenziness starts early and raises in adrenaline as the hours get close to the opening act. I remember Erasmo Wong himself coming several times into the van suggesting things for their sponsors who were gonna have a copy of the show (it was gonna be recorded live). He wanted their logos to be shown as much as possible. Marketing reasons of course.

It went on nice after a long sound and video check.

Here below are two videos of the making of the show.

A Busy Day...



A Busy Day...part II

Chaska Ñawi -Film Festival days

The festival is done.

It was quite interesting to see such work of young students taking their first shots at this beautiful career.

Many were quite hilarious and some were capturing. Was nice to see some familiar faces on screen and I must admit it's a bit of an effort to see your freind actors perform in diferent roles that the media has "encapsuled" them in.

There was one film in particular which captured my attention and not because of it's story (it was well written) but because of it's neatness. It was so well handled that it didnt look an amateur job or a student film. That one belonged elsewhere. At the end -when reading the credits- I saw some familiar names and knew inmediatly that it got some "help" of major players in this field. So that kinda disqualified to our jury eyes it's true intention in accordance to the meaning of the festival.

A new born filmmaker not only needs that boost in esteem for they are trying to achieve but also it needs to be boosted with a sense of justice and justification. Having help of almost 50% in crew of experienced people make their starting efforts a bit of a "rush" into their desire of "perfection", getting lost many times in the true meaning of their primal efforts: earn experience and not just jump directly to conclusions.

To my believe, too much help from more experienced eyes makes a young filmmaker a type of puppet or "excuse" of the first one more than a "learning process" of the latter.

It is an obstacle in their path to grow as a professional filmmaker.

In the end, there was a similar score after the prior film was dismissed, leaving the decision on my lap to make the call and incline the weigh to one of the lasting two. Finally, I chose the one with more dramatic appealing and spoke our jury decisions to the public.

It was a good night indeed.

Chaska Ñawi Film Festival in Lima

I was called early today invited to be a Jury at the 3rd Chaska Ñawi Film Festival here in Lima. It's sponsored by the Film Comission of Cinematographers of Perú - CONACINE, Radio A, Radio Z Rock n Pop and the Institute of Communications Diseño.
It is such an honor to be invited. The films include work from universities like Universidad de Lima, Universidad Tecnológica del Perú, Universidad Antenor Orrego, Charles Chaplin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Instituto Superior Tecnológico Publico Diseño and others.

It is gonna be on the 5th, 6th and 7th of November. They are emailing what they require me to do and who the nominees are.
I'll post after the event.

Cruz del Sur TV Spots

After a long time of hurdles, finally the two TV commercials were done.
This client has been one of the hardest to work with as it seemed like a battle of opinions and power issues inside the company and nobody seemed to approve each other's views....and we got to be in between that back-n-forth stabbings. We have been involved with them since late January and apporved my idea on February.
Principal shooting only took place in July and then in August.

Im happy with the results though and it was a fun experience.
One of the hardest anecdotes was the Marketing Manager wanting to change the main actor at the last minute and I having to face it was something very unconfortable. Very... you name it.
There was a second choice which they picked and thank God he was available at the moment. But, anyway, those things should not be done to an actor, and above all...to a human being.
Nothing personal here....just a mere thought of decency and professional respect for the talent in front of the camera, and they or no one of us should be responsible for any company's cravings or inside-battles.

This two were shot in SD for budgeting purposes and the lenses used were a Canon EF 35mm f/3.5 Prime, Canon 16x II 39-624mm f/1.6 and Canon 3x II 24-72mm f/1.8 with a 35mm adapter.

The TV LCD screens, surveillance/monitors and the sattelite were done CG and motion tracked for live footage coupling. The night shots were done with a day-for-night technique and the lights and lens flares were done CG also.

The whole spots were then color graded and timed with our Proceso Cinematico Digital.

We all were quite happy to endure and wrap up the project to the standards needed.
Below are the two spots.


TV SPOT "CRUZ DEL SUR" from Juan Carlos Oganes on Vimeo.


TV SPOT II "CRUZ DEL SUR" from Juan Carlos Oganes on Vimeo.

Police TV spot

We were in pre-production for a film to be shot in the highlands that involved the cooperation of the the police and navy forces (there's navy presence in the lake Titicaca as it's so huge it is like an ocean when deep off-shore), so we approached the Ministry of Interior who runs the police here in Peru and after briefing them and explaining our motives for the film, they agreed happily.

While giving them examples of our work, they asked us to join their selection of audiovisual production company as they were about to make a TV spot for the Police Forces's 15th anniversary (in 1988 they were spread inot three ramifications). We won their selection and were asked for an idea to promote their values and heroism.

The police forces here -as in many countries- isn't well appreciated as there is lots of bribes, corruption, authority abuse and so forth. Their image has been heavily bruised but countless news of cops not acting on the best behalf of their institution, so I came with the idea of promoting their values as human beings and showing their daily sacrifice as a common citizen of this country instead of the formal one about recruiting new men with images of cop operations and guns and street combat scenes (very typical of army recruiting TV spots here). I explained the idea of making a normal police officer on the beat doing its duty like the rest of us with the only difference that his is dangerous as we know and also more risky.
To show more of its human side so to speak.

So the idea and the budget needed was approved.
This is the spot and we were happy to over exceed their expectations.
My good old friends Havier Arboleda and Analí Cabrera were so kind to have roles here as the cop and his wife.
Regardless of how we all see a policeman and the preconceived concept we have, the brief study of their duty and all made me see them in a different light this time.
Too bad many of them go down in the public's eye for just a few who doesn't put in high respect the institution's values for our country.

This one is shot Standard Definition with the Canon XL-1S, 24fps, timed in After Effects and color graded with the Proceso Cinematico Digital. Lenses used were the Canon 16x IS II 39-624mm f/1.6, Canon EF 22-55mm f/3.5 and 13x 24-72mm f/1.8.

PNP TV commercial Peru from Juan Carlos Oganes on Vimeo.