Jesús Haro: 'Zoomers', technological toys and eternal learning
Director of photography Jesús Haro reflects on the evolution of the profession, the technical revolutions that accompany it and its most pressing needs in the field of training. Everything, accompanying the premiere of 'Zoomers', a series of Dynamo to Prime Video with a technological approach that does not hesitate to use innovative developments in the industry.
“Technology doesn't stop growing and we don't stop learning,” he says. Haro looking back on his career. During his decades dedicated to the profession, he has been able to see how those basic schemes applied in formats such as All men are equals o family doctor have been transformed by applying the cinematic approach, as evidenced by his work in series such as Lost (2020), Intervías (2022), Monte Cristo (2023) o Zoomers (2025), his latest project to date.
The evolution of the audiovisual education of the spectators has been key, but also the brand boost for providing its technical solutions to an emerging market that, today, represents the most of household audiovisual consumption. "Many things can be done faster than before, and sometimes not only faster, but in a more sustainable way. Technology allows us to even make mistakes or, in reality, our mistakes are not noticed. They are, in short, very versatile tools that allow us to work better," he comments.
Passionate about technology and to face new tools, Haro recognizes that, on occasions, the mistake of embrace new things “before time.” It is left with the other side of the coin, the one that provides technologies “absolutely essential and necessary”; “amazing” tools that allow there to always be “a toy for every need.”
This technical revolution continues to provide opportunities for projects: a democratization of access to technology; las open doors for a generation willing to contribute its grain of sand to the history of cinematography. “Wonderful tools that I would have liked to have had when I was starting out,” in short. However, the replacement may not be entirely assured. Or, at least, as as it has been known to date.
When access to technology is easier than ever
Moving away from the visual realm, the revolution of on-demand audio platforms has allowed more artists than ever to be within reach of the general public's ears. Everyone can buy a small sound card, record their instruments and upload the result to their favorite channels, without depending on extensive specialized training, resorting to prohibitive recording studios or going through the filter of major record companies. This phenomenon accompanied in the world of cinema its own revolution at the beginning of the millennium, with online competitions that brought together established talent (and lost along the way) around windows such as YouTube or Vimeo, or initiatives such as Notodofilmfest.
"The discipline that was on the sets has been lost. A set has rules and protocols. And, from the direction of photography, you have to learn many things: humane treatment and understanding that all jobs are important."
“There was a time when acquiring a professional film camera almost allowed you to work as a director of photography,” says Haro, laughing. Access to technology has opened doors, but has not ensured better cultural or entertainment products. For this, it remains essential “training and experience”, in the opinion of the director of photography: “It is one thing for the tools to become popular, and another for them to know how to use them,” he comments, recognizing that this accelerated access to professional cinematography sometimes results in “chaotic” filming, technicians, and groups.
As Carlos Cebrián recently commented, filming is no longer a place where a goal is reached. absolute silence. It is a generational change whose interpretation requires different prisms to understand all its aspects. In short, something has changed: "The discipline that was on the sets has been lost. A set has rules and protocols. And, from the direction of photography, you have to learn many things: humane treatment and understanding that all jobs are important."
The importance of the chair on filming
“The sets are, at the same time, a super-ordered and chaotic place; a circus in which things are happening in all three rings and, suddenly, you have to pay attention to only one. Sometimes we don't work as fast as we would like, but even in those circumstances we have to know who is who, when we have to be silent and when we have to be respectful.
This is like a machinery in which everything matters. On a shoot, sometimes you have to move the combo from one place to another, and there will be people in charge of moving the chairs. If they don't move, it stops working. It seems like a minor detail, but not doing that task will make someone suddenly unable to sit down. And when you look at the back of the frame, you see some missing chairs.
This work will be as important as that carried out by those in charge of retouching lighting, makeup or hairdressing. There is no small job. It seems that it is not important to move some chairs. But it is.”
An expanded training…
Haro, aware of some of the shortcomings of the new generations of photography direction, has promoted training initiatives such as the mentoring service Better Call Us. Created together with the also director of photography Julio Ruiz, this proposal tries to offer an accompaniment experience that is not so common in the academic offerings of our country.
"True mentoring is sitting on a set. Even if short film practices are done, it is impossible for them to represent what happens on a professional film set."
"There are subjects that, sometimes, are studied with little foundation. It is important that people learn from real active professionals who can offer paths to follow. In some way, we have to give way to them," explains Haro, critical of some of the most common doors in the industry, such as meritorious jobs or “electrical” work. "If you come as an electrician, you are going to work as an electrician, you are going to make an enormous effort and you are not going to be aware of anything. True mentoring is sitting on a set. Even if short film practices are done, it is impossible for them to represent what happens on a professional filming set," he emphasizes.
In this context, Haro continues to consider it important that training schools teach the basic concepts of the profession, although he calls for the community creation that allow them to serve as mutual support for the execution of projects. In his opinion, it is a “chimera” that academic institutions can take responsibility for the professional growth of each person. Therefore, he advocates that the industry's own active professionals lend a hand to the new generations: “I can teach many good and bad things born from positive and negative experiences.”
…and eternal technical training
Once the basic pillars of the profession have been established, whether human or industrial, another different issue is the everlasting technological evolution. Looking back, Haro considers key advent of digital cameras for the true redefinition of the profession: “The appearance of Red One It was a milestone. “He showed everyone that you could shoot with a digital camera in 4K and in logarithmic and pseudologarithmic.”
“I would have liked to have family doctor the tools we have now. There is material for all budgets and needs.”
The director of photography, who recognizes that, in his seven-year period in Kodak trained salespeople “against digital discourse”, he was forced to surrender to the benefits of this type of context: from the versatility of cameras, to the logistics of a digital shooting. After this revolution came many others: from the arrival of the LED, until the updating of the processes dailies, passed through current proliferation of optics: "In all the years I have been in the profession, I have never seen so many optics come onto the market from different manufacturers. You have to adapt to new markets and their new players."
“I would have liked to have family doctor the tools we have now. There is material for all budgets and needs. For example, the solutions that are coming out in lighting with reasonable prices are impressive. Working with LEDs and, at times, with batteries, gives you incredible versatility and speed,” he explains.
The visual intention of the negative
"Even with everything, I continue to defend film as an artistic and expressive medium, without a doubt. But, in terms of logistics and technology, it in no way reaches the point where we are working with digital.
Recently, Kodak has launched an emulsion that removes the Remjet layer, the anti-halo coating that the film had that produced specks when it was cleaned in laboratory processes. And that makes me wonder: Why do I want a better movie, without defects like blooming or halo, When is that precisely what you are looking for? When I shoot with film, I look for a distinctive character, an image that is different from digital, which is sometimes too neat. Leave me the movie with these flaws!
Zoomers: playing with technique
Created by Federico Mayorca y Guille Van Drei, and directed by Oscar Pedraza, Zoomers offers a look close, fun and original to the generation Z. Offers rhythm, agility, believable characters and brave direction that plays without hesitation in visually exploring the subjectivity of Javi, its unfortunate protagonist. Jesus Haro, appointed by the production management as director of photography, found in Oscar Pedraza a “tremendously affable, creative and open to ideas” person, which ended up generating a conversation that translated into creative choices that produced a “visually special” product.
Although Haro usually works with all types of cameras depending on the needs of the project, he found the right tool for Zoomers in the Venice 2 of Sony. He already knew his older sister, with whom he shares many of the characteristics that accompanied Haro throughout the shoot: “The sensitivity, its dual ISO, the neutral internal filters that allow me to make decisions at full speed, accessories like the Rialto…It is a tremendously useful camera for the rhythms I am used to working with!”
"There is another aspect why I have been very comfortable working with the Venice 2: its files are not too heavy. Its compressed RAW format allows you to have your DIT at your side doing processes quickly and reliably. On this occasion, I was closing the shoot and my DIT, Óscar Gómez, who is wonderful, had already finished his work after 10 minutes. It is a great advantage," he explains.
In the optics section, Haro opted for the Leitz Prime, which show clinical results, as well as by zoom ARRI Signature 65-300. Along with them, much more expressive solutions that allowed the subjective side of the history of Zoomers: the optics Petzval. “They are a prototype of GL Optics; vintage optics with many defects. Only its center has focus. In combination with the Leitz, they allowed us to highlight the moments in which you entered the point of view of the protagonists, and they entered their daydreams. It was a great combination, really.” EFD Spain was the company in charge of providing the light and camera equipment.
Entering the dream
The subjective side of the characters of Zoomers allowed Pedraza and Haro to experiment with tools that allowed us to take the visual expression of this six-part series. Catts Camera provided the production team with a prototype of the Roll rig II of Movcam, a solution that allows the camera to be rotated, offering a particular controlled chaos in the scenes in which the protagonists enter a state of intoxication: "It is a device that is designed to place the camera at a certain height, but always maintaining the horizon. In this way, you could put a camera of these dimensions on your shoulder and add movement to the image."
Another key device for production was Freelensing Cine, a tool developed by the Spanish cinematographer Sergio de Uña: “It is a wonderful device that allows us to change the focal planes to direct attention and make the image differently.” Creativity doesn't stop here. Haro acknowledges that they had a “bomb” time: “We used periscopic optics, we carried out a complete sequence at 22 aperture to have maximum depth of field and introduce physical effects... They are little things that made us enjoy it like children.”
Intimacy versus technique
"I have been lucky enough to have access to almost all the technical innovations. It has always ended up touching me. I have had a lot of fun and I love making films of all kinds. Also the most intimate ones, with close-ups. Sometimes, one is in projects in which there are too many things around; very large teams and little closeness between the people on the team. And I miss more artistic and personal directors."
"I like that every moment counts, and that even things that are not planned can be incorporated into the production. I miss that. But what I do miss is being called to film a series in a five-star hotel. I love filming in beautiful places, not filming in warehouses, suburbs and enjoying catering in those same dusty places. I want a White Lotus!"
A report by Sergio Julián Gómez
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLfZDsmEKLE&pp=ygUUYXPDrSBzZSBoaXpvIHpvb21lcnPSBwkJCAoBhyohjO8%3D
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