REEL DE ORO

Salvador Alvarado grew up writing stories and taking pictures. As a child, his grandfather gave him a camera and it inmediately turned into his passion.Alvarado studied graphic design and photography in the Universidad Iberoamericana de México. He worked in the field of advertising in McCann Ericsson, moved on to Cineconcepto as a researcher and years later, understood that he wanted to devote his time to filmmaking, so he moved to Los Angeles to attend film school. During those years, he worked in Palomar Films, where he grew up as a filmmaker, hand in hand with Pucho Mentasti and the directors he admired the most.As a Photographer and Director, he explained that he “always seeks support in the Photographer. I give him a cinematographic concept from the beginning, but listening to what he proposes towards the concept”.Aside from the various artistic expressions that Alvarado takes part in, his other great passion is sports. He used to play soccer at college and currently, sports commercials are one of his strengths. He has filmed for clients such as: El Museo Internacional del Fútbol de Pachuca, México; The Coca-Cola Cup for the UAE in Dubai; The Catar Cup for Ooredoo, and MDJS Sports Lotto in Morocco. He has also worked with the brands: Chevrolet, Nissan, Marinela, Pepsico, Televisa, Banorte, Tennis Charly and Heineken.He currently enjoys shooting lifestyle commercials. “It is a genre in which a vignette can develop a feeling. It allows the projection of the details of life, that which makes us human. I have barely had the opportunity to delve deeper into this genre, but I have always liked it and I am focusing on seeking this type of project” he said. “On the other hand, I am also very much centered on new advertising styles for social networks. I have done a lot of activations and cases, that attract me regarding the development of an idea as adhered to reality as possible and the logistics of how to make them”. Among his recent projects are the shooting of an activation for Mastercard Surprises in Moscow. “We set up a mapping, together with the National Philharmonic of Russia, where, upon playing the Imperial Star Wars March, that wasn’t in the program, we surprised the audience with amazing images from the film. At the beginning Darth Vader’s iconic breathing could be heard, then he entered and sat down to listen to the concert” said Alvarado. “We filmed the case in video and up to now it has received more than 4 million views. I had never developed a project at that scale, but those are precisely the type of experiences that fill me with pleasure and personal pride, since I am constantly challenging myself to do bigger things and to take each project to its ultimate expression”.Alvarado’s experience filming in other countries has strengthened the fact that Latin Americans, an in his particular case, Mexicans- measure up to any other country or culture. “I think we are breaking lots of barriers in recent years. Latins in the U.S. have proven to be as good as any other culture, and, although there are still some who think that the Hispanic market is very basic, it is us as communicators who can and must change that notion. I have noticed there is a group of contemporary Creatives and Directors that are synchronized to make this happen”.Alvarado feels that a good filmmaker should be able to achieve any style, but they always tend to be pigeonholed into something. “In my case and because of what I have filmed, I’ve realized that I like to work with dynamic, contemporary projects that have a very naturalist look, but with well defined aesthetics. I always look for cutting-edge cinematography and seek ways to apply it in all my projects”.Jean Luc Godard’s Alphaville is one of his references. “It has something bizarrely futuristic that I love, the narration with an automated voice that seems to belong to someone with emphysema, the resolution of a futuristic idea with electronic devices from his time and the stagings are fascinating to me. It has a theatrical thing that is minimalist, one of the things that amazes me the most of the film” he confessed.If he could travel in time to meet a film Director, he would choose Akira Kurosawa. “I would have loved to be his assistant, to be able to get involved in what he was thinking at the time he was filming his movies. In Dreams I am especially intrigued by what he was thinking when he shot the part where the samurais are going through the snow”.In the future, he would like to film more cars and fashion spots. “Since I was a Director’s Assistant, sports, cars and fashion were always the productions I enjoyed the most, which is why I would like to get more into those areas and it is precisely one of my goals for 2016. Later on I will focus on making a film”. Currently, he is working with a Mexican jewelry designer on a project to make fashion videos. Production Company:Letca Films, USAContact: {Melina Acevedo;meli@letcafilms.com} T +1-305-860-3833{Watch video;http://www.produ.com/publicidad/videos/index.html?Noti=10229}