Xavier de la Cueva

Ronaldihno and Rafa Márquez: paths that cross and intertwine.

2012-01-11T12:32:00.000-08:00

I interviewed Ronaldihno in Barcelona.

The Club had been great about asking Ronaldinho for the interview, but, as in any case, the player has the privilege to grant or not the interview.

Up to this point we had found that everybody we asked for an interview gladly accepted because it was for the documentary on Rafa Márquez

Ronaldihno was no exception, and this was at a time when he was not talking to the press.

He gave us five minutes.

He told us that for him: "Rafa, in the position he plays, is the best in the world".
And he should know because, as he told us, his career and Rafa"s have been interlaced for a long time.

They have played against each other in many games between Mexico and Brazil, the most memorable one being when Mexico beat Brazil in the Final of the Confederation Cup played in Mexico in 1999.

After that game Rafa went on to play for Monaco and Ronaldihno went to Paris Saint German. And they faced each other again. In fact, they both scored during the same game one of the times PSG visited Monaco.

During their time in France, Rafa won the Championship of France and the Cup with Monaco. PSG, where Ronaldihno played, only reached the semifinal when they lost to Bordeaux.

Courtesy OEM

And then they became team mates and friends, sharing the beginning of the “Golden Era” of Barcelona FC where they shared the League Championship in 2004-05 and 2005-06, as well as two Super Copa in 2005 and 2006.

Their best result together was of course, winning the UEFA Champions League 2005- 06 in Paris.

In 2008, Ronaldihno was tranfered to AC Milan while Rafa stayed on in Barcelona through 2010 becoming the most successful Mexican to play in Europe in the last 10 years.

You are as good as the people you work with. Part 4

2011-11-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

In an industry as competitive as the commercial production industry, people tend to keep their resources as close to the vest as they can. And everyday you find less people recommending others because they feel they might be giving away advantages.

I think otherwise. I recommend people because all of them will go out of their way to work with me and viceversa. It is a mutual understanding of what really matters in life: respect and loyalty.

Respect derives from professionalism and loyalty comes from respect. You are loyal to the people who respect what you do and treat you accordingly.

This is the reason I started the series of "You are as good as the people you work with" to praise professionals that I respect.

So today I will talk about a Location Manager from Mexico who has made our lives so much easier by looking out for our needs and interests.

His name is Juan Duran.

He gets totally involved from the beginning to the end.

Making sure that the location is used correctly and constantly overlooking the work being done on the location.

And of course he likes to participate and contribute.
In our last project in Mexico, he had to get a location that would give different looks and yet allow us to shoot a very complicated project within a day.

He did that to everybody's satisfaction, and more.

Juan has been an asset for the last five years and hopefully more to come.

And now, a little bit of Summer:

(Yes I know it's Autumn, but there's still an Indian Summer and the Southern Hemisphere it is almost Summer).

Cold pasta:

Soooo fresh!

And so easy to prepare.

As usual, I will not give you specific quantities of ingredients so you can be creative about it.

The ingredients are:

Fresh sun ripe tomatoes

Garlic

Coarse Sea salt

No more than a teaspoon of white vinegar or lime juice

Onion

Olive oil (lots)

Fresh basil or fresh cilantro.

Pasta (I like Linguini Fini or spaghetti)

Chop the tomatoes, the garlic and the onion and put them in a bowl.

Add salt, lime or vinegar and then top with olive oil to marinate for 2 hours.

You cook the pasta as usual and when it's done you put it in the strainer and under the cold water faucet until it's at least at room temperature.

Then you serve the pasta and put the sauce on top with either basil or cilantro (two totally different taste experiences).

Usually I combine dishes with wine but today I am going to make an exception because this dish goes great with ale, from France.

It's amber, it's delicious and it is so difficult to find. But hey, it's worth it.

Pep Guardiola talks about Rafa Márquez

2011-10-29T07:01:00.000-07:00

Five minutes.

That's all he gave us.
Enough for somebody as intelligent and articulate as Pep Guardiola to describe Rafa Márquez, from the point of view of the Manager of the best team in the world.

“Rafa Márquez is an endangered species…”

These were the first words Pep used to describe Rafa, and then he went on to make an analysis of the main characteristics of the great player.

"He is not endowed with great physical attributes, he's not very fast, but he is very, very inteligent..."

"...and in a football as simple as carrying the ball from defense to mid field and from mid field unto attack, he is one of the best, I think, in world soccer, and certainly one of the best today."

The documentary is an ongoing process, and will cover his origins in Zamora, his early years in Atlas, Monaco and his career with the might Barcelona, including the impact he is having on the MLS today.

One of the most beautiful women I ever knew.

2011-10-03T22:30:00.000-07:00

We always think about a our mothers as the most beautiful women in the world.

But in my case, I must say, she was one of the most beautiful women I ever knew.

But above all, she was also intelligent, and so talented.

She was one of the pioneer women in advertising in Mexico. She started her career in Colgate Palmolive and then went on to be the Head of advertising for Richard Hudnut (La Campana) and a Vice President for Romero Lennen & Newel.

At one time she was the head of an advertising department, a TV presenter and a model for Christian Dior.

A legend in her own time, she helped pave the way for women in advertising today.

And no, she was not on Face Book.

A single mother and a most wonderful mother.

That was Maryté Cueto.

The most wonderful woman I have ever known.

Rest in Peace
October 3, 2011

7 “Golazos” from Rafa Márquez.

2011-09-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

You probably know that Rafa Márquez is not only a great defender and midfield player, he also scores goals.

But now he plays for the New York Red Bulls and we were commissioned by Red Bull to do the Interactive "Golazo", featuring Rafa Márquez and his unique scoring ability.

Basically what you do is to choose which way to go and it will take you to the next Super Goal and depending on which direction you go you will see a different goal.

In a second phase you record your own goal and upload it via internet to challenge Rafa.

Do not be deceived by the word "Interactive".

The cost is the same as a piece meant for theatrical release and, in fact, the client wanted to keep that option open. So figure the same cost as a regular TV spot.

The project had a double challenge.

He had to score 6 goals in 6 hours in Mexico City, and we had to shoot it in the alloted time since he had to report back with the team in New York.

Goal 1.

In fact he won 1 million US in a shooting tournament in Houston.

Goal 2.

And of course, there are all those goals he scored for Barcelona and the Mexican National Team.

Goal 3.

These are not your typical goals. They were urban goals that combined ingenuity and ability.

Of course we were counting on his incredible eye - muscle coordination that allows him to make many difficult shots. But above all, we were counting on the incredible preparation we did from the moment we were awarded the job. Basically, we pre-shot the whole project before the pre production meeting.

The questions to be answered:

Is he that good ?

Were the goals really difficult ?

Can you score a better goal?

Goal 4.

Goal 5.

Goal 6.

In the end, we were able to shoot 7 goals!
Which is like having shot 7- 20" to 30" spots plus the Intro.

Goal 7.

The team:

Two new faces that deserve a post in the series of "You are as good as the people you work with" :

Alejandro Guzmán AD and Dani Valdes DP
Both dedicated completely to the project, devoting an unsual time to the preparation of the job.

And of course Andrea was there to make sure the production ran like clockwork.

Hey! I can do that!

Alejandro trying to be Rafa

Dani also took a crack at it. Of course, he's from Barcelona!

Graphic Design and Art Direction:

Gogo and his company Lagartija Lab were in charge of Art Direction and post production of all graphics.

http://www.il.com.mx/lagartijalab.html

The importance of the graphics will be obvious once you see the way the Interactive works because by clicking on the arrows you go through the different goals.

http://www.filmconexion.com/golazo.html

On shooting again in Mexico City.

It was a great experience.

The crew was as always, superb, and there are some things that have been changed for the better, specially the location permits. We were pleasantly surprised with the speed with which they were granted, and the support of the local "Delegación' (borough).

All in all it was a great experience for everybody, specially for Rafa as you can tell from the video we made of the "Making Of"

http://www.filmconexion.com/home/tvcontent.asp

You're as good as the people you work with. Part 3

2011-01-04T09:05:00.000-08:00

The Line Producer.

They make the engines go. Working out the deals with suppliers and in many cases with the talent.

They are like Scotty on the Enterprise.

When you're shooting abroad, they are your local allies. They have to be local because they need to know the rules of the place where you're shooting. And believe me, the rules change in every country, and for that matter, in every state.

Today I am going to tell you about 2 great Production Coordinators: One in Spain and one in the USA.

Phillip Lozevski.

We met Phillip in Phoenix, Az. Where he coordinated the FIrestone shoot for us.

It was such a complicated shoot and yet, he made it always look feasible.

We liked his work so much that we started hiring him for projects in Houston and New York.

He also happens to be a great AD and as you can tell from these pictures, he is not shy about doing anything that is needed.

Phillip loves soccer and basketball. And he also seems to love having children: 4 thus far.

Javier San Juan.

Lives an works out of Madrid. He also coordinates in Barcelona.

He was our first Line Producer in Spain, and to this day he remains our first choice whenever we shoot there.

He goes out of his way to make thinks work for you and he looks after the project as if it was his own business.
He is a wonderful human being who makes you feel at home.

Besides working in production, there several things I have in common with him:

1. He loves good food and wine.

2. He cooks. (A lot more than me because he's the official cook in his home and he has three children).

3. He likes soccer. (Although he is a fan of Real Madrid and I'm not).

Javier is also an expert on olive oil and with a good reason: his family owns olive groves in Jaen, Spain, and they produce what has to be one of the best tasting olive oils I have ever had. (And I thought that came from the Peloponese in Greece)

If you want to know more about the olive oil that Javier's family produces go to Facebook and look it up under Huerto del Conde.

GUAJILLO FLOUNDER:

So easy and so fast to make.

You need flounder filets, guajillo dry chile, garlic, salt and olive oil (you know which one).

Soak the guajillo in water until it's soft.

Cut in small slices.

On a pan with olive oil you press the garlic and add slices of guajillo and salt.

As soon as the garlic is brown, put the flounder on the pan and cook for a minute.

Serve with white rice.

Enjoy.

The thrill of flying. A timeless experience.

2010-12-03T15:15:00.000-08:00

I am hyperactive. It's a condition that some people might find annoying.

But a good thing about being hyperactive is a natural ability for multitasking.

And I like toys. I'm a guy.

So you can imagine that, when FIrestone allowed us to have at my disposal: two jet fighter planes, one helicopter, one light airplane and 6 cameras, I was ecstatic.

(Ok, I was very happy... Very.)

It came with a caveat of course: I only had 2 days to shoot everything.

The first thing we had to consider was the cost of the Star airplane. Not only the rental but the actual flight.

The star plane

It came to roughly $25,000 Dlls per flight. And the flight lasted about 20 minutes because as sleek as it looks, it is a very inefficient plane. (But hey, we had a pilot that that had flown with The Blue Angels and they don't come cheap)

Oh, and you could not put any cameras inside or outside the plane.

So we needed a second plane that was already fitted for shooting.

But wait.
To top it all, we also had a personality involved: Adrian Fernández who was racing CART and was the spokesperson for Firestone.

This turned out to be a good thing because Adrian lived in Phoenix so that meant shooting in Arizona. And we couldn't have had it better. We found everything we needed there.

Except for some camera equipment and the Helicopter with the Wescam, which we brought form LA.

Since we had only 2 days to shoot it all due to the agenda of the personality, we decided to go with simultaneous cameras. 6 cameras to be exact. One camera under the wing for shots of the landing gear during take off and landing. One camera inside the cockpit

The Wescam.

4000ft in the air on a helicopter with no doors, freezing.

Checking the camera on the Wescam

To get shots like this.

The camera on the Wescam has a joy stick and when you're shooting air to air it's fascinating because you're aiming at a point in space in the future so you have to anticipate where the other airplane is going to be... And they go fast....very fast.

It's all pure adrenaline.

We had 3 roving cameras on the tarmac:

One of the most incredible experiences I ever had when we landed the helicopter in the middle of two mountains in the dessert waiting for 20 minutes while the star plane was being refueled.

The silence and the beauty were amazing.

The main spot turned out to be a timeless piece which will always be in my demo reel.

And here is the Director's montage for you:

The real gazpacho:

As soon as I published the recipe of Salmorejo, my friend Javier San Juan wanted to set me straight and he sent me this recipe:

Really red tomatoes

Garlic at will

Olive Oil from Huerto del Conde (he is very specific as you can tell, and you will discover why in the near future)

Hard bread that that you soak in water and then let it drip before you you mix all together with salt (your taste).

You serve with diced boiled egg and spanish ham.

This is what he calls "the classic and authentic gazpacho cordobés (from Cordoba in Spain)

And to let you imagination work, a jewel:

More to come....

You're as good as the people you work with. (Part 2)

2010-11-08T17:11:00.000-08:00

Directors of photography are important, no doubt, but there are many other people that contribute to the production and make my job as a Director easier and the project better.

The Executive Producer.

They make things happen. They are the power behind the throne so to speak. And the good ones don't take any credit....they just... make it happen.

Andrea Grillone

Don't let her good looks fool you.

She's tough and her IQ goes through the roof. And those are only 2 of the reasons we have worked together for such a long time.

Her contribution goes beyond making sure that we have everything we need to carry out the project. Trained as a designer (Parson's) she also gets involved in the aesthetics of the project, with constant suggestions and comments throughout the production process, from Pre-Production to Finishing.

She is the best I have ever worked with.

The Assistant Director.

Juantxo Grafulla.

It is not easy for me to find a good AD. One that covers my back, be my memory and generally take care of me (not baby sitting like though) while at the same time gets along with the crew. (I hate AD's that mistreat or scream at the crew, and I have seen a few).

Juantxo has totally spoiled me.

He does the planning, organizes the pre-production meeting (which is a real pain in the neck) and runs a great set.

All this allows me to concentrate on the creative aspect (in other words, he let's me have fun). And for that he deserves my eternal appreciation, and awed admiration (getting carried away but as they say "My kingdom for a good AD).

Although... he is a die hard fan of Espanyol... nobody's perfect.

The Art Director / Production Designer.

As I said before, cinema is a collaboration of minds...(under a leader of course).

I get very involved in every aspect of what you will see on the screen, and that includes the Design (yes, image is everything, but I actually work).

But it is incredibly valuable to have experts to back you up.

There are 2 people in the area of Art Direction that I really enjoy working with:

Gian Amara

Here he looks like he's enjoying a stroll through the countryside, but the pond behind him is actually man made for a TV spot.

He has been the Art Director in several feature movies and has worked with us in several projects.

He is not only a great Production Designer but also an accomplished CGI Artist.

He developed the titles of the Rafa Marquez documentary. (you can see the trailer on our Web Page, under TV Content).

Miguel Garigliano

Originally from Argentina, he now makes Barcelona his home.

To me, he has something that defines a good Production Designer: Good Taste.

Miguel has worked with me on several projects that I have shot in Barcelona, including the recent "Mirrors" TV Spot.

X shrimp:

I recently experimented with a new dish that came out great.

It's a combination of potatoes, sweet potatoes, apples, asparagus and shrimp.

Slice:

1 garlic

1 potato

1 sweet potato

1 gala apple

6 or 7 asparagus spears

Have ready:

Olive oil

Salt (rock ocean)

1 spicy red dry pepper (crushed)

10 peeled shrimp

On a frying pan, like the one in the photograph, pour olive oil until the whole surface of the pan is covered so that a slice of potato will be at level with the oil.

Put it on very low heat.

From here on, you have to consider the different cooking times of each of the ingredients

Let the oil warm up and put the garlic in.

Add the potatoes and the sweet potatoes.

Add salt (your taste) and the crushed pepper.

Cover the pan and let cook a while until the potatoes are almost cooked. (Check every 4 or 5 minutes).

Add the apples and the asparagus and let them cook for no more than 2 minutes. (Pan covered).

Add the shrimp and let them cook for about a minute or minute and a half (pan covered).

And you're ready to serve and eat.

But not without wine.

Kendall Jackson's Chardonnay has always been a favorite of mine. Fresh and with a hint of wood, it goes great with this dish.

You're as good as the people you work with. (Part I)

2010-10-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

If you consider the amount of people involved in the production of film (digital or negative), you cannot in all honesty call any film “my film”. In spite of the advances in technology that allow you to film with a minimal crew. You still need help with lights, with sound, with bags and equipment.

Film is the product of collaboration, from the Production Assistants to the Gaffer and the Executive Producer.

If the focus puller fails, I look bad. If the Director of Photography fails, I look bad.

And so on and so on.

But enough about me.

Let me talk to you about some of the people that make me look good.

Starting of course with Directors of Photography, specially the ones that make everything look good.

You see, we can all take pictures, but not all of us can be called Directors of Photography.

And for me the big difference is that a Director of Photography knows how to control the way a picture looks.

So in this post I will talk about some of the DP’s I’ve had the joy of working with:

Eagle Egilsson

He looks like a vampire doesn’t he?

He is the culprit of many of the commercials on my reel... of course not as steamy as the TV series he has worked on.

His credits run over pages of Google. From Red Shoe Dairies, to CSI Miami and Dark Blue.

He is from Iceland so I guess that’s why he is a combination of fire and ice. (I’m sure he’ll like that).

Alejandro Osset

Here is a master of his craft.

A Director in his own right, he is an asset for other Directors.

We have a lot of things in common:
Same esthetic sense, same love for good food and good wine. (He loves a good rice and wine from Ribera del Duero)

And I think he is an evolved human being. I can spend hours learning from him, about natural healing, about life….

You can see some of his work in our web page under Directors. By the way, he was the DP of the spot you saw in the last blog. (Mirror Trick)

Oriol Villa

As every real Director of Photography, Oriol is a man for all seasons.

I only started working with him last year in Barcelona. But it was instant chemistry.

And chemistry is an enormous word when it comes to A Director of photography.

You have to share the same vision before you start shooting.

What I really like about Oriol is his enthusiasm and his initiative. He looks for references, he talks a lot with you and you end up, as I said sharing the same vision before you start to shoot. on top of that, he has a great sense of humor.

Our first collaboration was the spot with Villa and Messsi, where I needed to delegate completely the look as I was to busy dealing with very famous people, while Oriol was doing the work.

And now, let's talk about wine, Red wine that is.

TORRES GRAN CORONAS

A red form Penedés (Catalunya). It is a mixture of Tempranillo and Cabernet Sauvignon, which makes it a great wine for meat.

And as winter is almost upon us...the recipe of today is:

THE SOME KIND OF CHICKEN CACEROLE (pot au feu).

The most important element of this dish is the french oven from Le Creuset.

It's magic.

It's like, you throw everything in there and 30 minutes later you're having a hearty meal.

Ingredients:

12 pieces of chicken (you choose)
3 Onions.
2 potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
3 tomatoes
ginger
2 onions
2 garlic cloves
1 (or 2 if you're brave) red chiles - dried.
1 glass of Port wine
olive oil
Salt

Chop the garlic and the onion.
Heat the oil in the pan (enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan).
Throw in the garlic and the onion, then the chicken, then the tomatoes (split in halves), and then the rest, including some shavings of ginger and the chiles crushed. But wait, don't put the port wine just yet. Cover the pot and let it do its thing for about 25 minutes at very low heat.
Then you pour in the port wine and cook for another 5 or 7 minutes. That should do it.

I serve it with white rice, which I cook the italian way (subject of another post).

Enjoy. It's a simple dish for simple people.

So if you're not simple, don't try it.

A mirror trick.

2010-08-30T15:49:00.000-07:00

Have you you ever tried doing anything through a mirror?

Leonardo did. All the time.

But, let's face it, I'm no Leonardo

What I am though, is very careful in the preparation of my shoots.

So I prepare my brain to work backwards so to speak.

Specially when everything is going to be where you least expect it

And you build mock-ups on your desk and your computer.

Pre-light is essential. You need as much preparation as you can get.

And you go through the choreography that you have rehearsed in your head.

Adding to the mix a personality, who happens to be also the client because the spot is for his fragrance.

Rafa Márquez a star on and off the pitch

From the first moment we worked together I realized he gets totally involved and wants to understand what we are doing.

And then you just have fun.

Salmorejo:
I'm writing this post during the summer in NY. And I discovered a great cold soup for the hot weather. It's called "salmorejo" and it's a rich version of the most popular gazpacho.
Salmorejo basically has a lot more olive oil and it's done in the blender whih is how you achieve the creamy texture.
6 to 8 pear tomatoes, half garlic, half a green pepper, some drops of vinegar, salt to your taste and at least half a cup of good olive oil.
Put it all in the blender and then store in the fridge.

The wine: This one is from France. A white Vouvray. A real fresh summer wine.

Shooting with 2 of the most famous soccer stars in the world.

2010-08-03T13:45:00.000-07:00

Soccer is slowly but surely gaining popularity in the USA. If anything, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa proved that. But when you are in Spain, Soccer runs in your veins. And, the status of soccer players is very close to god-like.

So I shot with two of the most famous soccer players in the world: David Villa the leader scorer of Spain the now World Champions, and LIonel Messi who was voted "the best player in the world".

And when you are shooting with two demigods you better not keep them waiting. Which is why we had three cameras and three sets running simultaneous. Love it!

Middle of winter in Barcelona. It really gets cold on the pitch as you can tell from David Villa's "costume".

Keeping me honest. The Creative Team under the leadership of Manu Diez.

Simple food for a complicated shoot:

I discovered this in Barcelona. Pan amb tomat. (Bread with tomate)

And please do not confuse it with bruschetta.

Pan amb tomat is now part of my diet (if you can call it that).

The fact is that it is extremely easy to prepare.

All you need is bread, preferably ciabbata or baguette, plum tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and salt.

Toast the bread and immediately cut the tip of the garlic so that you can spread a little bit on the hot bread, squeeze the tomate evenly on the bread, add olive oil and salt and it's ready.

All you need now is the jabugo ham, which unfortunately you can't get in the USA due to restrictions but I can live with prosciutto.

And a perfect wine to go with it:

Conde de Valdemar from RIoja in Spain.

I'm not going to try to describe it for you because I'm no sommelier. I just drink and like or not like. I like this one.

And I can tell you this: it has to be one of the best value for money red wines from Spain.

Barcelona, David Villa and arròs negre (Black rice).

2010-07-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

I love shooting in Barcelona, the architecture, the people I work with, and the food of course.

And just so you know where my priorities are, let me tell you first about the arròs negre (black rice) I

Normally it is a rice prepared with green peppers and squid (thus its black color) and then they add mussels.

My favorite place to eat Black RIce in Barcelona is Butafumeiro, at the bar. They must have changed the cook because now it is more like a black paella since they have added shrimp and fish. And it is prepared just like a paella.

And in between several culinary adventures I shot a commercial for Giorgi with David Villa.

Of course by now David Villa is one of the most famous soccer players in the world as he is the leader scorer for Spain in the World Cup of 2010. He is not only a great goal scorer, but an incredible person, simple in his demeanor and most important, he likes to shoot with me because he thinks I’m really good, hey! Let him think whatever he wants, right?

GIorgi? The leading brand of hair products in Spain.

And faithful to their strategy using personalities, they decided to gamble on David Villa to launch their new line of body deodorants.
I don’t know if they consulted the octopus but their gamble has paid off big time with the success of David Villa during the 2010 World Cup.

Juantxo Grafulla, my AD in Barcelona listening as I lay the shooting plan for David and his rep. Perhaps the most important part of the process as far as I’m concerned.

The shoot was a lot of fun because it was like a mini musical that included big LED signs and cheerleaders.

And although there was a lot riding for the client, we all manage to keep it light and finished within the 6 hours stipulated for the player who really appreciates this. And that is worth its weight in gold when you deal with personalities.

In Spain there is no tradition of cheerleaders, so we had to cast among dancers and gymnasts.

This is our second collaboration and hopefully there will more to come.

Making of video

The wine !

I forgot all about the wine !

I know that to some people the best white wine is red.

I can respect that, but in Spain there is this wine that is unique: Belondrade y Lurton DO Rueda

The only thing I can tell you is that it is the only white wine I have tasted that has two clearly defined phases.

The first glass is a different wine from the second glass. And both are superb.

For more about this wine: