Cinematography in Canada Since 1957

@diguial #DiegoGuijarroCSC

Well, this is it for me.

I want to start by thanking Carolyn Wong for inviting me to be a part of this journey.

To everyone who has followed along, thank you. Putting my work out there isn’t always easy for me, so I truly appreciate how you’ve engaged and made this process so much easier. It’s been a time of reflection, looking back on so many projects, and remembering how unique each one was—and how much they meant to me at the time.

A special thanks to the incredible crew who helps me daily, both in Canada and around the world. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to share my time on set with some of the most outstanding individuals. More than half of my journey belongs to them.

I wish I had some great words of wisdom to share in this final post, but to me, it’s all about each person’s unique path. In today’s world, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the number of people doing what we do, the obstacles we face, and the long periods of inactivity. But for me, it’s always been about finding anchors outside of the film world. It’s a constant balancing act—achieving personal fulfillment in ways that allow me to bring my best self to set. So remember to be happy when not at work, enjoy activities and hobbies and more importantly, family and friends. That balance is key to me.

Thank you so much to everyone, and until next time!

Diego Guijarro CSC, AEC

@diguial #DiegoGuijarroCSC

RONALD MCDONALD FOUNDATION

Since this was a project for a charity foundation, the resources were quite limited. However, I’ve always found that these types of projects often turn out the best, especially in the commercial space.

We managed to squeeze in two and a half shooting days at various locations in and around Madrid.

Initially, we planned for a 60-second version, but as we developed the story during prep, it evolved into a director’s cut that ended up being about nine minutes long. The approach was completely different from what I’m used to in commercials. There were no storyboards, and we worked the way we would for narrative —blocking and shooting full scenes.

The story follows two brothers who live in a village and receive walkie-talkies as a gift. They spend their days communicating through them. When one of the brothers falls ill, the family is forced to split, as the treatment he needs is only available in the big city. After some time apart, housing is provided so the family can be reunited during these difficult times.

From the moment we started talking about the project, we knew it had to be compositionally rich—more photographic than cinematic. We wanted to create frames where the action unfolded directly in front of the lens. Whenever we needed to bring a bit more intimacy to the scene, we switched to handheld shots, aiming to be more reactive and less staged.

It’s one of those pieces I always look back to.

@diguial #DiegoGuijarroCSC

BTS - LOVE AFTER MUSIC

I’m the absolute worst when it comes to taking BTS photos. I always end up regretting it because, unless I have a floor plan or something to reference, I eventually forget details about what I did or how something was achieved. This is my attempt to show a bit of my favourite moments from the show and explain how we pulled them off.

SLIDES 1-4

The big show.
The series begins with Fito walking toward what would become one of his biggest performances, and the entire show leads up to that moment. I had access to a very low-quality recording of the performance (Slide 4), which helped us design the lighting grid. We built the set inside the Movistar Arena and scaled everything precisely. I don’t remember the exact number, but we had around 400 1K pars, 30–40 moving lights on the grid and the floor, plus some extra Par Cans on towers along the stage that pulsed as the music built up. For front light (Slide 3), we built a tower with three 2K HMI follow spots and six 12-lamp Maxis. Everything had to be queued, and we shot most of it as a single sequence from different angles. We had a camera on a Scorpio 45 and one handheld and we would take turns running it. The entire show was filmed in half a day due to the venue’s availability.

SLIDES 5-6

A couple of simple setups.
Slide 5 has become a recurring setup I use because it’s super effective and gives pleasing results. I place a central 20K with a 9-lamp Maxi on either side. Then, I put spot bulbs closest to the 20K and flood bulbs farther out. Depending on the situation, I might diffuse the sides a bit. I find this setup especially helpful when trying to recreate single light sources but don’t have enough space to place all the lamps.

SLIDES 7-8

Examples of Steadicam planning.
Slide 6 is one of my favourite shots—it came out exactly as planned, and I don’t often get to see the pre-production and final shot side by side. The shot was complex because it followed Fito’s full walk backstage as he prepares for a show. There was a lot of blocking and precise timing involved.

***MORE IN COMMENTS***

@diguial #DiegoGuijarroCSC

LOVE AFTER MUSIC

Love After Music has undoubtedly been my most challenging project to date. The show is and eight-episode miniseries that we shot over 111 days in Buenos Aires, with an additional four days of second-unit filming in Colombia.

The story follows the life of Fito Páez, one of South America’s most iconic rock singers. It was directed by @felipegomezaparicio and @gabodobal, under the guidance of showrunner @juanpablokdz.

The narrative unfolds across three different storylines and spans four distinct time periods, from the late 1960’s to the mid 1990’s.

I joined the project quite late, with little time for prep, so much of the work was instinctual. The visual language was developed organically as we shot the first few days (months). The challenges were numerous: we had to recreate live concerts and performances while referencing archival materials, and we were also telling the story of someone still alive and deeply relevant to the audience. Striking the balance between historical accuracy and artistic style was a constant consideration.

Due to time constraints, we focus heavily on capturing the emotional tone for where the character were at that moment in the narrative.

For lighting, we relied primarily on a base tungsten package and smaller LED fixtures, but the Maxi brutes and 1K par soon became the stars of the show. We were fortunate to collaborate with Fito’s stage team, some of whom had worked on the original shows we were recreating. I leaned heavily on their expertise and ended up lighting most of the concert scenes with 1K par (sometimes over 400) and a few smaller mobile units as needed.

I could write endlessly about the moments and processes involved in this show. Over the next few days, I’ll try and share some breakdowns of my favourites scenes.

There are so many people to thank for what this show became, But I must highlight the incredible work of the art department, led by production designers @magdalenaper and @chopycas

@diguial #DiegoGuijarroCSC

I’ve always loved taking still photos. It was the first medium I ever used (like many people) to capture images. Before I even knew what cinematography was or what cinematographer did, I was amazed by National Geographic magazines. I was in awe of how much of the world you could see through them, which sparked my interest in documentary and street photography.

As I became more involved, I discovered photographers like Steve McCurry, Alex Webb, and Michael Yamashita, among many others. I read their incredible stories—sneaking into countries without passports, living among different people in unique cultural contexts, and documenting it all. It was thrilling and inspiring to me.

I built a small developing station in a closet in my apartment, where I started experimenting with film. I would walk around the city, snap as many photos as I could, then bring the film home and almost pass out trying to develop the rolls (it was literally a closet with no ventilation whatsoever).

But it still didn’t feel adventurous enough. After my first job as a camera trainee, I decided to take off to Asia for a few months, with the sole objective of being there and photographing.

I find in photography what’s missing in cinematography—and vice versa. When shooting motion, there’s a lot of planning involved, and we rely on many other people to do our jobs. The stakes are much higher. But with still photography, it’s just you. It’s about patience, observation, and reactiveness. There’s something very meditative about the process, even if it’s just walking around with a camera hanging, searching for moments.

I believe that all the photography I did before working with motion has helped me immensely. I’ve been fortunate to experience many places that were completely foreign to me, and I think that, in life in general, it’s given me a lot of perspective and understanding.

@diguial #DiegoGuijarroCSC

For this project, we followed three athletes across three different spots for the Winter Olympics: freestyle skier @cassiesharpe , figure skaters @laurencefournierbeaudry ,and speed skater @alysoncharles1

Directed by @thestephenhosier , the campaign took us to Whistler and Montreal. From the start, Stephen wanted to shoot on film, and we made sure that each spot had its own unique look. We didn’t want them to feel similar; each one had to stand out, showcasing the individuality of the athletes and their sports.

We shot Cassie’s ski segment on 16mm. At the time, she was recovering from a serious injury, so her training involved intense running and heavy exercises. To reflect the energy of her recovery, we decided on a more handheld style, which not only suited the story but also helped us work within the time limitations we had with Cassie.

The figure skating and speed skating spots were shot on 35mm. For the figure skating, we relied heavily on Steadicam to capture the fluidity of the sport. We wanted to highlight the grace of Laurence and Nick in their day-to-day moments, leading up to a mini performance on the ice. To contrast with the flowing Steadicam shots, we kept everything except the performance itself very static and composition-heavy, allowing the movement to stand out.

For the speed skating segment, we took a more static approach, positioning the camera in specific spots and following the action from there, rather than relying on camera movements. This choice emphasized the power and precision of the sport.

Shooting with real athletes is always a challenge, especially with time constraints. Being adaptable and seeking those natural moments is key to capturing the essence of what they do. It’s even more difficult when working with film, so I’m incredibly grateful to @mikaelbidard_photography and my dear @mamiyaveen for their support,having my back and making this super easy.

@diguial #DiegoGuijarroCSC

It’s rare for me to find a balance of great storytelling and branding in commercial work.

These are stills from the director’s cut of a Visa commercial by @felipegomezaparicio

We shot this in Bogotá for the Women’s Soccer World Cup. It was a campaign designed for several countries in South America, so we spent the first two days shooting the same scenes with different athletes from each country. The idea was to maintain consistency throughout, as we had to shoot both exteriors and interiors within a very tight timeframe.

I think one of the most challenging aspects of working in commercials is dealing with such time constraints while still trying to make the work feel human. It’s definitely a fun challenge, but it can be tough not to take it personally when things don’t go as planned or when your expectations fall short.

In this case, it felt especially meaningful because the narrative followed the dreams of young women pursuing careers in football (soccer—excuse my European upbringing 😂), culminating with the athletes competing in the World Cup. Hearing their stories and struggles was truly inspiring.

We shot most of it handheld on an ARRI Mini LF with Cooke 1.8x Anamorphic lenses. I completely underestimated the effects of the altitude, which made it a real challenge to keep up with the game and move around with such a heavy setup.

This project was a lot of fun, thanks to @rebolucion_ , @lulameliche , and the incredible crew in Colombia. The final magic touches were made by @desarmaleo