Nacho Diaz, Executive Producer and Mariu Monsalve, Producer at Finesse Films
At Finesse Films, shooting at high speed is not an exact science. With many variables and little time to capture the perfect moment, they combine the precision of the Bolt and the Phantom Flex 4K to achieve the impossible. They define themselves as creators of experiences designed to inspire, captivate and push each product to new limits – welcome to the world of slow motion!
The production company specialises in Food Films and Table Top, shooting advertising and commercials at high speed with impossible camera movements. How do they achieve this? Thanks to their specialised team and experience ranging from creative development to production and post-production of any kind of commercial productions. They produce complete campaigns (TV, digital, print and BTS), designed to inspire, captivate and elevate each product. They are also dedicated to photography, capturing stunning images for your print campaigns; Slow Motion, high speed to make your campaigns stand out; digital, adapting your campaigns to new network formats; and they are experts in the use of Table Top Unit, a specialised team on your set for product shots. In short, they always do any shot you can imagine.
This week we talk to Nacho Diaz, Executive Producer and Mariu Monsalve, Producer at Finesse Films.
You define yourselves as ‘hunters of the perfect moment’. What does this mean for you in the context of audiovisual production?
We are dedicated to designing visual experiences that generate that ‘wow’ effect. To achieve this, that is, to make a shot spectacular, we must hunt for that moment of beauty that happens in less than the blink of an eye. The last drop of coffee that falls into the cup may seem insignificant at first glance, but with the right tools offered by Table Top we can make it magnificent. With the Phantom camera and the Bolt we can follow that drop from the moment it leaves the coffee machine until it enters the cup and produces that beautiful splash.
Natural Bliss Coffe Matte
With the right tools we can show the human eye what is impossible to detect in reality, but that’s not all Table Top is about. There is a complexity to the pursuit of perfect synchronicity, and that is that it can only be achieved when all departments work in complete alignment. In our case, in addition to the well-known filming figures such as direction, production, photography and art teams, there are other indispensable ones: Home Economist / Food Stylist, Product Man and SFX. Although a shoot of this type is usually smaller in terms of number of people, it has more specific departments with very unique and important tasks.
We look for that instant that makes you fall in love and immerses you in a sensory world; and it is when we see the playbacks that we see that magical result.
What are the biggest technical and creative challenges you face when shooting at high speed?
The details. Our work is about taking care of every detail. Perhaps, when you see the shots we do, it may seem simple to shoot because there are no actors or a big stage, but behind it we can assure you that days of development work and tests are involved. The biggest technical challenges are associated with the product we are going to shoot, as each one has its own particularities. A drop of beer liquid cannot be treated in the same way as a melted chocolate, let alone a drop of something light like oatmeal. We have to study each case to understand the dynamics of the product. But without a doubt, we believe that the greatest difficulty lies in achieving the perfect timing and choreography between the camera, the perfectly styled product and the movement or moment you want to capture.
We really take on each project as a new challenge, even if we have faced something similar before. We are always looking to improve the result. To achieve that moment of applause when the client and creatives see their idea materialise.
What led you to specialise in Food Films and Table Top, and what aspects of these niches are most exciting to you?
We are the first production company in Spain specialised and dedicated exclusively to this magical part of advertising. We realised that the creatives were very focused on the ‘Life Style’ that surrounds the enjoyment of a product, but left a little aside the moment in which the product was the real protagonist.
For us, the most exciting thing about Table Top will always be to magnify those seconds in which the product is shown on screen in all its splendour. Giving real importance to what our clients are selling. An actor’s smile while biting into a bonbon can make you empathise, but that same bonbon emerging from a pool of chocolate can make you salivate and want to hold it in your hands.
Nestlé Dark Sublime
How do you adapt to the needs of the different formats (TV, digital, print, BTS) that you offer to each client?
For us it is very important to give the same treatment to the different formats, at the end of the day they are all advertising media. Working with a good production design and good planning is our key to optimise time and resources in filming and post-production to be able to cover the different formats that the client needs.
The needs of each client are the starting point for organising each project and deciding how to work on it; in specific projects some of the tests we shot were already left as material for the final piece, in various pieces we have worked with parallel sets, or even with different filming units in different locations, we have also shot with wider frames to be able to adapt it to the new digital formats that are nowadays the most requested content but unfortunately their production process is very undervalued. When it comes to working with it and shooting it, it is exactly the same as a TV production; even digital pieces tend to have more media exposure and today they are the most consumed type of advertising and at the same time the worst paid.
Do you have any project or campaign throughout your career or recently that you would like to highlight for its innovation or visual impact?
As we have already said, each project is unique. We could tell anecdotes from practically all our projects, from the funniest and most curious to the most stressful.
We would highlight A Night on Earth by The Macallan, a project that was a challenge in terms of art and filming as we had 4 models of 3x7m with a total of 914 pieces of which approx. 50 of them were mobile and synchronised with Motion Control. It was hard work with an incredible result.
A Night on Earth de The Macallan – Making Of
On the other hand we also point out that Mini Alhambra Reserva 1925 was a great aesthetic and production design challenge with three sets running in parallel and with the photo and video crew working together.
And last but not least, we also highlight a 5-day production we just shot for Celler de Can Roca in which we worked with 4 sets mounted in parallel with 3 camera units working in order to shoot the 396 shots required for the 18 pieces that make up the campaign.
Have you ever embarked on a non-advertising project before? What was your experience?
We have worked on several interesting non-advertising projects.
We participated in the documentary Cold Route by Gerard Ortín Castellví for the Spanish pavilion at the Biennale di Venezia 2023 – 18. Mostra Internazionale di Architettura.
We also created a universe of textures for the video clip Stay by Dora with the production company Canada.
One of the projects we liked the most was Detén al asesino silencioso, an audiovisual piece we created together with Publicitarios Implicados for the Awasuka programme developed by the Catalan NGOs Base-A / Fundació Privada Petit Món / Rotary Club Kantipur / El Camí de la Solidaritat / CCD-UPC with the aim of building smokeless fireplaces in homes in rural Nepal and thus improve their living conditions.
What are the future goals of Finesse as a production company and how do you plan to continue to evolve?
We are in full development of our SFX department led by Javier Gonzalez and at the same time we are creating a department for the elaboration of fictitious.
Reel SFX
We continue to work on our concept of production service to national and international production companies that need to shoot extraordinary product shots, providing them with our experience and creativity and thus positioning Spain as a benchmark for quality in Table Top.
Interview by Carla Lara
