New Talent: Claudia Barral

Claudia> My roots are in Asturias. I have been lucky enough to grow up in a very natural environment and I think it is something that is now reflected in my work. Both narrative and photographic, musical... I feel that simplicity is a present element in all my work, humanity in the stories and the purity of the ingredients that surround them, locations, natural light sources...

Claudia> Absolutely. I have grown up surrounded by art.

Besides being a painter, my grandfather had a bakery. He was (and still is) an absolute magician of chocolate. He built huge impossible buildings, from Oviedo Cathedral to the Eiffel Tower, all in chocolate. I think those splendid shop windows were etched in my retinas somehow.

I used to make collages with my father. We took spare copies of an edition of painted postcards that he had made as a young man and we painted over them, we looked for cuttings in the magazines of that week, we mixed everything... we gave them a new life. He is a natural-born creator, although his strong point is writing, and I am convinced that my projects’ metaphorical and poetic approach is thanks to him.

Claudia> It was luck or destiny. Photography had always fascinated me and when I started my Fine Arts career I was fortunate to have Rafael Trobat as a teacher in my first year. Rafa, besides being a photographer, was at that time the laboratory assistant of Cristina García Rodero (photographer for Magnum). We worked on analogue photography for the whole course and it made me discover it from its most romantic side. I learned to think about every shot, to carefully frame and wait for the perfect light.

Claudia> After specialising in still photography, the idea of ​​working in as solitary a profession as  photography scared me a little. That's why I researched new ways of portraying moments. Cinema gathered all that I was looking for, the framing, the light, a story from a moment... in addition to working as a team and bringing together in one discipline so many others that I was passionate about like photography, music or narrative.

Claudia> I think Blur is different. I identify with their style, their aspirations and their way of working. It is a production company that is committed to more artistic productions and this is not a simple thing to find. They are impulsive, they dare with everything and that is something that also attracted me a lot. In addition, they are stepping up their content department and I think it is a very interesting space with many possibilities in which I would like to grow.

Claudia> Nostalgia is an emotion that has always moved me. The return, the memories… I discovered ‘Here’, Richard McGuire’s book at the beginning of last year. Everything fell into place. I had just come up with the precise format to describe these universal sensations (and so personal at the same time).

With this project I was clear that I wanted to develop a concept, not a story. Visually it was already powerful and I wanted most of the attention to be focused on this aspect. That is why I narratively worked on the concept of space/time and let the images themselves tell each of us our own story.

Claudia> I think that one of the biggest challenges was being able to shoot such an ambitious project with the low budget and, therefore, little time. It was a very easy path thanks to the talent and favours of many colleagues and friends from the beginning. I think that without all that generosity the result would have been certainly different.

On the other hand, these limitations forced us to calculate minutely each “strip”. The props, for example, reached just to the limit of each of them, that is, we tried to economize at the art level by strictly working the necessary meters. We also had to develop a very thorough shooting plan to be able to shoot the 37 sets / eras in just two days.

Finally, when we edited the film, it was difficult to establish an order, since they played many factors: the rhythm of each strip, the text off, the music... I did not want a result with too many overlapping stimuli so to work in parallel with each department helped the final result to breathe as I wished.

Claudia> I think that this is the project with which I identify the most and, therefore, feel the most proud of. I think that it defines me among all (which are not many) of those that I have done so far. If I had to choose another special project for me it would be ‘Those Freckles’, it is a very short piece and one of the first ones I developed as a director but I think that, despite its simplicity, it has a great strength and having achieved it was very satisfactory in that moment.

Claudia> I would say that most of my work is focused on aesthetics. I love to work the image itself, count through the visual. I have often started a project from a painting or a photograph that has fascinated me to later tell a story from and around that element.

I think fashion is a discipline with a great aesthetic weight. The purpose is none other than to portray beauty again and again so I feel very comfortable there.

Claudia> I think my influences start a lot from the artistic field and that's where I look for myself. It inspires me to visit museums, listen to music and go to concerts, read, travel... besides watching movies, of course. I also consume a lot of audiovisual content in the small format of online platforms, such as music videos or projects from younger directors with more personal character.

Claudia> It is complicated because I feel creative work is very linked to my day to day and my experiences, so in the end the way to disconnect ends up becoming inspiration on many occasions. So my answer would be similar to the previous one!

Claudia> I think the most important thing is to remain true to oneself; it may also be the most difficult one. Following trends is very tempting but in the long run I think it becomes somewhat frustrating. I would therefore advise to look a little inside oneself, devote time and nurture stimuli, with art, with stories.