The Directors: Alex Rodriguez

Alex Rodriguez is an advertising director, storyteller and documentary filmmaker born in Valencia but currently living in Mallorca. From an early age, Alex showed an impressive imagination and creative drive, which he exploited mainly through painting and photography. Throughout his career, he has shot spots in Europe (Italy, Bulgaria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Spain...), the MENA region (Dubai, Istanbul, Beirut, Oman...) and in other countries such as Mexico, Chile, Peru, Argentina or Canada, for leading brands such as Movistar, Orange, Huawei, Mercedes, KFC, Burger King, Dominos, LAN... etc.

Professionally, he has shown great versatility in his filming style, ranging from shooting more intimate pieces, through spots where humour plays a major role, to large productions.

Name: Alex Rodriguez

Location: Spain

Repped by: Antonella Perillo Agency

LBB> What elements of a script sets one apart from the other and what sort of scripts get you excited to shoot them?

Alex> Your face lights up; you immediately realise if you are in front of one of those scripts with creative potential that will allow you to develop and expand on the main idea. But there are also scripts where the creative part is practically non-existent, and they only have a sales component, that's all. Although our job as a director also includes being able to maximise its possibilities, even in scripts that, at first glance, may seem mediocre. I like to find the strong point of a script.

Lately, the scripts that excite me are all those that have some ingredient of humour and acting. I love comedy, subtle, elegant, character-driven comedy that is not over the top. I also like scripts that allow you to develop and tell a small story, work with the actors, help them bring details and nuances to their characters, making them believe that they are part of something bigger, and that the spot continues beyond the editing cuts.

LBB> How do you approach creating a treatment for a spot?

Alex> Once you receive the script from the agency, the first thing you should do after the first readings is to take initial notes that come to mind, the images that the script on paper is generating intuitively in your mind.

After this first approach and when you start working on the treatment, it is essential to have a conversation with the agency's creative team. Listen to their opinions first to understand their ideas and, at the same time, provide an initial overview. This is when you realise whether the script brief is more closed and defined or, on the contrary, more open. This allows you to work on improving the gags, narrative development and contribute to the personality and differentiation of the overall idea.

Treatment development is a crucial phase for me, as it helps you visualise and make sense of all the ideas. I write my own treatments, trying to explain every detail, breaking down the script and enriching it with visual references. I consider that a quality treatment is essential, because if the agency, the client and the production company agree with that document, the pre-production process will be much more fluid and understandable.

The subject of treatments is something that everybody is talking about. After many attempts, meetings, confrontations, disappointments and back to square one, the remuneration of treatments in Spain is starting to become a reality. Thanks to an organisation like the ADDP, which represents a great majority of Spanish directors and has been leading this wonderful project.

LBB> If the script is for a brand that you're not familiar with/ don’t have a big affinity with or a market you're new to, how important is it for you to do research and understand that strategic and contextual side of the ad? If it’s important to you, how do you do it?

Alex> I think it's very important to get to know the brand you're working for, whether you feel an affinity with it or it's new to you. It's always important to understand what kind of project they are looking for and see what you can contribute and offer to help enrich and grow the brand.

Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is a fascinating challenge. There always has to be a first time for everything. Maybe you try to surround yourself with people on the team who are familiar with that brand or product (new to you) and try to be prepared to understand what you have to do and what is best for the project.

LBB> For you, what is the most important working relationship for a director to have with another person in making an ad? And why?

Alex> Directing is a job of shared authorship, and part of your job as a director is to listen to the whole team, the agency and the client, to be attentive and flexible, since ideas can come from anywhere, and a commercial is never written until it is "on air". Although it is also important to know that in the end, you are the one responsible for the result, so you must be consistent with your decisions.

On the other hand, working as a team, gathering ideas and getting the best out of each other and yourself is always part of the process.

For me, the most important working relationship, apart from with your producer, is with the cinematographer. He or she is a crucial support when it comes to completely defining the look & feel of the commercial.

LBB> What type of work are you most passionate about - is there a particular genre or subject matter or style you are most drawn to?

Alex> I have always considered myself an eclectic director, capable of tackling different genres and styles. However, lately the market has placed me in the genre of comedy and directing actors, a place where I feel very comfortable. Through humour, you can address issues and break down taboos in a way that wouldn't be possible otherwise; it's a very interesting genre to critique things in a different way.

I enjoy telling stories and directing actors. As for the comedy genre, I lean more towards 'serious' humour than over-the-top treatments, and I wrap it all up with powerful art direction and a high level of craft.

LBB> What misconception about you or your work do you most often encounter and why is it wrong?

Alex> The truth is that I don't know if there is a misconception about my work, that is, that they usually call me because I perform within a tone or type of project that I'm used to. I think that's what the reel that represents you should reflect, so that the agency and the client can see your work and know right away what kind of projects fit you.

Maybe that's the reason why certain projects don't come to you, because they have you pigeonholed into a certain genre. But as I mentioned before, being a director sometimes means stepping out of your 'comfort zone' and tackling new genres and products, giving them a different approach. As in other professions, reinventing yourself within your field can be a fascinating challenge.

LBB> Have you ever worked with a cost consultant and if so how have your experiences been?

Alex> Yes, when I was shooting campaigns for Orange, there was this figure of a 'cost controller' who supervised the different items, but in my case, I always felt he was part of the team. You would meet with him, explain the project and the reasons for the different expenses. In my personal experience, I always felt that we were moving in the same direction.

LBB> What’s the craziest problem you’ve come across in the course of a production – and how did you solve it?

Alex> In this profession and over the years, you can run into all sorts of pretty 'crazy' problems, from selected actors showing up on set looking totally different, impossible scripts and schedules that force you to turn the clock back, shooting cancellations the day before or even campaigns that are cancelled once shot....

Shooting with celebrities can be very stressful as well. I recently had to shoot with the Spanish national soccer team, and we had less than an hour to shoot different versions; it was really crazy. We planned a three-camera shoot and spent more than half a day rehearsing with light doubles all the possible camera marks and positions so that, once the national team was on set, we could shoot everything we needed to shoot.

Although I think the most extreme experience was shooting at over 4,000 meters above sea level and watching your equipment fall apart due to altitude sickness. In the end, only the Director of Photography, the actors and I were left, and we ended up shooting the scene in natural light, clutching an oxygen bottle. It was one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever filmed.

LBB> How do you strike the balance between being open/collaborative with the agency and brand client while also protecting the idea?

Alex> The most important thing is to start with a script or an idea that is agreed upon by client and agency, it seems obvious but sometimes it is not, and then you are left in the middle of a war that is not yours. Then, I think the most important thing is to maintain a fluid dialogue with everyone involved. At the end of the day, we all want the best possible outcome.

Therefore, I think it is important to work on a treatment that is very close to the final proposal, and once the project is awarded, to return to dialogue to define the final path, as long as there is dialogue there is understanding and the idea does not suffer, on the contrary, it will be reinforced.

LBB> What are your thoughts on opening up the production world to a more diverse pool of talent? Are you open to mentoring and apprenticeships on set?

Alex> I believe that we are facing an industry in constant change, changes in the way of producing, post-producing and disseminating content. The language and audio visual narrative changes every day and it is necessary to change and adjust to it.

Opening the world of production to a greater diversity of talent is essential to enrich our industry and more accurately reflect the diversity of the society in which we live, it is also essential for the creation of innovative and authentic content.

As for mentoring and learning on set, we've all had mentors who have helped us throughout our careers, so it's a positive thing to be able to collaborate with new talent, provide guidance and support, and learn from them in the process.

LBB> How do you feel the pandemic is going to influence the way you work into the longer term? Have you picked up new habits that you feel will stick around for a long time?

Alex> I think the pandemic has accelerated many changes in the industry, either for better or for worse. One of the phases that has been most affected and is here to stay is everything related to the pitch, agency briefing, treatment presentation and final project award. Although I still think that there is nothing better than talking and dialoguing face-to-face (face-to-face can generate more powerful connections), now, for example, when I am working for countries and competing with local directors, we are all on equal terms because all these meetings are virtual.

Fortunately I haven't had to direct remotely, it's a possible way to shoot, yes, but it's not exactly the same as being there on set, I like to direct an actor in a "physical" way and not looking at them through a computer screen, even remote call backs are not the same as if you work side by side with the actors. I have had the agency and the client remotely and the decision making and approvals slow down, the process is no longer fluid and straightforward.

Working remotely in the pre-production and post-production phases can help lower costs and it works just as well, but directing on set or on the set in person I think is very important for a director.

LBB> Your work is now presented in so many different formats - to what extent do you keep each in mind while you're working (and, equally, to what degree is it possible to do so)? 

​Alex> The fact of having to cover different formats is already a reality that I am used to take into account in my work. I think that here we enter into a budget issue, that is, first you usually get a script that is designed to be told in a panoramic format, but you have to adapt it to different formats in the best possible way, rarely can you work with two cameras, arranged in different formats to give more value to each frame.

Then, in addition to the main spot, the campaign usually has other different formats. Nowadays in a production of a spot the production resources are used to the maximum, the whole campaign is made in the same shooting. That is: the main spot itself, the digital pieces, promotional videos and the photos for the graphics. In the end, everything can be done, it is a matter of having the right personnel and equipment.​

LBB> What’s your relationship with new technology and, if at all, how do you incorporate future-facing tech into your work (e.g. virtual production, interactive storytelling, AI/data-driven visuals etc)?

Alex> The fact of having to cover different formats is already a reality that I am used to take into account in my work. I think that here we enter into a budget issue, that is, first you usually get a script that is designed to be told in a panoramic format, but you have to adapt it to different formats in the best possible way, rarely can you work with two cameras, arranged in different formats to give more value to each frame.

Then, in addition to the main spot, the campaign usually has other different formats. Nowadays in a production of a spot the production resources are used to the maximum, the whole campaign is made in the same shooting. That is: the main spot itself, the digital pieces, promotional videos and the photos for the graphics. In the end, everything can be done, it is a matter of having the right personnel and equipment.

LBB> Which pieces of work do you feel really show off what you do best – and why?

Alex> 1. DGT/Drug

This spot is a few years old, but I have always felt very proud of it as a director of actors. I think that more than a spot it can be considered a short film, and it talks about the serious consequences that drugs have on traffic.

The spot is a clear tribute to the famous and award-winning short film 'La cabina' by Antonio Mercero.

It was a challenge in terms of casting and acting, since the whole piece falls on the shoulders of a single actor and we needed someone with a wide range of registers. For this project, we had a British actor who had an excellent emotional handling.

I think it is a piece that keeps the attention and intrigue at all times, very valuable concepts when talking about advertising and not fiction, and where the brand (DGT) is put at the service of the story to use a different and unconventional language, narrative and format.

2. ACIERTO/ Braveheart

In the following spot we enter a totally different genre: humour and comedy, although the direction of actors and casting are still the strong points of the campaign. This time we immersed ourselves in a particular parody of the famous scene from the movie Braveheart to present and launch the new Acierto.

It was a complicated shoot, since in addition to working on the direction of the main actor so that he maintained the same enthusiasm in each of his takes, there were many extras and we had to record different layers to generate many more, all in a single day of shooting with natural light.

The result was a fun, contemporary spot with a very direct and ground breaking message.

3. MOVISTAR/ Choose everything

Shooting this campaign for Movistar Peru was a very rewarding experience as a director. It was an important and very choral campaign, both in casting and locations, which had a great impact in Latin America. It was quite a challenge at the production level, since in five days we shot all over Peru; we filmed in Callao, Paracas, Huaraz, Parón, Punta Hermosa and Lima.

It's a very local but at the same time very international campaign, that's why I insisted on using a song by a Peruvian band in the spot. When we heard 'Found Love' by 'We The Lion', it definitely helped greatly to enhance the visual narrative, it became a summer hit!

4. MATUSALEM/ Rum Perfected

This last campaign I show you also has an emotional component for me. I worked side by side with the client and the agency to develop the creative for a long time until we defined the brand positioning.

The result is this journey through the eyes of our protagonist, getting to know the origin, tradition, land and customs of Ron Matusalem. It was prepared in record time and was finally shot in the Dominican Republic, simulating a Cuba to which we did not have access to film. It is a visual, diverse and varied film in which different points of view, styles and changes of pace are mixed.