FIVE DAYS IN ANOTHER WORLD.

Shootings tend to be closed organizations.

Hermetic, working on "vase clos" and unrelated to the external world, the same world that allows the existence and justify the resources devoted to them.

The shooting of some ads for a brand of American food species and similar products, produced by Mandarin Film Production with a considerable group of professionals involved, which have lived and worked side by side during the last four days of July and first of August 2014, has not been an exception and has generated and fed his own dose of effort, suffering, euphoria, rivalry, envy, admiration and competitiveness. ‘Unexpendable’ humiliation, spontaneous sympathy, tensions, affection and incompatibility. Personal esteem, rejection, companionship, isolation.

Some moments of solitude.

The aliquot portion of feelings inherent in any human activity.

One of the key figures in the process has been an American woman from Los Angeles, the prestigious "food stylist" Alise Arato.

An experienced woman despite his youth, discreet, cautious and respectful, attentive to the observations and comments regarding her responsibility to make attractive the shape of the products we have worked for. Equipped with a substantial background knowledge, patience and respect by all the egos expressed, exploded and manifested in this type of work, Alise has dialogued more with the responsible action and silences than word. This way, she has conquered and reconquered criterion spaces that were part of the commission and its attributions, avoiding with no little elegance the obstacles that circumstances raised and the explosive mixture of wills and bitter fights to defend the ‘starring’ roles and the views of each charge.

From our privileged observatory of near collaborators, our experience has been so rewarding as intense, just as strong as barely visible.

The closed environment of the shooting, a world in itself in which vital tensions are played, attractions and possible animadversions, moments of success and defeat, retreat and advance just as the world in which we live in, here has been a privileged place from which to witness relentless struggles, occasional alliances, spontaneous sympathy or interest, insecurity fostered fierce attacks and closed defenses to ensure survival.

So, shootings are similar to most other human activities. We sympathize with some people, and some intangible force involuntarily distances us from certain people for reasons that we ignore.

Each of the five days of filming has been extended to infinity and has brought his own load of achievements and challenges overcome. Fears and strength, setbacks, land conquered and problems that sometimes –the less- seemed impossible to overcome.

For us, her closest team, Mr. Utset and the one who signs this text, sharing days of work, experience, effort, strategies, will, knowledge and ability to work with Mrs. Arato has been a short but vital period of a rare quality. A period we will not forget easily.

We feel improved, better technically and as human beings, flattered by having been beside her during moments of tension, eloquent silences, minimal progresses, painful defeats and in the end success, the minimal success of having achieved it once again.

Many thanks to Mrs. Arato. Thanks Alise.

Pierre Roca

English translation by Jordi Utset.