We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Carlos Suarez. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Carlos below.
Carlos, so great to have you sharing your thoughts and wisdom with our readers and so let’s jump right into one of our favorite topics – empathy. We think a lack of empathy is at the heart of so many issues the world is struggling with and so our hope is to contribute to an environment that fosters the development of empathy. Along those lines, we’d love to hear your thoughts around where your empathy comes from?
If there is one family ritual that defined my personality and goals, is Fridays night Movie rentals with my Family. We would go to an equivalent of Blockbuster on Friday nights, My Dad would let me and my siblings pick a movie suitable for children while he´d pick a movie for the grownups. This tradition over time became a sort of personal connection with the impact of movies. As I grew up sharing films with my family constantly
Growing up, I encountered many different obstacles socially. I grew up in a school environment that fostered a lot of bullying, name calling and confrontation. Because of different circumstances I found myself wedged inside that bullying. I was questioned, made fun of, teased, and physically abused of for being overweight, not tall enough, not sporty, you name it. I had a hard impact on my self esteem and my ability to express myself socially.
When I was 15 years old I was at a crossroads where I felt very isolated and borderline worthless. But suddenly I had a family member who constantly lent me films to watch and among those he lent me “Bowling for Columbine” by Michael Moore. After viewing it I was exposed to many different films about bullying and the hardships of School and its social challenges. Despite that family member not knowing my situation, this moment in time made me see my situation on the screen. And I understood that I was definitely not going to end up like some kids out there who were pushed to take terrible choices that would destroy their lives as well as others. I was going to come through, somehow.
Around that time I discovered rock music, specifically Heavy metal, in all its forms. And I felt that its aggressive nature allowed me to channel my feeling into a creative outlet, I learned to play bass guitar and joined a small rock band with schoolmates. Looking back now, I realized I had started to see problems that transcended my own, looking for like minded people to share our feelings with and suddenly, I didn´t feel alone anymore.
The main thing I can take away from my High School experience was realizing that there was a whole world out there of people with failures and success as relevant as my own, and finding a global perspective allowed me to see my place in the larger construct of society.
Another key element of this perspective is growing up in Venezuela, right in the middle of the turmoil that still plagues my people to this day. Having been involved in student protests movements in college, having to share a collective voice that aims for a more stable and free society gave me tools to find people that require a voice beyond their own.
Once I moved to the United States to pursue a career as a Cinematographer, I find that the multifaceted and culturally diverse structure of Los Angels has expanded my worldview way beyond my own expectations. I found myself helping out with teaching film to middle school children, working in documentary about the Cuban Dissidence, Being Chief Lighting Technician in what currently is the most critical acclaimed Venezuelan Film of 2023, Simon, which tackles the human rights abuses of the Venezuelan Dictatorship. I have suddenly found a tribe of other Venezuelan Filmmakers as well as people form around the globe, and we shared our stories, our teamwork and day to day we fight the fight of striving for a stable living in the film industry, while never forgetting that we are most definitely not alone and it takes a village to grow and thrive.
I still carry the scars of my upbringing with me, and adult difficulties are not of short supply to say the least. Especially now seeing the terrible fallout of the WGA and SAG Strike, I´m reminded every day that so many people are struggling and one can do is to make ones community stronger by always looking to help the next person and to be aware of one´s family and being useful in small ways.
To conclude, the idea of a village has become more intimate now that, since marrying my beautiful and talented wife Chelsea Rousselot in 2019, and having my daughter Susie, run around the house as a full blown toddler. I can´t help but be reminded of the fact that we thrive on connections and sharing, the only way to see past our own view is to observe someone else´s. and seeing my family grow and develop reminds me of that fact every day. I can only hope to continue to build a home that grows by nurturing those connections. taking it day by day.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I currently work as a freelance Director of Photography and Chief Lighting Electrician.
Recently have had the chance to work mainly in Commercial and Narrative content.
I deeply admire the lighting process in Cinema, I have grown to really enjoy the teamwork involved in creating a mood for a required scene. Collaborating with either the Director, the Electric and Grip team to control and shape the light into a frame that resonates with the audience, is definitely one of the better rewards of the job.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I believe the most important skill that one can develop when working as a cinematographer is mainly to be an active listener, and open negotiator, a empathic manager and a committed artist.
To work with a director is to listen to his vision and help translate that into technical executions,.
To negotiate is to manage resources and expectations and to balance the scale between circumstance and opportunity into maximized technical choices.
To manage a team through empathy is to always have the hard work, talent and input of your team protected and considered when planning the work of your team.
And to remain an artist is to remember that filmmaking in itself is and always be an artform, meaning that the goal is to serve the directors creative vision into aesthetic choices that aim to create artistic engagement with the audiences.
We’ve all got limited resources, time, energy, focus etc – so if you had to choose between going all in on your strengths or working on areas where you aren’t as strong, what would you choose?
Perfection is a myth, especially when considering human talent. As a single unit, a person can{t hope to just hone in on their strengths without being aware of one´s areas of growth. Working with a team is the best way to find those areas of growth and to use one{s support system to improve, train and foster accountability.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crscine.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crs.cinema/?hl=en
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/crs-cinema/
Image Credits
Enrique Suarez
