LMGI COMPASS
|
Fall 2020
•
17
A
of me during the fi ght scene.
This experience had a huge
effect on me, completely
immersing me in the world of
scuba diving.
In 1990, I suffered a
traumatic car accident in
Morocco, en route to a
Sahara Desert adventure.
My girlfriend at the time
actually pushed me out of
harm's way as the vehicle
exploded, saving my life.
It's hard to believe it was
30 years ago. It took almost
a year to recover from my
wounds and broken bones.
During that time, I read and
studied all the diving books
that I could fi nd. The fi rst
thing I did when my health
permitted, it was using part
of my accident settlement
to learn English—which I
decided to do in California.
It was in San Diego that I did
my fi rst sport diving course. I
was also immersed in English
and North American culture,
something that would later
help in my future career.
Upon returning to Spain,
I took commercial diving
courses. I spent the next
seven years underwater,
where I feel very comfortable,
sometimes more so than up
here! My primary job was
to inspect and control the
discharge from oil tankers in
the bay of Málaga, diffi cult
and dangerous work. I
also had the opportunity
to develop my passion for
photography. I did quite
a bit of aquatic video and
photography. During these
years of working as a
professional diver, I began
working on a degree in
geography. While I greatly
enjoyed it, I could not fi nish
these studies since it would
ultimately require relocating.
I decided to take a turn,
stop diving and reenter the
audiovisual world.
It was not easy since the
physical after-effects of the
car accident in Morocco
kept me from working as a
stuntman. The only option
I had was to start from the
bottom as a PA. At that time,
a lot of commercials were
fi lmed in Costa del Sol, where
I live, so I ended up working
as a runner. I also collected
garbage from the set, drove
clients around and locked
down roads for ITC all the
time. Around this time, I went
to Cuba for a few months
to take a documentary
fi lmmaking course at the San
Antonio de los Baños Film
International School. This
experience taught me how
to make a living managing
fi lm locations and situations
in different environments. At
that time, I also had a little
experience as 3rd AD in the
Spanish movie La caja 507.
One day Carlos Duran, a line
producer who just opened
his own production company,
offered me my fi rst job as a
location manager. I couldn't
believe it—I realized that the
work was tailor-made for
me. It required interpreting
a script or storyboard,
endless driving (another
of my passions), searching
and photographing all kinds
of places, what more could
I possibly want?! At that
time, I cut my teeth as a
scout and location manager
on small productions with
Carlos and his partner Bash
Robertson, an experienced
English producer. I became
a freelancer, working
for different companies
throughout Spain. At the
Stunt work on Navy SEALs.
Stunt work on Brigada Central (1991)
