We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alec Ybarra a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Alec thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

There is no better feeling as a cinematographer than reading a screenplay that has layers, vision, and something profound behind it. It is on the vision of the writer that I can build the visual artistry for the film. For me, being an artist is simply expressing my identity in a way that is genuine to me. When I can immerse myself in the details, paradoxes, and intuitions of the themes of the script, I find it easiest to express myself as an artist through visual choices. Making those variable choices is what brings me happiness in this career. Acting as the bridge between the audience and the actors by creating a sort of ‘movement’ and ‘rhythm’ to the way they experience the story is a delicate place to be in – but that creative risk drives my love for film.

There are plenty of aspects to being a cinematographer that are like having a ‘regular job’. Most of what I do is solve problems, communicate with others, and reverse-engineer the ‘look’ we are setting out to achieve. It is simply the expression of such things and the output that creates such a drastic perceived dichotomy between film and a ‘regular job’.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a Director of Photography, based in Los Angeles and Denver. The vast majority of my work is in the narrative feature space (mainly horror/thriller), and I also have been fortunate to work on some doc and short projects. My top priority when I come on board any project is to understand the script and director’s vision inside and out – to not just know what it is – but to truly know it.

The thing I am most proud of is the opportunity to work with directors and crew who value the details and subtleties of an image. There is so much power in shaping light. I am not only talking about visual power, but thematic power. On set, I always find myself thinking about how the way we shape light is revealing information about the character. Or how subtracting light is making a statement about the theme or subject matter. I always love considering the ‘what’s more?’ behind an image and collaborating with others is key to understanding the ‘what’s more?’ on deeper levels every single time. Sometimes a new layer is revealed or realized when looking into the viewfinder and we see the power of an impromptu expression or the gravity of the way the actor delivered the dialogue.

Aside from film, I have a huge passion for theology and philosophy and it does influence the way I work and approach a script. That passion also had a heavy influence on why I fell in love with cinematography. It is quite mysterious to consider the fact that a beautiful image does not have to look how some would conventionally consider ‘beautiful’ to be beautiful. Visual beauty for film is often in the subtleties – in the highlight roll-off, the grain structure of the shadows, the filtration in the matte box, the shade of bronze on the wall, or the grittiness of the flickering fluorescent light harshly blowing out in a reflection. A frame can paradoxically deliver visual beauty in the context of the film. When the conflict unfolds on screen, it is my hope that the way I captured it can deeply affect an audience so they can connect with what is within the film and the characters. I love nothing more than placing an audience into the uncomfortable mystery of the deepest parts of a story.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

This is an interesting thing to ponder because once society starts doing it, I wonder if it will lose its magic. I am a huge fan of arthouse and indie cinema. I’m talking about the films that slip through the cracks or screen once a day at a strange hour at the single-screen vintage theaters in the cities. It is always surprising to me that a lot of these films do not receive the recognition that they deserve. Sure, they’ll get mentioned by a critic or get some festival attention, yet most people have not heard of them. If more people started watching indie films or even searching for an extra 10 minutes to find something they have not heard of, it would bring greater exposure and attention to those narratives that take avant-garde risks and dive to the deeper, more ethereal aspects of their stories. I love films that leave a lasting impression and I believe if society made a bigger space for those stories, it could bring about the ability for films of all scales and sizes to showcase more creativity and outside-the-box ways of filmmaking.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn (and then relearn) what it means to be a visual artist. It can be so easy to lose sight of the point of creativity, which is to be who you actually are. There was a time when I was trying to do so many different things because I thought filmmaking had to look a certain way or cinematography had to be done in only one way, but then when I realized that the artistic expression of it is up to the individual, there was a lot of freedom in that revelation. The way one shoots a scene is going to depend on the script, yes, but also on the person. It all starts in pre-production. As a DP, the relationship with the director is paramount and you have to come to an understanding of what is important to them before you start to work on the project. And when you are hired, you have to remember that they hired you because they trust your vision to provide the film with something that only you can do. The director and DP relationship is two artists coming together. Because it is two artists joining forces, it is not only about the project at hand, but about the artistic qualities in each of you that brought you two together. There is a reason a director and DP work with one another that goes far beyond and far deeper than the simple logistics. You have to find your voice as an artist and be surrounded by people who support your vision. That is true for both sides of the coin.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.alecybarra.com
• Instagram: @alecybarra_

Image Credits
Sparrow Street Films, Jeffrey Colebank, Mark Pomerville, Phillip Nelson