We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Morales recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Andrew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I started making promotional videos for several theater companies in North San Diego County in the 2010’s.

The connections I made during that time enabled me to create the largest project I’ve ever produced, called Heirs of Justice.

This is a fan film web series that took four years to complete and is currently racking up awards in international film festivals in France and Italy.

It’s definitely the most meaningful project I’ve done so far.

Andrew, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Through both my photography and cinematography, I have two goals.

First, I try to pull real emotions out of people in my imagery. I always want to make sure people enjoy not just the finished product I’m making, but the process of making it as well. I find that people tend to smile bigger or be more confident or more into something when they’re having fun or enjoying what they’re doing. That hidden side that we keep guarded most of the time is what I want to capture.

Second, I was taught early on that movies are like dreams. They’re meant to do three things: educate, entertain and inspire. The ones that stick with you the most do all three of these very well. I keep this at the front of my scriptwriting process. It seems basic, but I want to make sure that there’s not a moment where I don’t have the audience in the palm of my hand – from the first shot to the last shot. If I can keep you in the dream, then I’ve done my job.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The undercurrent of Heirs of Justice was resilience.

This showed up the most during production. It was delayed from the summer of 2019 to the summer of 2020. Despite the challenges the pandemic created, we pressed forward following all COVID guidelines. It was inspiring to me and it drove me to go above and beyond to get this done. The cast saw that effort and it became a snowball.

The finished product is something that I’m very proud of and the hard work of the cast has paid off in five film festival awards in two countries so far.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Focusing on your craft and getting better than you were before is something most people strive towards. The fun part with being a creative is you can visually see that progress. It makes it a little easier for people to come alongside you and encourage you by saying “look how far you’ve come”.

Being able to convey emotions and take people on a journey is also tremendously rewarding. You have the ability to take people away from the stresses of their real life, if only for a short time, and bring them into this world you’ve created.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.crystalbeaconpictures.com
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• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvqmCjvBbtvtHtMU7dkAbA