Charlie Iturriaga Interview

By Evija Zidonyte

Through the Eyes of a Master Craftsman

On developing a relationship with directors, starting out his career, creative process and inspiration.

Recently I was lucky enough to interview an accomplished industry professional and had conversation about filmmaking from the perspective of a Visual Effects Supervisor. Charlie Iturriaga is a veteran in the film industry and has worked with many renowned directors including David Fincher, Alfonso Cuaron and Spike Jonze.

I met Charlie at a bar in Soho I happened to be working at and after a few fascinating conversations I had with him I was lucky enough to convince him to be interviewed here at Ravensbourne. From the beginning of his career in Mexico to working with renowned directors, here’s a glimpse into a world of a craftsman.

Early Days:

To understand ourselves better and to get to the core of what motivates and inspires us we often investigate our childhood, hoping that our childhood selves are revealing about who we are today. I asked Charlie about what drove him at the very beginning of his career and the story he was willing to share with us was a memory of his “house of scientists” where he grew up.

As our conversation began, Charlie painted a picture of his childhood and his upbringing: “So ever since I was a kid, there was always a telescope, a camera. I liked mapping of the stars, things like that. Because my dad is an astrophysicist, mathematician, so I always wanted to be a mathematician, an astrophysicist. Trough him I learned how to use a optics camera.”

It is a rarity to combine the two seemingly completely opposite subjects: art and science. In Charlies case he found it whilst learning shooting the stars in the sky at night with his dad alongside him.  “We were waiting for the night and then staying in the cold. You don't process the film until two days later and then you see the results. It was really nice feedback that gave me the interest of visual images created by a technical side with the objective of science.”

What was a passion for Charlie as a young boy has consistently inspired him and stayed with him throughout his career. He highlights the importance of understanding your childhood self and letting it be your guide in creating art.  “Most of the people in art careers that I met, people that ended up doing these professionally, obviously carry something that comes from their from childhood and teenage days that transformed into their profession.” – He explained.

 “You always need to scratch where it came from, and if you don't know where its coming from in art that you're created, you need to find yourself.”-Charlie elaborated, encouraging young artists to delve deeper into what truly drives them. “And for me, it was obvious. Very easy to see. But I think everybody should try to find their roots.”

Stepping onto the Set:

Charlie's journey into filmmaking started with a chance encounter. A filmmaker visiting his school saw his knack for technology and invited him to learn about cameras and equipment on a movie set.

“I started like learning how to do it, and it was exactly what I knew how to do. I knew how to use optics, electronics, and then programming math to create motion in in the camera. And that

was one of the first times we used motion control in Mexico.” – Charie said as he spoke about his first experiences onset in Mexico.

Entering the Film industry

Charlies first jobs were commercials. After spending three years immersed in the world of filming adverts, Charlie found himself yearning for a new creative outlet. “You do the same commercials over and over again. The creative team around advertising is actually pretty narrow.”-He said telling us about how he had to make multiple commercials for things like dish soap and the frustration in filming the same “mom washing the dishes.”

  It was during this period that Charlie's curiosity led him to explore the realm of filmmaking. “So, when I got into movies, it was when I found that I can really use everything that I learned before. Everything that I enjoyed doing for a real storytelling process and helping an entire team to make it work for a common objective. The common objective is not selling a phone or selling toilet paper.”- He laughed. “The common objective normally is the idea of a director or the ideal screenwriter. “

Transitioning from commercial work to the landscape of cinema, Charlie found himself inspired by the prospect of collaborating with directors and screenwriters. “And that's when I got really excited. And I found in Mexico, the couple of movies that I hired me as a visual effects supervisor, a or a second unit director.”

Working with directors

Charlie’s first project outside of Mexico and his first big film was the acclaimed “Zodiac” directed David Fincher. Reflecting on this pivotal experience, Charlie emphasized the importance of understanding a director's vision to execute it effectively. Clear communication is essential to everyone working closely with a director, but how do you approach that if you don’t even speak the same language?  “One of the big problems that I had was when got the script and I didn't speak well English, so I couldn't really understand. And David this a very well-articulated person, just like his picture.”

Charlie explained his process of understanding his director:” I knew how to speak English but not at the level of an artist. So, one of the things that I did was put a lot of attention on everything about him. Like seeing what he’s expressing: he moves a lot with his hands.” Charlie's dedication to understanding Fincher's vision to analysing gestures and expressions and recognizing their significance. It was all crucial to decipher director vision.

“And it pays back. Once I came up the plan of execution, for this scene in the street, I said: “we're not going to shoot, it is going to be all CG in the Background.” He loved it and then he threw me another challenge and then another. And that's him. And that's how we started building the relationship.” -Charlie explained remembering his time on the set of “Zodiac”.

Ironically from the necessity to dissect every word and analyse every interaction resulted in a exceptionally clear communication:  ” He understood that I understood him and I understood him because I was having a hard time understanding him”.

Adapting to your environment and becoming part of the organism that is your crew for a short period of time that you are working on a singular project together is integral to filmmaking and channelling director’s vision. By learning to speak English on set Charlie programmed his mind to think in film terms and to see the world trough a creative lens.

What Future Holds

As we were wrapping up the interview, I asked Charlie to speak a bit about the future of the film industry to encourage and inspire young filmmakers. Even though Charlie was excited and hopeful about the future of filmmaking he pointed out the potential loss of craftsmanship in film as an art form regarding streaming services mass-producing short form content.

 He brought us back to his own true reason for creating art: “I started my career shooting the stars and waiting forever to have the image. I don't want it to be a mass production factory. I really want to make sure that every single frame is going to have the communication that it needs.”

However, he was intrigued by the prospect of new technology that is being developed a result of this new form of filmmaking. He outlined a positive vision for the future to look forward to and a motivating word to not steer away from challenges to come:

“I think that you guys and everybody in filmmaking understand that we are a drowning in media content, so having something special is important. How to find what is special is the challenge: you could find it through music, through sound, through visual effects, cinematography and you can find it through performance.

We will understand hopefully through the new wave of filmmakers. Movies from the current filmmakers are starting things more deep, interesting, and visually catchy. It’s starting to get to a form that is very interesting. So I'm excited about what is coming.”

As students step into the world of film the stories from an experienced industry professional both inspire and challenge us. With insights into overcoming obstacles and building meaningful connections, their advice is a valuable guide for aspiring visual storytellers.