It is 8.42 p.m. on Saturday 26 September 2020. Camila Fernández-Cruz scrolls through her photo reel in the passenger seat of a car crossing the fifteen kilometres separating the iconic Fort Saint-Eynard from the city of Grenoble.  She’s reviewing some of the photos she took just moments before of a majestic sunset, which she will no doubt send to her parents later on via WhatsApp.  Sharing photos with her family now forms part of the daily routine she has developed over the past six days spent in the capital of the French Alps.  To her left, in the driver’s seat, Alexandre Barbuto relates the detailed plan for the shoot scheduled for the following day; their final day working together.  He is the founder and director of Dazone Productions, a production company specialised in videos of extreme sports, which has collaborated with brands such as Red Bull and Tomorrowland. This is where which this second-year Barcelona-born student from the Bachelor's Degree in Audiovisual Communication, is now completing her extra-curricular work placement.

“I came across the production company by chance one day whilst I was scrolling through Instagram and I was immediately drawn to their videos on skiing and mountain sports” told Camila Fernández-Cruz. “I wanted to learn how to work with the camera under those conditions and to do so in an environment like the French Alps was a unique opportunity, so I said to myself “why not give it a shot?””, she explained. And there she was, a few weeks later beside her mentor, returning after another day of intense filming in which she had learned the best way to capture a sunset as a time lapse video.

The previous few days were also very hectic: “On my first day, Alexandre showed me how to use the RED camera and change the settings depending on the objective and circumstances of the shoot” recalled the student, who defines her experience working with this camera as “very enriching”. Camila has also had the chance to learn other technical aspects of filming in nature and in closed spaces, as well as the basics of sound design or editing an advertisement.

Discipline and organisation: essential qualities

“I have found that this world demands discipline, organisation and patience.  Working with top-of-the-range equipment really puts the pressure on because you are fully responsible should anything happen”, she said. “They have also taught me how important it is to value what you have and that you can take a good picture or videos on any camera: all you need is motivation and to know the basics of how it works”, she revealed.

Her time in France has also boosted the young student’s entrepreneurial spirit, and she hopes to launch an audiovisual project with some of her peers from the Faculty and continue studying the field.  “This week has inspired me with new ideas that I will be sure to develop into projects in the future” she confirmed.

Despite the fact that Camila Fernández-Cruz’s French adventure at Dazone Productions lasted just seven short days, she now knows the direction she needs to take to meet her expectations in the audiovisual world: “This experience has ignited an impulse to travel, to tell stories and portray positive messages to the world. This is what I want to do with my life and this has most likely been the first step towards realising that dream”. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.