Bio

A visual storyteller and creative collaborator, I bring over 20 years of experience in the film, television, and digital media industries. Born in Colombia and raised in Bogotá, my passion for the moving image led me to study Film and Television Production at the University of Westminster in London. Since graduating in 2002, I have honed my craft in New York City and Los Angeles - from production assistant to director of photography, producer, editor, and company owner. Whether freelancing or leading projects through my former production company Above All Productions, I have partnered with numerous clients to produce dynamic short-form videos. My breadth of on-set experience, eye for cinematography, and focus on clarity allow me to translate stories from script or real life onto the screen.  Now bicoastal, I continue this fulfilling work as an agile creative based in both NYC and LA.

Who I am

  • A technical and creative Video Producer, DP / Videographer, Editor, Colorist, DIT, and Digital Tech with 20 years of experience.
  • A conceptual thinker with a strong creative vision and design sense.
  • A curious mind who is passionate about science, technology, food, travel, and social issues.
  • A production and post-production professional who effectively brings projects from ideation to reality.
  • An organized and reliable team member who can work under pressure and sticks to tight deadlines.
  • An enthusiastic self-starter who can work independently.
  • A collaborator with solid communication and management skills.

 

What I do

  • I create videos that inform, promote, educate, entertain, and inspire.
  • I deliver high-quality, engaging, and compelling videos that are on time, budget, and brand.
  • I produce, shoot, and edit corporate, marketing, and educational videos, including promos, commercials, social media videos, branding videos, explainers, product demonstrations, tutorials, how-to videos, e-commerce videos, music videos, short films, and documentaries.
  • As a producer, I manage projects and teams, keeping everything on time and within budget. I ideate, write, storyboard, plan, and execute.
  • As a Director of Photography, Cinematographer, and Videographer, I capture high-quality footage that captures the essence of the story. I light, shoot, record audio, and direct on-camera talent.
  • As an Editor, I excel at editing engaging and effective branded, promotional, educational, and entertaining content. I edit, color correct, color grade, and create motion graphics, compositing, effects, and audio.

Interview 

What is your dream job?
Frequently travel as a video journalist and documentary filmmaker.

Describe your dream assignment:
Discover the world, meet new people, learn from the experience, tell a story, shoot video, edit, upload the finished video, and then do it again.

What is the most important thing in your life?
My family and friends will always be my priority. I try being a loving son and brother, partner, and friend. I want to live a spiritual life and do good for humanity.

What's your idea of a perfect Saturday night?
I am sitting comfortably in front of a fantastic view somewhere in the world while having a conversation with a local, new friend.

What's your idea of a perfect Monday morning?
My perfect Monday morning is one that comes unnoticed because I'm not counting the days to pay the bills. It is the morning in which I wake up early and continue with my life and work; happily doing something productive.

In ten years, I want to be:
In ten years, I want to continue bein happy and without regrets.

What is your Mantra?
Life is Beautiful:)

 

Technical Skills

  • Video production and post-production.
  • Filming video with most digital cinema, photography, action, and broadcast cameras.
  • Shooting photography with DSLRs, mirrorless, and medium format cameras.
  • Location and studio lighting equipment for video and photography (continuous lighting and strobes).
  • Lighting and shooting green/blue screens and seamless backgrounds.
  • Audio recording and mixing on small video shoots.
  • Directing on-camera talent.
  • Creation of workflows for production and post-production.
  • Video editing, color grading, color correction, compositing, retouching, effects, tracking, rotoscoping, titles, and motion graphics with Adobe Creative Suite, Premiere, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, After Effects, Motion, Mocha Pro, Silhouette Paint, Cinema 4D, Photoshop, and Illustrator.
  • Audio fixing, design, and mixing with Adobe Audition and plugins from Izotope and Waves.
  • Video compression with Adobe Media Encoder and Apple Compressor.
  • Closed captioning and subtitles.
  • Knowledge of video codecs, broadcast technical standards, and best practices.
  • Knowledge of the cloud, streaming, and content management systems (CMS).
  • Social media like Facebook and Instagram, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube.
  • Knowledge of archiving and SAN systems.
  • Logging, tagging, and annotating assets with metadata.
  • Scriptwriting and storyboarding.
  • Video capture, digitizing, processing, LUT creation, proxies and dailies creation, data wrangling, and asset management.
  • Photography capture and processing (Digital Tech) with Capture One and Lightroom.
  • Web design and maintenance with Adobe's Dreamweaver and WordPress. HTML, CSS.
  • SEO and Analytics.
  • Research skills.
  • Asset acquisition and licensing.
  • Office, finance, and production software: Google's Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Apple's Pages, Numbers, Keynote, Microsoft Office's Word, Excel and PowerPoint, Filemaker, QuickBooks, Showbiz Budgeting, Jungle Software's Chimpanzee and Gorilla Budgeting and Scheduling.

 

Work History

1/2010 — present       Content Manager (contractor/freelancer)

DeFiance Media — Los Angeles, CA.

  • Develop and oversee content strategy for DeFiance Media's FAST news and entertainment channel, maximizing viewership and engagement.
  • Work closely with internal teams and external partners to ideate and produce and source original content aligned with brand vision (News and entertainment for the new economy).
  • Establish and manage workflows, systems, budgets, and schedules to program 100+ videos monthly.
  • Operate and maintain Amagi’s Cloudport system (certified), JW player platform, DeFiance’s WordPress website, and YouTube channels.
  • Source, track, and create promotional art for the channel and the various TV shows.
  • Collaborate with carriers and platforms such as Sling, LocalNow, LG tvs, TCL tvs, Glewed TV, Freebie, and Freecast to maintain our brand presence.

 

1/2010 — present        Video Editor, DP / Videographer, and Producer (contractor/freelancer)

SAP — New York, NY.

  • For over a decade, I have produced, shot, and edited dozens, if not hundreds, of promotional and internal communications videos for various SAP departments/teams, including:
  • For about three years, I worked directly with their branding department, shooting and editing the weekly series “SAP Branding in a Minute.”
  • Created motion graphics identity for various video series for teams in the US and Germany.
  • Worked directly with the marketing department, producing, shooting, and editing internal communication videos and promos.
  • Produced, shot, and edited videos and video series for internal and semi-internal communications for Global Partners Communications / SAP Partner Edge.
  • Edited event highlight videos and promos for some of SAP’s annual conferences, like SAP Sapphire.

 

1/2008 — present        Video Editor, Director of Photography, and Motion Graphics (contractor/freelancer)

Riverside Digital Productions — New York, NY.

  • I have helped in various capacities in production and post-production.
  • I have been the DP in numerous shoots and have edited and created motion graphics for multiple corporate, promotional, and educational videos, including:
  • Non-profits like Imagine and Write on Sports.
  • Companies and organizations like IHG and IHGOA.
  • Helped in localization, subtitles, and closed captioning of educational series like Sesame Street.
  • Edited and animated numerous educational video series on many different subjects.
  • Edited and created motion graphics for multiple ads and promos for companies in various industries.

 

07/2018 — 04/2022    Video Editor, Colorist, and Director of Photography (permalancer)

Naturopathica — New York, NY.

  • Did the post-production of dozens of social media advertising campaigns.
  • Edited, retouched, color graded, and did basic graphics on all videos.
  • Delivered all videos in multiple formats, proportions/dimensions, and durations to fit the specs of all social media networks and platforms like Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
  • Shot three of their advertising campaigns, including 2020's Christmas campaign and a series promoting Naturopathica's Spa services.

 

07/2017 — 03/2020     Editor, Motion Graphics Editor, Finishing Editor, Assistant Editor, DIT, Compositor, and Colorist (permalancer)

The Shed (now Recreation Films) — New York, NY.

  • Created and managed efficient post-production workflows that simplified collaboration between all stakeholders, like editors, directors, producers, and clients.
  • Worked on all videos and projects for multiple clients, including one long-term project in the creation of over 300 promotional product and food videos for OXO, the leading brand of home and kitchen products
  • Acted as a DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) during video shoots, ensuring that all footage was captured correctly, copied, and backed up. Then, I created and maintained the consistency of color looks / LUTS of all proxies and footage.
  • Logged, tagged, and created first drafts of videos to pass to the editors.
  • Edited dozens of short videos for the web and social media.
  • Created motion graphics and titles for most videos.
  • Worked on the finishing of all videos doing compositing, retouching, effects, and color correcting.
  • Completed deliverables ensuring they passed quality control.
  • Maintained a company-wide archive of all projects.

 

1/2008 — 12/2016       Video Producer, Editor, Director of Photography, Motion Graphics, and Digital Tech (contractor/freelancer)

Fitness Magazine and Shape Magazine — New York, NY.

  • For about seven years, I was the video department for Fitness Magazine (then Shape Magazine after their merge).
  • Produced, shot, edited, and created motion graphics for hundreds of workout, fashion, beauty, lifestyle, and nutrition how-to/tutorial/educational, editorial, and advertorial videos.
  • Was the digital tech in hundreds of photography shoots for Fitness and Shape.

 

1/2007 — 12/2017       Video Producer, Director of Photography, Editor (Owner)

Above All Productions, Inc. — New York, NY.

  • Produced, shot, and edited hundreds of short-form videos for a variety of clients, including:
    • Companies like SAP, Start Gas / Petrol, and Arup.
    • Political campaigns like Joe Biden's bid for President in 2008.
    • Non-for-profit organizations like ISMS, You Can Thrive, and the Chefs Collaborative.
    • Also, for magazines like Golf, All You, Ladies Home Journal, Fitness, and Shape.
  • Worked closely with the client's creative marketing departments and teams in the development of ideas and effectively incorporated innovative videos into their strategy.
  • Increased interest in brands and products by creating original branded video content.
  • Substantially increased video views and audience engagement with high-production-value videos.
  • Improved the quality of the client's internal communications and training of employees using storytelling and video.
  • Specialized in the production and post-production of marketing, educational, editorial, and corporate videos like promos, commercials, documentaries, music videos, how-to videos, tutorials, explainers, product demos, and short films.
  • Provided digital tech services on hundreds of fashion, beauty, fitness, product, commercial, and art photoshoots for magazines, advertising agencies, brands, and museums.

 

Education

9/1999 — 7/2002         BA in Film and TV Production.

University of Westminster — London, UK.

 

9/1998 — 7/1999         Access to Media Studies, English, Social Sciences, and Humanities.

Westminster College — London, UK.

 

 Languages

English and Spanish

 

Associations

IDA – International Documentary Association
NALIP – National Association of Latino Independent Producers