Los Perez. Two incredibly talented people who have shot four commercials in their first month of working with us at The Lift.
Tania Verduzco and Adrian Pérez come from a strong background in directing music videos, having been awarded at the New Directors Showcase, Shots Contenders, among others. And even better, they are really fun to work with, so we consider it a big come up for The Lift family.
Just off their latest job (we’ll be sharing with you tomorrow!), we sat down to chat with Adrian and Tania about how they met, their directing method, and how they can still manage to keep a working friendship while being such bitter rivals (in all things football teams, that is).
So where are you guys from originally?
Adrian: I was born in Vigo, Galicia; under a very rainy weather, typical from Northern Spain. I was raised listening the seagulls, swimming in a cold sea but eating the best seafood on earth.
Tania: I was born in Mexico City, raised in the “Edificio Rosa” La Condesa. Nowadays this area is full of hipsters, but in that time it looked like Woodstock. I found some pictures of my parents looking like real hippies having a picnic with me in the park.
But both of us consider ourselves citizens of the world. We have a funny blend in our way of speaking and in our way of looking into the world.
How did you two meet?
We met at school; we both studied cinema in Barcelona. We love to say that we were the two geeks in the classroom.
What has the last month or so been like working here?
We’ve shot a four commercials together, two for Toyota and two for Telcel. You need a good production company like The Lift that can support all of your ideas to create something special, something with personality and be truthful to your own style.
What’s your favorite part of being behind the camera?
Every time is a new experience. Sometimes there are very interesting projects that allow you to create a unique world. Building interesting characters is part of this key. How you dress them, how they talk, how they behave…etc.
Also there are some magic moments during the shoot when you can improvise something that is not in the scripts or in the storyboard. The reward is huge when it works because it is something unexpected. Those moments make you feel that you’re not tied up with the creativity. Sometimes it also helps you to solve some issues during the shoot like when you realized on the set that something is not working as you thought, and then you have to find a creative way to improve it.
What’s one thing you think people would be surprised to know about you guys, professionally or otherwise?
We’re football fans, that’s not surprising at all. But when we explain that we are football enemies because Adrian supports Real Madrid and Tania supports Barcelona, everybody asks us how we handle the situation. But as you can see, in real life as co-directors we work together in the same team.
What would you tell folks about shooting in Mexico? What’s it like?
Our favorite part is that you can share the experience with the crew. People in Mexico are more open and kind than in other countries, especially in Europe and sometimes that makes the difference. After a few commercials working with the same team you realize that you’re not working with a crew but with friends.
Mexico City is a place full of nice and different locations, beautiful and colorful places. Whatever you’re looking for, you can find it there. What we love in particular is the interesting contrast between modern and old architecture.
What are some of your favorite films? What are your film influences?
Inspiration could be everywhere, sometimes it comes from real life, from real dialogs, different human behaviors, even old jokes and anecdotes from our family.
There are movies that for some reason have left their mark on us like The 400 Blows by Truffaut for Tania, or Blade Runner by Ridley Scott for Adrian. But there are some others from references that we both love, like Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Boogie Nights…etc.
Consider us dually inspired.