A Cinematic Journey Through Jalisco: The Making of 'Sisters'

Following in the footsteps of their beloved grandmother, three Mexican-American sisters, take an adventure through Mexico to complete a traditional pilgrimage and repair their relationship.

The Mexican folklore and landscape served as the backdrop to portray the complex relationship of three sisters and their test of faith as they embark on a pilgrimage in the highlands of Jalisco. Enlightening and funny, "Sisters" is a comedy about recognizing ourselves in our siblings' eyes, reflection, sisterhood, Mexican culture, and mystic encounters.

Virginia Novello, Marta Cross and Veleria Maldonado, are three sisters walking to a pilgrimage in the highlands of Jalisco.

Directed by Mar Novo ("Mar-i-Ana" 2021), the movie "Sisters" presents an emotional triangle between three sisters during an adventurous pilgrimage. The director’s language flows through the actresses' movements and scene development.

Director Mar Novo blocking a scene in Tapalpa Jal.

Director Mar Novo developing a Scene at "Las Piedrotas" Jalisco.

The production required speed and flexibility for the lighting setups, mobility for free movement on a Steadicam®, and a camera with a wide dynamic range and accurate color rendition for skin tones.

Virginia Novello interpreted Sofía

The wide dinamic range of the Alexa mini LF allowed to shoot on deep contrast lighting conditions for different skin tones.

"Sisters" was shot by the director of photography Ivahn Aguilar Naim ("Septiembre" 2017, "El Ojo y el Muro" 2021) under the bright sun of Jalisco, with very few clouds and abundant skylight.

Cinematographer Ivahn Aguilar Naim and Director Mar Novo on location Tapalpa Jal.

Precise sun position in Plaza de la Liberación at Guadalajara.

Lucía, María and Sofía on the road, following the Abuelita's path to find a miracle

Harsh light and deep blue skylights added contrast and magic to the mexican town of Tapalpa Jal.

"We needed to control the contrast in the deeper shadows and have a color science that allowed us to manage three different skin tones, exposed in the harsh light of the sun. This was definitely a challenge due to the extreme contrast caused by such light conditions.

We wanted to preserve information in the shadows while maintaining perfect tone and softness in the skin tones. The Arri® Alexa Mini LF gave us the freedom to shoot in such extreme contrast." 

Combined with Supreme Prime Zeiss Optics, the Alexa Mini LF created a sharp image with colored flares that added a mystical quality to the film.

The story required movement in almost every scene. We needed a lightweight camera to be used on Steadicam® most of the time for the exterior scenes. The ARRI Alexa Mini LF was not only lightweight but also adaptable to car rigs and hard-to-reach camera angles, even in a short period. This flexibility and inter-connectivity helped us maintain a fast-moving schedule during exterior days when the lighting scheme changes rapidly.

"Kin" interpreted by Cristo Fernández

There is much spirituality in this film, and this atmosphere was depicted through the Carl Zeiss Supreme Prime optics . "Sisters" is a story of self-reflection, fantastic worlds, and magical characters.

High contrast scenes in Estanzuela Jal.

The large format immerses the viewer into an imaginary world due to its shorter depth of field, which helped us focus on the characters. 

Marta Cross as María is looking for a miracle. Due to the sensibility of the LF chip, we could shoot this close up in continuity for the scene with very scarce light.

The chip size of the Alexa Mini LF gave us the freedom to work with much longer focal lengths while still capturing a wide context of the scene. The amplitude of the chip allowed to create smoother images by using longer focal lengths without losing the width of the context or the definition of the image.

Valeria Maldonado interpreted Lucía, the obsessive sister. The original aspect ratio of the Alexa mini LF chip. This format allowed us to reframe for different aspect ratios.

The chip size of the LF also provides more freedom for framing. Thanks to the aspect of the chip and the pixel count, we were able to frame for different aspect ratios and still have room for reframing and smoother camera operation.

A night interior lit with Arri Orbiters® and practical lighting

During Pre-production, we used the Arri tools for color and image design throughout the process. During prep, we shot the wardrobe under different light conditions. Several Look Up Tables were rendered through the Arri Color Tool® and into the camera menu for on-set monitoring. This gave us a better idea of the contrast we were lighting for and a clear visualization of the color palette for the art and wardrobe departments.

A battery of 3 different LUTs were built before principal photography to visualize the color of each scene in the DP monitor and for the dailies we checked every morning in my iPad.

The workflow of Arri and the Alexa Mini LF, in combination with the Zeiss Supreme Prime Radiance lenses, was the ideal mixture of definition and smoothness. Controlled flares and light for movement and camera freedom helped immerse the viewer in a story of fantasy, adventure, spirituality, and much of Mexico.