“The New Years”: An intimate look at love and time, shot with ARRI’s ALEXA 35

“The New Years,” recently released in Spain, is a television series directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen, David Martín de los Santos, and Sandra Romero Acevedo. The production, which received a pre-screening this year at the Venice International Film Festival, portrays the evolution of a couple over ten years. With a predominantly young team, whose life experiences resonate with the emotions of the protagonists, the project took shape over 20 weeks of filming across Madrid, Berlin, Lyon, and Valencia.

Two young Spanish cinematographers, Lali Rubio and Alana Mejía González, contributed to the project, using the ALEXA 35 to capture the series’ visual essence. Rubio oversaw the filming in Spain and captured the country’s unique spirit, while Mejía González supervised and lent her expertise to the international scenes. ARRI had the good fortune to sit down with both DPs and glean a behind-the-scenes perspective on the project.

Lali, there were several directors involved in the production. How did you all work together?

Lali Rubio: We started by developing a sort of style guide, which outlined the visual evolution that would take place in each episode. This greatly facilitated communication, as we had created a framework that was easy to share with the other two directors, Sandra Romero and David Martín de los Santos, ensuring that we were all aligned on how to approach each segment visually. I believe that having a very clear aesthetic arc from the beginning, like a guiding light, was key to achieving a coherent visual progression.

Copyright © Manolo Pavón

Cinematographer Lali Rubio on set

Did you have specific references that inspired the visual style of the series?

Lali Rubio: The visual approach of “The New Years” is based on realism and naturalness. For the first part of the series, we were inspired by Paul Thomas Anderson’s fresh camerawork in “Licorice Pizza,” while “Les Amandiers” by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi influenced our natural, almost imperfect look throughout. Additionally, the style of Cassavetes and “Panic at Needle Park” was referenced for capturing the complex love relationships, especially by the middle of the series. In the later part, we were guided by Richard Linklater’s “The Before” trilogy, with its more contemplative approach to the passage of time, highlighting the more mature relationships of this period. We also included references to “The Worst Person in the World” and “Scenes from a Marriage” for their emotional exploration of relationships.

The ALEXA 35’s enhanced sensitivity and dynamic range made it ideal for capturing the subtle lighting nuances in long takes and night exteriors

Why did you choose the ALEXA 35 camera?

Lali Rubio: From the beginning, I was sure I wanted to shoot with an ALEXA. As I visited the locations and worked on the planning with the different directors, I realized that I would need a very versatile camera with a wide dynamic range and strong performance in low-light conditions. Since I was working with very long takes and limited lighting options, I was particularly drawn to the possibilities offered by the new sensor in the ALEXA 35. It turned out to be a perfect choice, as it helped a lot in many night exteriors; its enhanced sensitivity feature delivered excellent sharpness and exposure.

For example, in the final episode of the series, the lighting conditions varied greatly from start to finish. It’s an episode that begins with real night scenes, followed by a long journey that requires lighting that blends with the environment, and then a very long scene inside a hotel room where there was little possibility of light manipulation. The narrative progresses until it finishes at an exterior setting at dawn. With such variation, I needed to be able to shoot at f4, an aperture that was not-too-wide and allowed me to adjust a bit for both highlights and shadows without disturbing the image too much or compromising depth of field. I decided to shoot at 1600 ISO to have some flexibility with the aperture and keep everything well-exposed, and the ALEXA 35 sensor responded magnificently to all the nuances of light and shadow with that sensitivity.

Copyright © Manolo Pavón

“The ALEXA 35 demonstrated exceptional performance, achieving a perfect balance in extreme situations,” says DP Alana Mejía González

Alana, there was also a complex situation you had to manage during the filming of the episode in Berlin. Can you tell us how you handled it?

Alana Mejía González: In the Berlin episode, we filmed in a techno club. During the scenes shot in the club, we faced a major challenge in terms of lighting, as there was very little opportunity to add extra lights beyond those already present in the space. This meant we had to rely heavily on the camera’s ability to adapt to the available lighting, which was extremely limited. The ALEXA 35 pleasantly surprised me because, even during the brief dark pauses between strobe light flashes, we didn’t lose any details in the image. Its performance in low-light conditions was key to capturing the unique atmosphere of the space without compromising the visual quality. Additionally, the weather conditions in Berlin, with abundant snow, provided a visual gift that fit perfectly with the tone of the series, although it also posed a logistical challenge. The snow presented a significant challenge for the camera’s dynamic range, as we had to maintain detail both in the bright highlights of the snowy landscape and in the deep shadows. The ALEXA 35 demonstrated exceptional performance and achieved a perfect balance in these extreme situations.

Copyright © Manolo Pavón

Cinematographer Alana Mejía González on set

The series spans a long period of time. How did you capture the passage of time technically?

Lali Rubio: For the early episodes, we used a wide range of focal lengths and constantly moving cameras, with Steadicam and cranes, to represent the characters’ constant search. In episode 5, the tone shifts, and the “allowed resources” were reduced to a single focal length—the 50 mm—and a tripod, reflecting the emotional stagnation in the relationship. Alana, the director of photography for that episode, resolved the issue excellently.

Alana, how did you approach this change in visual style in episode 5?

Alana Mejía González: In the Berlin episode, after the characters’ breakup, the camera becomes more static and controlled, reflecting the emotional disconnect that begins to grow between them. From this episode onward, we used long lenses like the 75 mm and 100 mm, which created a sense of isolation, focusing more on the close-up of the characters while the background blurred. This represents the growing distance in their relationship.

“… after the characters’ breakup, the camera becomes more static and controlled, reflecting the emotional disconnect that begins to grow between them,” comments DP Alana Mejía González

How did you handle the camera during the shoot? Did you use handheld, Steadicam, or any other type of support?

Lali Rubio: We worked with a variety of rigs. Our operator Álvaro Carla did an excellent job both with the Steadicam and handheld camera. The final episode is a 40-minute-long take, all operated by him handheld (and a special mention to Ana Ferrón, who was in charge of the focus). This was an impressive achievement, especially considering physical obstacles like stairs and elevators, and the great precision required for marks and positions defined during the rehearsals.

Copyright © Manolo Pavón

A backstage photo of DP Lali Rubio on set

How did you handle the lighting during the shoot?

Lali Rubio: The locations were real spaces that reflected the socio-economic reality of the characters, which sometimes complicated the lighting. We aimed for a natural staging that allowed the actors and the camera to move freely, often shooting in continuity with changing light within the same shot. To address these challenges, I worked closely with my gaffer, Alex Sánchez, and his team.

The ALEXA 35 sensor was essential for working with real light in outdoor settings, as it allowed us to use higher sensitivities without losing quality, which greatly facilitated working with the available lighting conditions.

Opening photo credit: Cinematographer Lali Rubio and director Rodrigo Sorogoyen on the set of “The New Years.” Copyright @ Manolo Pavón