PHOTOGRAPHY • INSPIRATION

Creator Collective: Sergio del Puerto.

When it comes to the founder of Serial Cut™, you must expect the unexpected.

When did you first break into the creative industry? Tell us about your journey.

I’d say that 1999 was the year I officially registered “Serial Cut™” as an alias to publish my early freelance designs. I was working in-house for different studios and agencies at the time. I would work the regular day job, then come home and use my downtime to build my own brand through freelance assignments and personal projects. It was a frenetic period — I definitely didn’t sleep enough — but I was a workaholic and had the ambition to build up my portfolio to attract more and more clients.

What inspired you to create an agency of your own?

It was a really natural and organic process. When I was liberated from my day job, I moved to a coworking place and one day, due to the volume of projects coming in, I felt I needed help, so I got my first intern. You’d think it’d be so hard to delegate when things are done in such a specific style, but it’s not true — it just took practice. After that intern (who became the best artist in the studio and stayed for 11 years), more designers arrived along with more international and complex projects. So the only thing I did was work hard and make sure we had solutions for needs. What inspired me was the drive to keep creating beautiful work and building an interesting portfolio.

Could you please elaborate on how you and your team approach process? 

The journey to create and finalize an image (or motion piece) has so many interesting steps that are the building blocks for what you are seeing, conceptually and visually. I couldn't think of a project that doesn't have a certain base concept: It doesn't matter if it’s a big or small client, a simple still-life or a big campaign with five key visuals. As a perfectionist, all the steps and internal rounds we usually do for developing a project need to be recorded to show to the audience the way we work and the steps we take.

Process is important as proof of the technique we are using. We are not only a CGI studio; we do lot of practical work, and we also combine digital and tactile, so it's important our audience and clients understand that and see “behind the scenes” — it's the description of our recipe and we love to share it.

What are some of the creative barriers you come across? Do you have any tips for fellow creatives on how to overcome those?

Probably stress, fear, and self-doubt. From time to time, it comes again (with more or less severity, depending on the situation), but in my case it was more in the early years. I think everyone in this industry experiences it and learns from it — it makes you grow. Probably the stress is the worst in my case — I can only see all in black and can’t think straight when it hits. The best thing to do is sport, or something physical to clear your mind.

Fear is not a good friend, but there are some milestones in your career that can make you doubt yourself. You need to surpass them. The key to surpassing fear is remembering that there is always a solution or way of making things look great. Self-confidence is something that will come gradually, and you have to get used to it as you grow from your mistakes. We all are human and this profession is hard, but it also gives you a lot of happiness and rewards by working with enthusiasm.

Surrealism plays a large role in your work. Where do you draw this inspiration from? Any favorite artist you’d like to share?

Yes, I like surreal visual scenes or concepts, it's part of my personality. With our imagery we can drive the audience to other worlds or depict impossible objects and scenes, with the aim to always elicit a “wow” from them. Sometimes this can also be ironic, and again, this is an extension of my personality.

I love the work of many artists from different fields, such as Serge Lutens, Jean Paul Goude, Paul Thomas Anderson, Michel Gondry, Ingmar Bergman, Duane Hanson, Escher, David Lynch, Jean-Pierre Jeunet....

How do you approach pitching such wild and vibrant ideas with typically more reserved clients?

Usually reserved clients don't approach us. The ones who do expect us to create something unique, iconic, and surreal, surpassing their own expectations. We’ve done what we have in our portfolio so many times that now we are the ones that reject projects we don’t feel comfortable with. We are honest to clients but also to ourselves for the sake of the project, so trying to convince a client to be wild is not something we do. They need to expect something from our visual universe if they knock at our door.

As a team, collaboration is key to success. How do you encourage and manage a collaborative environment?

Absolutely, collaboration is the key. As creative director, my mission is to envision the final result and what we are going to achieve as a team. I know who can develop certain parts of each project, and how to bring together the skills of each artist, in-house or freelance. It´s like a league of superheroes — I know everyone’s capabilities and I just need to join them up to get the result. Here in Serial Cut™ one project passes by different hands to enhance it as much as possible and get that final “wow” effect.

How did COVID impact you and your team? How are you overcoming those challenges?

When COVID-19 started in March 2020 it was a shocking moment, especially because over the course of a single week we got every one of our projects cancelled. It seemed like the end of the world. I had two weeks of stress and fear over how to deal with such a situation and maintain the calm. I had to make some internal arrangements (like “saying goodbye” to two of my guys from the team) so we could keep up with the studio’s expenses without any real income in months. Strangely though, we were awarded two big projects after those two panic weeks, so little-by-little things became calmer. Right now we’re still working remotely — I'm the only one who comes to the studio every day to work — and actually we’ve found a nice and effective way to work remotely. Of course the human touch is lost, but we speak everyday so in a sense we are more connected than before. It´s hard to see what the future is going to bring us, but at least we know we can change internally and adapt, and that´s very human.

What’s your dream project? Something you’ve always wanted to do.

I can’t complain about the projects I've worked on so far in my career. Two years ago I created the biggest in-house project we’ve ever done, and it was totally self-initiated. It involved creating a 15-minute film and book of the studio. It was quite an ambitious project for celebrating our 20th anniversary. It was called “Purely Iconic,” and it was done as a dream project, showcasing all our capabilities to the next level. It was carefully concepted two years before shooting the film and involved a huge number of professionals to make it a reality.

Also giving birth to our second book was really satisfying, both in the process and the production. Having 20 years of your work in your hands is really a dream.

How do you relax?

For me the only way of relaxing and disconnecting is doing physical work. I'm mostly sat down all day, so some action after working really clears my brain. It can be by biking, doing TRX exercises or going to the mountain. Something totally different that breaks up what I’ve been doing the whole day. Of course, watching movies and TV shows, playing with VR, or hanging out with friends is essential to my everyday also.

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