MIKAELA is a Spanish action thriller directed by Daniel Calparsoro, starring Antonio Resines and Natalia Azahara. The film tells the story of an unprecedented snowstorm that devastates Spain. Amidst the chaos of a collapsed motorway, a group of robbers seizes the opportunity to assault an armoured car. Although the story takes place during a snowstorm, not a single scene was filmed with real snow. Lighting the expansive nighttime exteriors immeresed in artificial snow was one of the key challenges for cinematographer Tommie Ferreras, AEC. Below, he explains how he used Rosco’s DMG MAXI™ and DMG SL1™ fixtures to create a visually stunning and believable snowstorm that heightened the film’s dramatic atmosphere.
The film was shot almost entirely on location in Spain's Guadarrama Mountains, primarily at night. To create a realistic winter setting, the filmmakers used twenty-five tonnes of cellulose for artificial snow on the ground and a hundred liters of foaming agent to simulate falling snow.
Ferreras underscored the complexity of this project: “The challenge of this project, filmed in just six weeks, was to create a rigorous and coherent lighting design in which the NIGHT and the SNOWSTORM, central to the story, are not only believable but also contribute to a powerful and carefully crafted atmosphere.”
To overcome this challenge, Ferreras collaborated closely with FX supervisor Raúl Romanillos and his team. He also relied on DMG MAXI and DMG SL1 fixtures, provided by Tecnicine Luz, to create realistic nighttime scenes. Ferreras commented: “The most commonly used lighting setup featured up to forty DMG MAXI units placed in a line, providing natural, immersive lighting in these complex environments.”
The DMG MAXI and DMG SL1 fixtures helped Ferreras enhance the realism and mood of the scenes while ensuring consistent key lighting on characters during fast-paced and challenging sequences. “The scenes were particularly demanding because the characters were constantly in motion, engaged in long chases through low-traffic areas — forests, roads, highways, tunnels, and railways — during an intensifying snowstorm,” he said.
Ferreras expressed his appreciation for DMG Lighting fixtures: “I love Rosco DMG Lighting fixtures — especially the DMG MAXI and DMG SL1 — for their design, size, versatility, and power,” he said. “I often use them not only to create an enveloping light for close-up or medium shots but also to illuminate large spaces by multiplying the number of sources as needed.”
Ferreras also conveyed his gratitude to the gaffers, Jesús Villafáñez and Jorge Villafáñez from Tecnicine Luz “for their fantastic collaboration and invaluable support during the filming of MIKAELA.”
Don’t miss this gripping, fast-paced thriller now playing in cinemas across Spain.
To see more of Tommie Ferreras’ prolific work, visit his website www.tommieferreras.com or follow @tommieferreras_aec on Instagram . For more information about the products Ferreras used to create a realistic snowstorm for MIKAELA, please explore the DMG Lighting product page on the Rosco website.