Andres Arochi Brings Master Primes to Lady Gaga's “The Dead Dance” with Director Tim Burton

Mexican cinematographer Andres Arochi sat down at Camerimage 2025 to talk about his path from stills photographer to DP, shooting the Tim Burton-directed Lady Gaga music video “The Dead Dance” on ARRI/ZEISS Master Prime lenses at Xochimilco's "Doll's Island," and following up “Longlegs” with a new feature in the Canary Islands.

What led you to cinematography?

Arochi: I started shooting stills first, then I also started playing with projections. I created 3D mapping and visuals for my friends' small concerts when we were teenagers. That got me my first job at a production company, and on my first day on set, I was impressed by the cinematographer. I didn't understand who he was, why he was doing what he was, or why everyone was listening to him. But I watched him play with all the toys, and realized that's what I wanted to do. I wanted to play with the cranes, to be on the dolly, I wanted to play with the lights.

For me, there's a thing about feeling, and about the immediacy of cinematography—having a camera in your hand is like playing a guitar.

Talk to me about your stills work.

I grew up in a very urban city, Mexico City, but I was always in love with nature, so I started hiking. As part of that process, I got an old 35mm camera. At the time, I wasn't doing very well at school, I was a bit of a rebel. My parents made me work one summer at an uncle's company, and by the end of that summer I used that money to buy a camera.

The first series of photos I took won an exhibition contest. I was very young and a rebel who wasn't very good at anything, but I found something I was good at. I fell in love with shooting stills and have kept doing it all my life.

Does that experience with shooting on film affect your preferences today? Do you prefer film over digital, or is it case by case?

No, I think I prefer digital—I'm one of the few cinematographers who can say that. Older cinematographers say it without fear, but usually cinematographers my generation, they all love film. And I do love the look of film, but I don't think it's the most important thing. Sometimes the workflow on set matters more.

The atmosphere you create is the most important thing to me. I think about atmosphere the whole time: how close I'm putting a light to the actor, or to the director and whether he's able to see his actor. That's very important to me. So in that sense, film or digital doesn't really make a difference. It's more about what you create.

What is the balance of adding your own stamp or sensibilities versus working in pursuit of a director's vision?

I think it's a combination of both, a big balance. I always work in service of the vision of the project. There's a point where projects become bigger than even the director, and you have to start considering what the actor needs, what the producers wants, the whole picture. But personally, I'm also a very creative person, so I'm always constantly looking for ways to solve problems, to create something in a different or new way, and to change the perspective of what we're seeing.

You're here at CameraImage with a music video. Can you tell me about this piece?

This was a music video for Lady Gaga, directed by Tim Burton, “The Dead Dance.” It was an honor. The day I got the message that Tim Burton wanted to work with me, I couldn't believe it. I thought, this can’t be real. I didn't even think it was going to happen. I jumped on a plane, and when I landed in Mexico I had all these messages from my camera crew, from everyone: “What lenses are we using? I can't believe we're working with Tim Burton!” It was an incredible experience. We shot it in Mexico, my turf, so I really got to help him out. We bonded and it was a beautiful project.

What was the creative process like?

Tim was very busy doing his Labrynth exhibition, which is why he was in Mexico, and Lady Gaga needed her video. He only knew he wanted to shoot in Mexico, and he had an idea from a previous trip about a place called the Doll's Island. Xochimilco is a very special place—hard to describe, because there's nothing like it in the world. It is a manmade ‘swamp’ with small islands. On one island there is a legend about a guy who thought the ghost of a little kid was hunting him and he placed all these weird-looking dolls around the island to scare it away. It's a horror location at its best, very Tim Burton.

We did a scout, and when we arrived there was a wall of old pictures and Tim Burton was in one of them, alongside the guy from Metallica. He started laughing about it, because it was a photo of him, ten years earlier, the first time he'd gone there.

That's how the creative process started. He knew he wanted to shoot there, but wasn't sure what he wanted to do. We had some meetings, and I proposed shooting in black and white, because the location has so many colors that it's hard to make it feel elegant—it can become very kitsch. He loved it, and we started molding and creating everything from there.

The day before Gaga arrived, we had a full day on location with the whole crew and camera package, just to shoot stuff and start seeing what he liked. We shot some dolls and started testing the smoke. The location is very touristy—if you look one way there are toilets, but another way it's beautiful. There was a lot of choreography to consider. There were things the art director couldn't help us hide, so I decided to use a lot of smoke to block things like neighboring houses, which I didn't want visible.

Colorist Mitch Paulson made a black-and-white LUT for us and we tested all of that on location. We positioned the dolls, put up a light, broughted in the smoke, and tested the LUT. I went over to a monitor where Tim was sitting and I was stunned that it was already starting to look like a Tim Burton movie. It's just the power of him and whatever he chooses and creates, it already has a powerful aesthetic.
The next day Gaga arrived with a choreographed routine already prepared, and this beautiful doll-like makeup, and that's when we all started playing and dancing around the island. It was truly fun to see how talented they all are.

What was your camera package?

We shot on the ALEXA 35 with Master Prime lenses. I knew I wanted something contrasty.

I first imagined the light—something very strong and old-school. I usually work with super soft light, and my gaffer was surprised that I was taking all the diffusion away. I told him to blast the light, almost blinding Lady Gaga. But this look was meant to have heavily contrast with thick shadows and bright highlights. In that situation, if you opt for vintage glass, it starts creating too much glow and haze. I needed something very sharp—glass that would hold the image with all of that very hard light. (Plus I don't really like lens flares.)

How is the video being received?

I think the video exploded — with those two names on it, it's hard for it not to work out. But I think people love it, and I love it. Everyone's very happy with the results. It came together very fast. Sometimes you can spend years making something, and other times you just plant a seed and it’s ready in less than a week.

You also recently shot the movie “Longlegs.” Tell me a little bit about that shoot.

“Longlegs” is a movie directed by Oz Perkins and starring Nicolas Cage that we shot in Vancouver. It's a horror-thriller.

Vancouver and Xochimilco are two diametrically opposed locations. Do you find that they require special considerations?

Shooting in Vancouver is amazing because you have this permanent soft light. The light doesn't change, so you can shoot all day and it stays consistent. It's always perfect and soft, and that was right for the mood I wanted for “Longlegs.”

But it's something I laugh about with my DP friends based in Mexico. Shooting in Mexico is difficult because the sun changes so drastically, and it gets so strong that you learn to constantly fight against it. Comparatively in Vancouver, or anywhere up north, it is like facing a white canvas—you shine a light on it and shape it easily. The next day you don't have to re-block it, re-diffuse it, fight it, or bounce it another way. It's a completely different process.

I think all of that is fun, and the mix pushes you to do new things and not to repeat yourself.

So what came next?

I shot a movie this year—I don't know how much I can say about it yet—in the Canary Islands, which will come out at some point next year. It is called “The End of It,” with Rebecca Hall and Gael Garcia. On that project, I went in thinking long takes, very still, barely moving the camera—just using some zooms. I almost went the opposite way — I thought about going full handheld, going to the other side, not wanting to repeat myself. In the end I didn't do that, but I started breaking with everything just to find a new voice for that movie.

From here, I'm traveling to Japan to do a very interesting project with The Avalanches, an Australian group I used to listen to in high school. We're doing a full-length album music video— a 30- to 40-minute music video.