Deep Look

👩📹Meet Rosa Tuirán, Deep Look’s New Producer!

Added 2023-08-30 22:00:03 +0000 UTC

Hey Deep Peeps! We have a talented new producer on our team thanks to the first Accelerator Fellowship for Diverse Voices from PBS. We are super excited to have Rosa join us!

Tell us more about your first Deep Look shoot. What was it like producing the alkali flies video out at Mono Lake?

It was super fun and a little bit nerve- wracking. It was the first time working on a story without any human beings, just animals! You can’t just ask your protagonist, “excuse me, could you repeat that movement you just did?” You have to be patient and rely on your research, reporting, pre-production work with the researchers you are consulting and Josh’s incredible eye to get you that shot! (Rosa is referring to Josh Cassidy, Deep Look’s Lead Producer and Cinematographer.)

👉Watch Rosa’s alkali fly video

How’d you get here?

I am originally from Mexico City and I moved to the Bay Area to pursue a masters degree in documentary filmmaking in 2018. I have always been interested in telling environmental and science stories, mostly focused on the underwater world, so generally those are the types of stories I tend to look for when doing research! I came across this fellowship in early January by chance. I was looking for a unique opportunity to continue producing science and environmental stories, but I was also looking for a place where I could continue improving my storytelling skills and learn more from more experienced filmmakers. The great thing was that this opportunity was in San Francisco, where I was already based.

Before joining the Deep Look team I worked as a freelance producer, reporter and photographer for outlets like PBS Frontline, PBS NOVA, CBS News, National Geographic, The Guardian, Mongabay and The New York Times. I have been very lucky to pursue the types of stories I want to tell and travel to incredible places around the world.

Some stories I produced that are my favorites include: Longyearbyen, the northernmost town in the world, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago; becoming carbon neutral, women in the Philippines protecting marine protected areas from illegal fishing; and an investigation about meatpacking plants in California in the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

👉 Watch some of the videos Rosa has produced here.

What’s your favorite part of being a Deep Look producer?

I think my favorite part is learning about these incredible creatures while working on the story and telling people around me about them! This show reminds me of the incredible unseen world that a lot of us take for granted. It has helped me see the world in a different way and appreciate these tiny creatures that live around us. I love how also this team is really passionate about these stories and how incredibly supportive they are. Each episode takes an incredible amount of teamwork and it’s not just one person doing this alone. There are a lot of people involved in every step of the way and that is why this show is amazing.

What's your favorite Deep Look video so far, besides alkali flies, of course? 😉

There are so many Deep Look videos that I love but some of my favorites are “Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones.” I think this is one of the craziest stories ever! I remember watching cartoons when I was growing up, where aphids were a part of the story (A Bug's Life or Antz), but I didn’t know much about them. I also love ”Here’s How That Annoying Fly Dodges Your Swatter.” It’s such a relatable episode! My other favorites include: “See Sea Slugs Scour Seagrass by the Seashore,” “Silkworms Spin Cocoons That Spell Their Own Doom,” and many more!

👉 Watch Rosa’s favorite Deep Look videos from this playlist.

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