Building Bigger Worlds: An Interview with UESO Directors

1. Big Bola feels quite different from the kind of work we’re used to seeing from you. What was the biggest creative challenge in taking on a project like this?

For us at UESO, the true creative challenge of Big Bola was building a grand, cinematic world out of multiple sets and simulated locations. Achieving that visual magnitude required precise choreography and exceptional talent in every department, from production design to cinematography, to tell an epic story that truly captivated the audience.

2. Looking back at your career, how have you grown alongside the Mexican advertising industry, and what role has Wabi played in that journey?

The advertising industry in Mexico has evolved tremendously, and Wabi was instrumental in our growth. Ever since we started working together several years ago, they always trusted our vision and opened doors that expanded our horizons, allowing us to create bigger and more ambitious projects together.

3. Do you think the pace of projects today is killing craft?

It’s definitely putting it on life support at times, but it doesn’t have to kill it. The timelines are faster, the budgets are stretched thinner across a million different deliverable formats, and the demand for instant content is relentless.

The danger isn’t the speed itself; it’s the temptation to compromise and take the easiest path just to hit a deadline. Craft today isn’t about having three months in post-production to tweak a single pixel; craft is about execution under pressure. It means knowing exactly what matters in a scene so that when time cuts short, you protect the absolute core of the story and let the fluff go.

4. What part of a director’s job do you believe AI will never be able to touch?

AI can replicate patterns, generate beautiful individual frames, and even predict editing rhythms based on data. But it will never touch the messy, unpredictable chemistry of human collaboration on a live set.

AI can’t look an actor in the eyes between takes, sense their vulnerability or hesitation, and give them the exact, uniquely human piece of direction that flips a performance from “good” to “heartbreaking.” It can’t share an intuitive, unspoken nod with a Director of Photography when the clouds part and the light hits a scene unexpectedly. Directing isn’t just about assembling visual assets; it’s about managing collective human energy and capturing lightning in a bottle. AI operates on what has been done; directing lives in the emotion of what is happening right now.

5. What kind of legacy do you want to leave in production?

We want to leave a legacy where the work stands on its own, but the way it was made matters just as much. We don’t want to be remembered just as people who made visually striking commercials. We want people to look back and say, “That set was a place where people felt inspired, respected, and empowered to do their best work.” True success in production is creating an environment where the next generation of filmmakers looks at our process and realizes you don’t have to sacrifice human decency or collaboration to achieve world-class craft.

6. What advice would you never give to a young director?

“Just wait until you have the perfect budget and the perfect script to show what you can do.”

We would never tell a young director to wait. If they wait for the ideal conditions in this industry, they will be waiting forever. The job of a director is to take something flawed, limited, or completely compromised and find a way to make it extraordinary anyway.

Don’t wait for permission or the perfect phone call. Grab a camera, grab your friends, use whatever constraints you have as a creative springboard, and start making things. The craft is a muscle, and the only way to build it is by doing the work.