Founded by director José Borrell and producer Sara Fijo, Seville-based Góndola Films is a Spanish production company specializing in human interest documentaries. Each project they take on explores pressing economic and social issues faced by the developing world, including their latest documentary, “A Light in the Darkness.” The production took the team to Ibo, a small island off the coast of northern Mozambique, where they spent time with two young girls filming their perspectives on education in the third world. To capture the raw emotion of each child’s narrative, the team shot and posted the film in 4K HDR, relying on the versatility of AJA’s Io 4K Plus device for Thunderbolt™ 3 video and audio I/O. 

“High resolution formats and the broad color spectrum available through HDR allow us to create more attractive visions of our world and impactful stories filled with hope, and Io 4K Plus was essential in helping us achieve this with ‘A Light in the Darkness,’” shared director and editor Borrell. 

Fijo, the film’s producer, added, “With today’s technology, it’s more affordable than ever to capture quality 4K footage with a strong mid-range camera; the real challenge is posting in 4K HDR and monitoring your work in real time without compromising image fidelity. Io 4K Plus is undoubtedly the best solution for reviewing live footage. It not only preserves UltraHD image quality, but also displays the full HDR spectrum of color.”

On location the team primarily shot with a Sony NEX FS700, with a Sony Alpha7 SII as a secondary camera, with handheld shots captured via a GoPro HERO 6 and aerial shots recorded using a DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone. All footage was captured in HDR, with Io 4K Plus used to review 4K HDR footage on-set and during post. The team cut the film in Avid Media Composer, using AJA System Test to monitor drives and determine the best workflow configuration for optimal performance and fast renders.

“With traditional productions, you can control set variables and optimize shooting conditions, but that’s a luxury you don’t always get in the field as a documentary filmmaker, so it was crucial that we work within a range of 10-bit color to be able to fix issues in post,” expressed Borrell. “Io 4K Plus was a crucial part of our workflow, providing greater flexibility to use vivid color to craft an impactful story. It also lowered our overall costs, giving us more creative control throughout production and post, and simplified efficient clean up work in post.”

About AJA Video Systems, Inc.
Since 1993, AJA Video has been a leading manufacturer of video interface technologies, converters, digital video recording solutions and professional cameras, bringing high quality, cost effective products to the professional broadcast, video and postproduction markets. AJA products are designed and manufactured at our facilities in Grass Valley, California, and sold through an extensive sales channel of resellers and systems integrators around the world. For further information, please see our website at www.aja.com.