Does the ocean know the sea exists? (ROWSE)
The unspeakable beauty of nature
Directed by Pablo Curto
Words by Katie Huelin
In this stunning video for Rowse Beauty, multi-talented Director, Pablo Curto, collaborates with the brand’s Creative Director, Nuria Val, taking viewers deep into the intricacies of nature. Through an intimate lens, Does the ocean know the sea exists? is an exploration of the boundless beauty of the ocean, reflecting our connection to every element around us.
Inspired by Curto and Val’s connection with the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, each frame calls attention to the resilience of our planet, reminding us of the importance to respect and protect it.
This visual experience, “letting nature run its course,” as Curto explains, is an invitation to engage in a deeper conversation about our ties to the natural world.
How did the collaboration with ROWSE for ‘Does the ocean know the sea exists?’ come about? Working closely with Creative Director, Nuria Val, how did you build a visual narrative that embodied the brand’s philosophy of simplicity, purity, and connection with nature?
At the core of everything, Nuria and I share our love for this planet. The project started taking shape as a conversation about how present the sea and the ocean have been in our lives. This led onto this idea of connection between the two bodies of water and how it served as a metaphor for our own connection to nature.
Translating this into visuals was really as simple as just taking on a very observational point of view - our cinematographer, Nauzet Gaspar, has a beautiful and sensitive eye and was a big part coming up with our vision for this. It was about letting nature run its course - and giving the shots the time to develop in a way that wouldn’t feel rushed. This felt almost radical, letting shots roll for over five, ten, twenty seconds… in this world of endless doomscrolling it really felt like we were making a statement.
The play of sunlight, especially the lens flares, creates a sense of warmth and tranquility throughout. How important was lighting to evoke these feelings and connect them with ROWSE’s ethos of natural beauty?
Again, it was really about this idea of a very observational point of view, this idea of zero intervention. We set up the shoot with a smaller crew, minimizing equipment but spending that part of the budget on time - enough time so we could be at all our locations at the best hour.
Specially when shooting landscapes and exteriors, there’s really no mystery: just be there when the sun hits perfectly. It’s never this easy since most projects won’t allow for this to happen, but when the stars align and you’re allowed to shoot this way, it feels magical.
There’s a meditative quality to the sound of the sea that complements the visual narrative for the video. How did yourself and Luis Ortega approach creating the sound design?
Luis and I have been friends and collaborators for a while now. Our approach to creating is very similar - it’s based on concepts rather than specific references. We play around with all the ideas behind the film and how those could be translated into sound and music - it’s a really free and creative process, it’s beautiful when a project gives you the time and space to work like this.
One of the most special things we came up with was the sound design for the drop of water that appears towards the end of the film. This drop is essential to the story - it represents the universe, containing all of us - so we worked on de-constructing how it sounded, so it almost feels like you can hear all the different, unique drops that the ocean contains. It was beautiful just being there and hearing it come to life.
The grading of the film, by Nadia Khairat, enhances the naturalistic yet ethereal quality of the shots. How did you approach the post-production stage to preserve the authenticity of the natural elements, while capturing the dreamlike atmosphere?
It all started with pre-production really - we shot this on 16mm (no budget for 35 lol) using exclusively Kodak 50D/7203 film stock, natural light and sharp lenses consistently set wide open to achieve the most refined aesthetic. I feel the combination worked well, cause it feels clean but still has some 16mm magic happening there.
With Nadia, grading was about respecting the actual look, trying to make it look as natural as possible - the earth in Fuerteventura, our location, has infinite shades that move between dark reds to bright yellows and everything in between and it was important that we respected that. Those colors are really close to my heart.
“It was about letting nature run its course - and giving the shots the time to develop in a way that wouldn’t feel rushed.”
What do you hope audiences take away from this visual and emotion rich experience?
Hopefully, this piece provides a moment of peace, a moment to reflect - in our own uniqueness, do we really understand how connected we are to the rest the universe? Are we ever present enough to really take this in?
These are the questions that moved us to create this, I guess it’s up to the audience to find some answers within themselves.
What’s next for you?
Hopefully more days of working with my feet in the ocean - that’s really all I can ask for.
Written and directed by Pablo Curto
Produced by Sample
Executive Producer Mayca Márquez & Edu Lozano
ROWSE Creative Director Nuria Val
Producer Gema Ruiz
Fixer María Sanz Esteve
Director of Photography Nauzet Gaspar
Focus Puller Hector Quintero
Light assistant Alejandro Rofera
Stylist Paula Delgado
Make up & Hair Yadro Ochoa
Casting director La Santa
Model Uma Vethakkan at BLOW
Postproduction coordinator Marisa Mesonero
Postproduction Daniel Sanchez Herrera
Grading Nadia Khairat
Music & Sound Design Luis Ortega
Title credits Javier Unknos
PA Idoya Perello
PA Mateo Berupe
Special thanks Helena Fradera, Conrado López, Tessa Doniga, Jeremy Taffin