MICHAEL ALBA: A CIGAR AT THE BEACH

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Michael Alba was born and raised in Southern California. He became interested in photography as a child while shooting stills for class assignments. Alba says he has always been a “visual thinker and that images joined together with a story and a score have the potential to affect people in the greatest, and most memorable way.” He earned his bachelor’s degree in professional photography at the Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, California. While in school, Alba worked as a director of photography and camera operator on the biography series Autograph. Alba says Edward J. Pei, ASC has been a great mentor and friend. Pei brought Alba into the Guild, and encouraged him to develop a solid foundation of experience. Alba says Steadicam operator Chris Haarhoff has also been a great example of professionalism and creativity.

A Cigar at the Beach is a modern tale of a mid-life male. It is a coming-of-age story in which a man is searching for something. Since he doesn’t quite know what it is, he looks in all the wrong places until, to his surprise, it finds him. Alba and writer/director Stephen Keep Mills spent over a month prepping for the shoot, which took place on locations in Los Angeles and Florida. The majority of the film is fantasy sequences. Mills and Alba were able to create different looks for each scene while at the same time constantly cutting back to the protagonist in a realistic setting. A Cigar At The Beach has played over 30 festivals around the world and has won five cinematography awards as well as four best short film awards.