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Barbara Fisher: Tell us something about yourself. Where are you from? How did you get interested in photography/film?
Sandra Valde: I am originally from Miami, Florida, but I came out here about six years ago to pursue a career in cinematography. I was camera assisting back in Florida and occasionally shooting student films/music videos. After six years of camera assisting, I knew it was time to take the plunge and concentrate on being a director of photography.
I got into film, fairly early on. I do come from the “spielberg” generation and wanted to do film since I was about 8 years old. At 8, I had no idea what that meant, but I wanted to do what Spielberg did. What really made me want to be a DP was watching Spielberg’s EMPIRE OF THE SUN. There is one particular scene, where the main character Jim sneaks onto the Japanese airfield and is able to touch a Japanese zero plane with his bare hands. As he touches the plane, sparks from the nearby welders are shooting behind him, and this incredible John Williams score swells in the background. There is no dialogue, just these wonderful visuals. After seeing that, I knew that is what I wanted to do – create visuals that somehow affected the audience, whether it be happiness, sadness or just pure fun.
One of the most rewarding events that has happened to me was getting to meet Allen Daviau, ASC, the cinematographer on EMPIRE OF THE SUN. He was participating in a lighting seminar that I was attending and my friend coaxed me to go up to him and tell him how much I loved EMPIRE OF THE SUN. I, of course, being the shy person that I am did not want to do it at all! My friend kept pushing me and pushing until I was standing right in front of Mr. Daviau. I, like a scared teenaged fan, bashfully shook his hand and said “Hi Mr. Daviau, your work made me want to be a cinematographer.” HOW CHEESY IS THAT!!! He responded with a thank you and I told him how much I was inspired by the scene in EMPIRE OF THE SUN. He said “Actually, that was all Steven (Spielberg). He kept saying MORE SPARKS! MORE SPARKS!” Allen Daviau was such a humble and sweet man. We talked a little bit about what it was like shooting in Shanghai (it was the first American movie allowed to shoot there in many years) and how he was going to return to Shanghai soon to see how it has changed since the film. We spoke a bit more and then parted ways. It was really a shining moment for me and I am so glad I got a chance to tell one of my inspirations how he encouraged me to do what I am doing today.
BF: What about CHICK attracted you to work on it?
SV: Two words: KAI SOREMEKUN. Kai and I had worked before on a previous project and we had immediately clicked. She is an absolute powerhouse with a relentless spirit that is really contagious. She knows exactly what she wants and comes very prepared. She is truly a wonderful collaborator and I hope she will want to work with me again for many years to come. Also, CHICK is a fantastic idea and who doesn’t want to work on a superheroine project. 
BF: What was your vision for CHICK? And how did you accomplish that?
SV: As a DP, my job is to bring the vision of the director to life. Kai had a wonderful vision for CHICK and I took her lead. Funny thing, though, before we met to talk about CHICK, I had prepared a few visual references that had spoken to me when I had read the script. Most of my references had come from the film AMELIE. When I met with Kai, without knowing what my references were, she told me that a lot of her ideas were inspired by the film AMELIE, so we were on the same page from the very beginning. Overall the look we were trying to achieve was a very saturated colored palette, which primarily came from the costuming and the great (production) design by Kimberly Huie. We were shooting on video, and usually video has huge depth of field, which means that everything is in focus. To achieve that shallow depth of field and film-like quality, we shot with a special lens adapter in front of our video camera and used film lenses, instead of video lenses.
BF: What was your greatest challenge working on CHICK that you successfully overcame?
SV: The greatest challenge working on CHICK was the falling sequence in Episode 2. When I read that Lisa had to jump from the roof of a building and into a dumpster, I thought to myself, how are we going to do this? To overcome this challenge, we did it all via a series of stills. We ended up shooting stills in three different locations. With the help of the wonderful stunt coordinator, Jeri Kalvan (Kirsten Dunst’s stunt double in SPIDERMAN), we were able to accomplish the fall. It required a bit of math, planning, and visual effects magic, but I think it worked out nicely.
BF: What is one thing that the fans of CHICK should know about you?
SV: Hmm…not sure what to say to that. I guess, that I just started training in Muy Thai, Thai Kickboxing. Not to compete, but to stay in shape, and I really love it.
BF: What are you currently working on?
SV: I just finished shooting a feature, called GIRLTRASH: All Night Long. I really can’t wait for the film to be finished, because it is an absolutely fun ride and it’s a musical. I’m in pre-production on another feature gearing up at the end of the spring about a mother dealing with her autistic daughter.
BF: OK – now for the CHICK-A-Licious questionnaire!
What is your favorite superhero?
SV: Wonder Woman.
What would your super power be if you were a superhero?
SV: The ultimate photographic memory.
What is your greatest fear?
Fear of failure.
What would you do if you knew you could not fail?
SV: EVERYTHING!
What’s your favorite word or expression when something great happens?
SV: OMG!
Thank you to Sandra for a ‘Fantastica’ insight into her craft and talent. We’re glad she’s one of our superheroes!!
