Interview with Jose Pichardo

Bio:Jose M. Pichardo is a Jersey City–based documentarian, filmmaker, and licensed
drone pilot specializing in aerial cinematography and visual storytelling. With credits
across documentaries, commercial projects, and music videos, he combines technical
expertise with a passion for social impact, empowering young storytellers through
education and community-focused media work.

1. What first inspired you to pursue filmmaking as a tool for social impact?

From a young age, I realized that storytelling wasn’t just entertainment, it was memory, accountability, and a form of protection. Growing up between New York and communities that carried heavy histories, I saw how easily stories could be forgotten if they weren’t captured with care. Filmmaking became my way to preserve truth, honor people’s lived experiences and give voice to those often unheard.

Over time, social-impact filmmaking wasn’t a choice, it became a responsibility. Every project I take on is rooted in service: documenting communities, amplifying legacies, and making sure future generations can look back and understand what shaped us.

2. How do you adapt your visual approach across genres like investigative docs, music videos, and live events?

Each genre has its own energy and language.

• Investigative documentaries require patience, restraint, and precision, the visuals need to honor the gravity of the story and avoid sensationalism.
• Music videos call for rhythm, color, and movement, it’s about letting the artist’s voice dictate the pace and texture.
• Live events are about anticipation and awareness, finding moments before they happen and capturing them authentically.

The throughline is intention. I adjust my visual approach based on the emotional truth of the story, not just the format. The story dictates the style.

3. As a licensed drone pilot, how do you see aerial cinematography shaping the future of documentaries and visual storytelling?

Aerial cinematography allows viewers to see context, geography, scale, and relationships between places, in ways that ground footage alone cannot. For documentaries, drones create emotional transitions, reveal environments, and allow us to witness landscapes tied to history, trauma, or resilience.

The future will involve even more integration:

• Autonomous flight paths for repeated time-lapse storytelling
• Thermal and multi-spectral imaging for environmental docs
• Safer, quieter drones enhancing observational filmmaking

Drones expand the filmmaker’s vocabulary. They’re not just tools — they’re perspective.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pichardo-productions-llc-56ba89269/ 

4. What responsibilities do filmmakers have when documenting real people and vulnerable communities?

We have three responsibilities:

1. Truth — Tell the story honestly without exploitation.
2. Context — Understand the community before you attempt to represent it.
3. Care — Protect the dignity of the people who trust you with their stories.

Filmmakers must avoid parachuting into someone’s life just to extract a narrative. My work in East Harlem, the Mississippi Delta, and with underserved youth taught me that vulnerability is sacred. When someone opens their world to you, you owe them respect, transparency, and accountability.

5. What was the most challenging aspect of creating The River (2025)?

The biggest challenge was the emotional weight of the story. Documenting the legacy of Emmett Till means confronting generational trauma, systemic injustice, and a history that still lives in the present.

As both director and cinematographer, I had to balance:

• The emotional truth of what was unfolding
• The visual integrity of the story
• The responsibility of documenting sacred places and painful histories

Holding the camera while holding those emotions was one of the hardest, yet most important, responsibilities I’ve had in my career.

6. How does choosing the right camera system influence the emotional tone of a scene?

Cameras have personalities.

• Sony FX6 gives me clean, true-to-life documentary realism.
• RED Komodo offers a cinematic, textured image perfect for stylized or archival-based stories.
• Blackmagic systems give me warmth and intimacy, ideal for character-driven scenes.
• DJI drones provide scale and breath — the visual exhale of a story.

The camera is not just a tool; it’s a collaborator. Choosing the right system sets the emotional temperature of the scene before the first frame is even captured.

7. Which part of the filmmaking process do you find most creatively fulfilling, and why?

I’m most fulfilled by the moment the story reveals itself, usually in production or the early stages of editing. There’s always a turning point where the material tells you what it wants to become. That moment of alignment, when intention meets reality, is where the magic happens.

But I also take deep pride in the entire arc: pre-production discipline, on-set execution, and post-production discovery. Each stage has its own creative soul.

8. How has teaching young storytellers shaped your work?

Working with youth in the Mississippi Delta and East Harlem changed everything. Their curiosity, honesty, and raw creativity keep me grounded. They remind me why storytelling matters, not for accolades, but for legacy.

Teaching also forces me to refine my own clarity:
If I can explain it simply enough for a young filmmaker to apply it, it means I truly understand it.

Their growth becomes my fuel.

9. What should emerging filmmakers focus on mastering first — technical skill, storytelling, or hands-on experience?

Storytelling first.
Technical skill is important, but storytelling is the foundation. Once you understand structure, character, and emotional intent, the camera becomes an extension of your vision, not a distraction.

After storytelling, I’d say:
2. Hands-on experience — real sets teach real lessons.
3. Technical skill — learn enough to execute your vision with intention.

Everything builds from story.

10. What types of stories or visual challenges excite you for the future?

I’m excited by stories that blend:

• history and present-day activism
• communities fighting for preservation
• urban culture, graffiti, hip-hop, and lived memory
• aerial perspectives revealing unseen truths

Projects like Urban Canvas, more work in civil rights preservation, youth education, and community-based histories, those are where my heart lives.

I want to create films that feel like archives for the future, honoring the past while giving voice to the now.

Interviews: https://endertalon.blogspot.com/2024/12/interviews-with-clinton-r.html