
Going undercover with The Mole Agent
data-src=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/332115/6078a67887db9-bpthumb.jpg data-srcset=https://creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/avatars/332115/6078a6785ea00-bpfull.jpg 2x class=lazyload avatar avatar-80 photo height=80 width=80 />
Meagan Keane April 15, 2021
0 Comments
Featured as a nominee for Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards, The Mole Agent tells the story of an 83-year-old man who is hired by a private investigator to disguise himself as a resident in a Chilean retirement home suspected of elder abuse. Surprisingly heartwarming and charming while offering the intrigue of a detective mission, the film shines a light on the realities of growing old and coping with the loneliness that can accompany living in a facility. The Mole Agent received the 2021 Cinema Eye Honors Award for The Unforgettables.
We sat down with the editor, Carolina Siraqyan, to find out more about the making of the film using Premiere Pro. We spoke with her about challenges she faced during the edit as well as during her career and how she overcame them.
Some contents or functionalities here are not available due to your cookie preferences!
This happens because the functionality/content marked as Google Youtube uses cookies that you choosed to keep disabled. In order to view this content or use this functionality, please enable cookies: click here to open your cookie preferences.
How and where did you first learn to edit?I studied audiovisual communications in my home country of Chile. In all the fields of this profession, editing, without a doubt, captured me.
I began working as an editing assistant, with a Moviola 35 mm in the 90's, with an editor that was very generous and shared all his knowledge with me. Since then, I have been learning through my experience of more than 30 years of work.
How do you begin a project/set up your workspace?When I begin a project, I dedicate an important amount of time deciding how I structure its order. I think that each project has a certain methodology of order and its own details that must be analyzed. This will allow for fluidity in the future. In documentaries like The Mole Agent, the order of material is more complex as there is no script, so you have to order the material in such a way that you can easily remember and quickly find shots to combine in the best way.
In The Mole Agent, there were 72 days of shooting and I had two months visualizing and cataloging in order to register the material according to certain parameters that I had decided.
Tell us about a favorite scene or moment from this project and why it stands out to you.One of my favorites, because I have a number of them, or at least one that strongly underlines the message of the film, is when Sergio is speaking in the garden with the old lady, who recites a poem and then she recounts her loneliness, which moves me even after having seen it a thousand times. I feel that this scene expresses perfectly the reality of old age, which cannot be eluded.
After several screenings to colleagues who shared their thoughts and opinions with us, an important moment during the credits occurred when they all spoke of their elderly relatives, their mothers and not of the film. In that moment, with [director] Maite Alberdi, we realized we were on the right road, and we had the general structure of the film.
data-src=https://gcs.creativecow.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/15203351/MoleAgent2_gravitasVentures.jpg alt= class=lazyload wp-image-2408161/>Image source: Gravitas Ventures.
What were some specific post-production challenges you faced that were unique to your project? How did you go about solving them?The greatest challenge I had to face was moving my office from Chile to Amsterdam for 2 months to work on the edit.
There I changed my office twice with different computers, the first wasn't a Mac, which is what I usually work with, and so it made me feel slightly insecure being unable to solve problems with the operating system. But once I could open Premiere Pro, I felt at ease as it was the same as working on my usual Mac.
Afterwards we moved to another office with an iMac, similar to what I work with. And once the peak files were generated, I could finally work fluidly.
At last, it was only a case of stress by the change. The program worked perfectly - it was like working from my own office.
What Adobe tools did you use on this project and why did you originally choose them? Why were they the best choice for this project?I edited the whole movie with Premiere Pro. One of the tools I find very useful are the markers, I used them very often to make comments and mark segments.
I had more than 300 hours of material, 72 days of shooting, which I ordered by day, using the markers with comments. I made a Word document with the same points of the markers underlining the details of all the situations, so that I could find quickly what I was looking for.
What do you like about Premiere Pro, and/or any of the other tools you used?I picked Premiere Pro for its versatility in all the formats. I also like its playfulness and the flexibility of its timeline. It makes me feel very natural - I don't have to deal with anything technical so that I can dedicate myself to the creative process.
I think and feel that it's a program that allows me the liberty to choose how I work and how I organize my material.
What's your hidden gem/favorite workflow hack in Adobe Creative Cloud?I do have many things that help me with my work, but if I had to choose, they would be the available stock material that Adobe provides (typography, music and texture), especially in my advertising work as it is always a very time demanding job.
Also, it is very helpful that you can change from one computer to another, and I don't have to worry ab
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
18/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
18/06/2026
PTZOptics has unveiled new Visual Reasoning demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 (Boo...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 will take place at the RAI Amsterdam from September 11-14, bringing toge...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 held its first-ever Media Day on June 17, providing journalists an...
18/06/2026
FOR-A America has announced a Trade Agreements Act (TAA)-compliant LED display solution combining Alfalite's Litepix LED displays and Brompton Technology...
18/06/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level have one major thing in common: the intensity and attention to detail ramps up dur...
18/06/2026
The International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and TMRW Sports have an...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has unveiled Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion ...
18/06/2026
ESPN has announced its coverage plans for the 30th anniversary of the WNBA's...
18/06/2026
FOX Sports' Big Noon Kickoff will broadcast live from Wembley Stadium in Lon...
18/06/2026
InfoComm 2026 opened on Wednesday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, bringing t...
18/06/2026
As media companies look to deliver more live, VOD, and snackable sports content ...
18/06/2026
Top L-R: Take Me Home, The Lake
Bottom L-R: TheyDream, Union County
Free Summer Screening Series Announced
Screenings for the Local Utah Community at...
18/06/2026
Improvements & new IR content
iamReverb Audio have just launched a free update that kits their convolution reverb plug-in out with some new features and int...
18/06/2026
Modelling suite gains improved captures, iOS support & more
Two notes Audio Engineering have just announced the launch of Genome 2.0, a significant update t...
18/06/2026
New AI assistance feature, video overhaul & more
VSL have just announced the launch of Vienna Ensemble Pro 8.1 and 8.1V, a pair of major updates to their ev...
18/06/2026
The average daily TV screen time in May was 3 hours and 36 minutes, marking a clear decrease of 15 minutes compared to April. This trend proved to be much stron...
18/06/2026
Integration embeds Gracenote content intelligence, including contextual segments...
18/06/2026
AJA Video Systems unveiled Io Xpand, a high-performance Thunderbolt 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid video and audio I/O cards. As dema...
18/06/2026
New NVRT-driven workflow enables on-demand traffic mirroring and guided troubleshooting for AV teams, integrators, and support organizations ahead of InfoComm 2...
18/06/2026
At InfoComm 2026, Mavis announced a major update to Mavis Studio, its live production app for the iPad, with new features designed to make professional AV produ...
18/06/2026
Transaction Positions Harmonic as a Pure-Play Broadband Company
Harmonic Inc. (NASDAQ: HLIT), the worldwide leader in virtualized broadband solutions, today a...
18/06/2026
ACT Entertainment and NETGEAR have announced a strategic partnership that establishes verified interoperability between NETGEAR Switches and key technologies fr...
18/06/2026
IBC2026 is set to bring the global media, entertainment and technology community together at the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September, enabling industry players f...
18/06/2026
Pliant Technologies is proud to introduce CrewCom Flex , the world's first frameless matrix intercom system and the only complete matrix IP-based intercom s...
18/06/2026
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced that a new cohort of members has joined the strategic initiative: ActionStreamer, Antigravity, Creative Artists Agen...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
18/06/2026
Linda May Han Oh Receives Guggenheim Fellowship The Berklee professor, bassist, and composer will use the fellowship to debut Dreams of Knowing, an interdisci...
18/06/2026
Techtel delivers Haivision live streaming system for TAFE NSW St Leonards, enabl...
18/06/2026
New study reveals 10 hidden data drainers costing Brits hundreds abroad - and the holiday hotspots where you could get rinsed the mostThursday 18 June 2026
The...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
How to watch the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership season on Sky Sports
Which matches are Sky Sports showing on the 2026/27 Scottish Premiers...
18/06/2026
Thursday 18 June 2026
Sky Sale: Latest deals now on, with discounts on iPhone Air & 2.5Gbps speeds
The latest deals have dropped from Sky Mobile, the award-wi...
18/06/2026
FOX Advertising and Toonstar Team to Create New Opportunities for Brands in Digi...
18/06/2026
Arqiva's Crawley Court and Chalfont Grove teleports re-certified at highest World Teleport Association standard
18 June 2026, Winchester, UK - Arqiva, the ...
18/06/2026
Apple today announced changes impacting iOS apps in Brazil that reflect a recent agreement with Brazil's competition regulator, the Conselho Administrativo ...
18/06/2026
Play favorite titles from popular game libraries, keep progress synced and jump ...
18/06/2026
The digital era gave the advertising and marketing industry speed; the AI era is giving it autonomous operations.
For companies building next-generation techn...
17/06/2026
EVS has announced it has received the EcoVadis Gold Medal for sustainability performance, ranking among the top 5% of companies globally in the Technology/Mid-S...
17/06/2026
Chyron has released Weather 2.4, an update to its weather suite for broadcasters and meteorologists. The release focuses on enhancements to the DataFlow module,...
17/06/2026
VSiN, The Sports Betting Network, has announced the launch of Best Bets TV, a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel. The 24/7 channel is currently avail...
17/06/2026
DAZN's Team Whistle and Snap Inc. have announced a creator program centered ...
17/06/2026
LiveU is providing video transmission technology for broadcasters, production companies, and public safety agencies across North America's busy Summer of So...
17/06/2026
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) has announced that Laurens Grant and Jacob Ullman have joined its Board of Directors. Chief of Staf...