The popular National Treasure franchise has embarked upon a new adventure on Disney+. The 10-episode first season of National Treasure: Edge of History follows 20-year-old Jess Valenzuela (played by Lisette Olivera) as she joins the hunt for a much sought-after lost treasure and, in so doing, unlocks her own family's hidden history. Following Declan Quinn, ASC's work on the pilot episode and working with settings that evoked the rich palettes of famed Mexican muralists, cinematographer Abraham Mart nez worked alongside fellow director of photography Tom Camarda to craft a cohesively colorful look for the series.
Supported by Panavision New Orleans, the filmmakers embraced VA large-format spherical primes to help them bring history to life. Panavision recently connected with Mart nez to further explore the inspirations and personal history he brought to the production.
Panavision: How would you describe the look of the series?
Abraham Mart nez: Season 1 launches as an offshoot of the National Treasure universe, which is about an explorer's journey, this time with a woman lead. The explorer's wonder offered many ranges of looks for the show. As the series centers on treasure, we leaned into the warmth of treasure and the coolness of the chase, which offered loads of opportunities for camera movement. Similar to the movie franchise, we take the adventure to a range of settings and topography. From the jungles of South America, to the outskirts of Mexico City, to the Alamo in San Antonio, alternating DP Tom Camarda and I were able to create a range of looks as the characters look for clues to the treasure.
How did you and Tom ensure there would be a consistency and unified look across the episodes you were each shooting?
Mart nez: Tom and I were locked-in with the same tools and team, so we had our baseline for consistency. We also understood that each of us had our own adventures to capture, offering us the chance to play with color and techniques that enhanced Jess' journey.
Were there any particular visual references you looked at for inspiration?
Mart nez: Yes! For me personally, as a Mexican-American, I was excited that the show offered an opportunity to explore the rich beauty and history of color and tones of our Mexican muralist heritage. I researched The Three Great' muralists: Diego Rivera, Jos Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros. All three had a unique perspective on color and contrast and an eye for history that was full of both playfulness and tension. I approached their work as if looking for clues for color, contrast and composition that I could take with me for inspiration.
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Mart nez: I've been working with Panavision since the late '90s when I was a film loader. My first movie in the film industry was with cinematographer Ralf Bode, and from then on, Panavision has been a home for me. While I was working my way up through the camera department, other cinematographers I worked alongside used Panavision as well, such as Robert Elswit, ASC; Dean Cundey, ASC; Donald McAlpine, ASC, ACS; Amir Mokri; and Bill Pope. Panavision has been consistent in their support all throughout my camera-department career.
I'm thankful for all of Panavision's reps from coast to coast who help provide the tools, solutions and logistics to get what I need as a photographer who lives on the road. It's an ongoing dialogue of support.
You shot in large format with prototype VA primes. What optical characteristics did you see in those lenses that made them the right match for the show?
Mart nez: The VA large-format lenses have a familiarity that I can't quite put my finger on in a beautiful way. It feels like they embrace warm and cool colors equally, allowing both to play on our camera sensor without either one overpowering the other. I also see an artful balance of sharpness and softness in their bokeh. There was never a need to add diffusion filters to help smooth out the image. I loved the lenses so much that I rolled them onto my next series, Obliterated, for Netflix.
What did this project mean to you on a personal level?
Mart nez: The lead character is on a journey to uncover her personal history, and it was the same for me and my heritage. I looked into my own past while I was working on the series, and I was inspired to learn more about my family history. I went as far back as the 1700s, uncovering my indigenous and Spanish roots.
There has always been tension and challenges of identity for any group of people who are displaced, and I view the explorer as a displaced person, an immigrant, a dreamer. Each journey is an opportunity to use one's gifts, which is ultimately the treasure for all of us. That's the story of our lead, Jess Valenzuela.
What inspired you to become a cinematographer?
Mart nez: After watching The Killing Fields shot by Chris Menges, BSC, ASC in middle school, I wanted to become a combat cameraperson, but by my senior year in high school, I realized I was in love with movies. Fortunately, every step of the way, I've had tremendous support and love from my camera-department family, who have encouraged me along the way to my own adventurous journey.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Marshall Electronics is showcasing a comprehensive lineup of next-generation POV cameras, purpose-built to power today's connected AV environments, at InfoC...
01/06/2026
Adobe Announces Concept to Vector
Deepa Subramaniam June 1, 2026
0 Comments
One of the biggest frustrations we hear from designers is how difficult it...
01/06/2026
Vampire Feature Night Patrol Graded with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton June 1, 2026
0 Comments
Colorist shapes dark, gritty tone for horror thri...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
31/05/2026
Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Original Work at Gaud Centennial in Barcelona The Berklee graduate and faculty member will debut her choral symphony with...
31/05/2026
Taiwan is home to more than 500 NVIDIA ecosystem partners. More than 1 million N...
31/05/2026
As factories move from isolated automation to plant-wide intelligence, manufacturers need AI systems that can connect live machine signals, quality systems, wor...
31/05/2026
The NVIDIA AI Cloud ecosystem is accelerating the global buildout of AI factory infrastructure. Partners are expanding capacity to meet growing demand from ente...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
The popular National Treasure franchise has embarked upon a new adventure on Disney+. The 10-episode first season of National Treasure: Edge of History follows 20-year-old Jess Valenzuela (played by Lisette Olivera) as she joins the hunt for a much sought-after lost treasure and, in so doing, unlocks her own family's hidden history. Following Declan Quinn, ASC's work on the pilot episode and working with settings that evoked the rich palettes of famed Mexican muralists, cinematographer Abraham Mart nez worked alongside fellow director of photography Tom Camarda to craft a cohesively colorful look for the series.
