The Middle

Mariscela Beatríz Méndez is a Director of Photography born and raised in San Antonio, TX and received her B.A. in Photocommunications from St. Edward’s University. Prior to joining Local 600, she spent a decade working as a member of IATSE Local 728 cultivating her love and knowledge for lighting while shooting shorts on the weekends.

Her most notable projects include Las Hijas de Rosalia, executive-produced by Lin Manuel Miranda, which premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival, and the indie episodic Dick Bunny, directed by Katie Locke O’Brien. Her upcoming project Water Angel is part of a short anthology premiering on Paramount+ this year. Between narrative projects, Méndez shoots commercials for English- and Spanish-language clients including Google, Red Robin and Herdez.

Recently she won Best Cinematography at the 2025 Mexican-American Film and TV Festival for the surreal short film Vivir. Her previous fellowships include Women in Film’s ReFrame Rise, The ASC Vision Mentorship Program and Film Independent’s Project Involve.

The Middle is a drama written and directed by Chicana-Korean filmmaker Sylvia Ray that follows a desert teen trying to escape the consequences of a pivotal night and must decide between telling the truth and protecting her family.

The project was filmed on location in Barstow, CA over three nights using a Sony Venice 1 with Cooke S4i primes. The Angénieux Optimo 24-290mm was also used for selected shots.

The portrayal of tension was a large part of the conversation during prep; handheld camera work paired with quick Steadicam movements by operator Aline Ballestero helped to build this throughout the film. The aspect ratio 1.33:1 was selected to support our characters feeling restricted and emotionally caught in “the middle.”

The campfire motivated the key lighting, which included LiteMats, covered wagons and Par cans on a Magic Gadget wearing Super White Flame Green and others Half Straw. Feeling the texture of the jagged canyon walls in the background was a priority. Chief Lighting Technician Rob Grower used ARRI S60 SkyPanels, Par cans and Leko Lustr 3s. At the restaurant, overhead fluorescent fixtures were augmented with Astera Titan Tubes, LiteMats and negative fill.

Méndez credits her career to the support of various mentors, including Michael Goi, ASC; Sandra Valde-Hansen, ASC; Steve Gainer, ASC and Diana Matos. Méndez has a deep connection to her Mexican heritage and often works on projects involving Latiné identity, female leads and magical realism.