Our goal at Ocotillo Films is to tell authentic stories. Workrise asked us to tell the story of one the most genuine people we’ve gotten to film.
Anselmo Sanchez-Ortiz, better known as “Rocky,” is part-Iroquois, Dallas-Fort Worth native, military veteran, professional welder, and a good, genuine man. The project was simple: to help Rocky tell his story.
We wanted this to feel as real as Rocky is—from brushing his teeth in the morning to shooting pool at night.
The shoot revolved around a day in his life. The film favors closeups on Rocky himself more than what he’s doing in each shot, emphasizing feeling close to Rocky over what we know he’s doing just out of frame, whether he’s holding a pool cue or a welder’s torch.
And take it from us, Rocky makes maneuvering in a tight, muddy ditch around a few tons of steel pipe look way easier than it actually is.
He’s someone who shows the science and artistry in his profession: he approaches a piece to be welded like a surgeon to a patient, but then welds it like the conductor of an orchestra, the torch as his baton, and the sparks and steel his music. Rocky describes welding like a current flowing through his hand.
At 58 years old, he has welded pipes at Globe Life Field, Amon G. Carter Stadium, TCU, the Star-Telegram Building, and a number of hospitals and schools in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
This project was part of Workrise’s Worker Stories, highlighting individuals from throughout the company and giving them a chance to share their own narratives and perspectives.
“There was a bit less structure upfront than I am used to, but the execution of filming and editing didn’t miss a beat. Ocotillo Films did an amazing job building trust with Rocky, which I think was a huge factor behind its success.”
It meant a lot to us that Rocky and Workrise trusted us to tell his story. As in every project, it’s important to us that we frame people in ways they want to be framed, and we got along with him pretty well, so he made it pretty easy for us. So thanks again, Rocky. Next one’s on us.