Arochi Shoots Lady Gaga's 'The Dead Dance' With Tim Burton

Cinematographer Andres Arochi crafted a high-contrast monochrome look for Lady Gaga’s latest video, filmed on Mexico's eerie Island of the Dolls with Tim Burton at the helm and ZEISS Master Primes paired to an ARRI Alexa Mini LF.

Fresh off a shoot in Spain, the Longlegs cinematographer got a surprise call: Tim Burton was set to direct a music video for Lady Gaga and wanted three things — to shoot in Mexico, to make something unlike anything in her catalogue, and for Arochi to be behind the camera. The result, The Dead Dance, channels Burton’s sensibility through a distinctly Mexican setting and a bold black-and-white aesthetic.

The production chose Xochimilco's famed Isla de las Muñecas, a canal-side site south of Mexico City where hundreds of weathered dolls hang from trees and structures. Arochi teamed the ARRI Alexa Mini LF with ZEISS Master Primes to render the setting as a vivid monochrome fable.

"When I got the call I thought, this can't be real," Arochi confided. The scale of the project only sank in when he landed back in Mexico to a barrage of messages from his team — "What lenses are we using? I can't believe we're working with Tim Burton!" Burton himself had visited Xochimilco a decade earlier and kept the location in mind. During the scout, the crew even found an old photo of the director at the site, standing alongside Metallica's James Hetfield.

Arochi quickly recognised that the island’s riot of colour could tip into kitsch if not handled carefully. "The location has so many colours that it's hard to make it feel elegant. It could easily become very kitsch," Arochi explained. His solution was to embrace a sharp, contrast-heavy black-and-white approach — an idea Burton immediately backed — and together they developed a visual language to match.

Lighting would be punchy and unforgiving. "I first imagined the light as very strong and old-school," he said. That required optics that could hold up under intense highlights and inky shadows without unwanted glow or haze. Vintage lenses were ruled out; instead, Arochi chose ZEISS Master Primes for their crisp sharpness, contrast control and resistance to flaring.

The day before Gaga arrived, Arochi, Burton and the crew spent time on the island testing dolls, smoke, and a bespoke black-and-white LUT created by colourist Mitch Paulson. As a popular tourist spot, the location demanded careful framing; a turn of the camera could reveal immaculate composition in one direction and public amenities in another. Liberal use of smoke helped conceal anything unwanted and deepen the atmosphere.

With the dolls lit, smoke drifting and the LUT dialled in, Arochi joined Burton at the monitor. "It was already starting to look like a Tim Burton movie," Arochi recalls. "That's just the power of him—whatever he chooses and creates has such a powerful aesthetic."

Gaga arrived the following day with a fully choreographed routine and porcelain doll-inspired make-up. "It was truly fun to see how talented everyone was," recalled Arochi. On screen, Burton’s crisp, whimsical austerity collides with Gaga's theatrical, seductive oddity — and neither overwhelms the other, a balance Arochi and the Master Primes were selected to sustain.

The collaboration quickly resonated with audiences. "I think the video exploded," Arochi says now. "With those two names on it, it's hard for it to not be well received. But I think people really love it, and I love it, too." Though some productions take years to gestate, this one bloomed in under a week, powered by Arochi's calm decisiveness, his familiarity with the camera package, and deep ties within Mexico’s film community.