What goes into turning a script into a finished film or video? In this episode of Lights, Camera, Learn, cinematographer Emi Mendieta shares insights from her career working across narrative films, documentaries, and music videos while revealing the creative and managerial realities of life behind the camera. She discusses the steps and creativity she uses to translate scripts into visual language through color, composition, and collaboration with directors and production teams. Emi also reflects on the importance of on-set safety, shaped in part by the tragic loss of her close friend, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, and explains how that experience has deepened her commitment to protecting cast and crew. The conversation also explores her international upbringing, early love of filmmaking sparked by watching Star Wars, and the journey that led her to a career in cinematography.