The scene often relied upon in action cinema is a chorus of familiar tropes: villains with clear bad intentions, magazines firing endless bullets, bombs wired with color-coded detours, and a ventilation shaft that leads anywhere in a building. These recurring motifs populate classic films like deadly weapon, crystal forest, Cobra, and the last great hero. In these productions, stars such as Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, and Mel Gibson defined heroism. A native of Alicante decided to reimagine these moments for mobile devices, bringing them to life in a compact format.
Between the 80s and 90s there was a lull in action cinema that sparked a practical impulse: there aren’t dozens of scenes predicated on cutting colored wires or diffusing a bomb at the last moment. The idea here is simpler, more immediate. It centers on a veteran officer who faces retirement while a critical operation unfolds, or the lawman who surrenders his badge yet keeps pursuing the truth. Alejandro Díaz from Alicante directed a project called Topiscopes, which captures short videos tailored for social networks. He emphasizes that audiences crave shorter, quicker content that can be consumed on the go.
Diaz has a fondness for action films from the 80s and 90s, a passion passed down from his father, which inspired him to become a short-film director. The project now focuses on turning longer features into compact scenes that stay within a minute. These clips are shot and edited in vertical format to suit social platforms.
At the Pynchon bookstore in Alicante, Díaz presented the project on Thursday. More than one hundred topics—written, shot, and edited in reel form—are prepared for sharing on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube. In addition to recreating iconic movie moments, the work is presented with humor.
“The aim was to translate the cinematic experience to a mobile screen with a montage. The most recurring scenes in action films became a kind of visual encyclopedia. We plan to publish several videos weekly on our social channels, building a community and inviting feedback. Viewers can share their favorite legendary scenes, which can inspire new shoots,” explains Alejandro Díaz.
Collector
The action genre is Díaz’s main interest. He notes that shooting within this category is uncommon and expensive; yet his lifelong hobby has led him to assemble a wide array of relevant props. The location of Alicante, and soon Benidorm, offers a setting that mirrors the towering skylines of American cinema, aiding in the imitation of beloved films.
Díaz began exploring police-themed storytelling through short films in 2017, having already produced a 20-minute piece. In the winter magazine’s first edition, his Topicops reel won best trailer. He has earned various accolades for his other shorts. Yet adapting to new formats appears essential in today’s landscape. Díaz has been producing and writing shorts since 2012, noting that the short-film route can be challenging without festival or distributor support, which limits distribution on many platforms. This reality makes social networks a critical outlet for visibility, especially for topical dramas.
“I decided to change the format because audiences have changed and they are very impatient; today attention is measured in seconds, so the TikTok format is fast.”
“I changed the format because audiences have shifted too, and they’re incredibly impatient. The focus is on seconds, and the TikTok rhythm is quick,” he sums up. He also thanks his father for introducing him to detective cinema since childhood. In fact, one of the actors who participated in the shoots is among those who appear. The cast includes Sergio Brotons, Manuel Serrato, and Charly Navarro. The character names reference the decades in which the action unfolds: Walkman, Discman, Tazos, and Hopscotch.