FilmMD Productions Is The Brainchild Of Carlito, MD

A man wearing a gray sweater and black hat is working with a robotic arm that is holding a model of an eye. There is a camera on the table capturing the scene. The background is black and the setting appears to be a laboratory or studio.

Carlito, MD (Dr. Carlos Peinado) is a physician-director, medical photographer, and surgical cinematographer who merges the intricacies of medicine and science with compelling visual storytelling.

His surgical photography and cinematography have been featured in leading medical journals and editorial outlets, serving as a key medium for dissemination of innovative procedures to both professional and lay audiences. He also serves on the international advisory board for the Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine.

In a parallel career, Carlito, MD is also a cinema robot engineer sought after by leading directors, with his motion control cinematography featured in commercials for global brands such as United Airlines, Toyota, Samuel Adams, Volvo, and Apple, among many others. Carlito, MD is also the author of the first (and only) cinema robot operation course.

A man wearing gray scrubs stands with arms crossed in front of a large robotic arm operating a camera in a photography studio. A table with food items is in the background.

As the only physician capable of programming cinema robots, Carlito, MD is pioneering their integration into the operating room to document surgery with unprecedented precision and artistry. By adapting robotics once reserved for Hollywood sets, Carlito, MD captures every surgical detail from an avant garde perspective, enhancing surgical videography, photography, and training while reshaping how procedures, techniques, and devices are documented and shared worldwide. This same work also forms the foundation of an ongoing research initiative exploring how cinema robots can generate structured, spatially grounded video for next generation generative AI systems. To learn more about this project, click here.

Owing to his medical acumen, technical prowess and creative vision, Carlito, MD is redefining medical filmmaking, surgical photography, and robotic cinematography—bridging medicine, science, and cinema to set a new standard in visual communication.

Commercial Motion Control Work

ABSOLUT VODKA

CHIPOTLE

EL POLLO LOCO

CERVEZA PACIFICO

LARCENY BOURBON

APPLE MUSIC

PANDA EXPRESS

GUAYAKI YERBA MATE

VOLVO

KIRIN ICHIBAN

TOYOTA

TOYOTA

Person operating LiDAR scanner on front of a blue Toyota SUV in parking lot.

“Carlito’s path into filmmaking was anything but traditional. He didn’t come from film school or set out with dreams of Hollywood. His journey began in medicine, where he envisioned using cinema robotics to transform how surgical stories are told.”

 

“My vision was always to bring into surgery the same cinematic motion control techniques that make commercial filmmaking so engaging and impactful.”

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Read more in my operator spotlight

Want to learn how to operate cinema robots?

Until now, learning how to operate cinema robots meant piecing together fragments of information from forums, demos, and manufacturer manuals—without a clear roadmap. Drawing on his experience collaborating with some of the biggest commercial directors, Carlito, MD created the first structured course that makes the craft truly accessible. Find it at Cinepro Online Film School.

An artist or scientist working on a small object using tools, seated at a table with a black backdrop, with large camera equipment positioned nearby for filming or photographing.

“I’m a physician with a multidisciplinary background in medicine, technology, and visual storytelling, and I use that intersection to rethink how we capture and communicate complex medical procedures. My work focuses on integrating advanced visual technology into medicine—particularly through the use of cinema robots. I’m especially interested in how these motion control systems, originally developed for high-end commercial filmmaking, can be adapted to capture surgery with greater precision, clarity, and narrative power.”

Read more at VoyageLA.com

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