Winner of the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema at the 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award at the 2022 Calgary International Film Festival, the comedy feature I Like Movies follows the plight of a socially challenged 17-year-old who's forced to confront the realities of adulthood while working at his local video store. Drawing inspiration from writer-director Chandler Levack's cinematic acumen, the movie marks the feature-length debut for Levack as well as cinematographer Rico Moran. Together, the duo crafted a stylized aesthetic that underscores the perspective of the movie's protagonist, Lawrence (played by Isaiah Lehtinen).
Panavision recently caught up with the director and cinematographer, who recount their journey to turn their visions into reality.
Panavision: How would you describe the look of I Like Movies?
Chandler Levack: Southern Ontario nostalgic realness.' We wanted to create a lot of warmth and use natural light sources from windows and lamps to highlight the environments. The movie is a period piece set in the early 2000s, in my hometown of Burlington, Ontario, so it was crucial to create a warm, nostalgic atmosphere that was still a bit stylized, paying subtle homage to the auteurs our lead protagonist, Lawrence, is obsessed with namely Stanley Kubrick and Paul Thomas Anderson. We shot in the old Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and we were rarely handheld. We wanted to create a warm sense of intimacy in the camerawork that could really highlight the blocking of the actors in the scene and the environment of the video store.
Rico Moran: We set out to make I Like Movies look at once nostalgic and modern, like the way you remember your grad-photo glossies even though they're a bit sun-faded now. We wanted the colors to be vivid yet restrained and the framing to echo Lawrence's narrow perspective. Chandler had chosen the 1.33:1 aspect ratio as a nod to the TVs we grew up watching movies on. It was a perfect size to frame a close-up portrait and to emphasize how Lawrence didn't really look beyond his own little world.
Were there any visual references you looked at for inspiration?
Levack: Rico and I created an exhaustive visual reference board for the movie, which was so fun to do. Color-palette-wise, I was obsessed with the way that Almod var always uses red and teal in his films. Antonio Banderas kitchen in Pain and Glory became the inspiration for the branded scheme of our fictional video store, Sequels, which bled its way into the set dec and color scheme throughout the movie. We also watched a lot of French New Wave movies by Godard, like La Chinoise, to see how primary colors against neutral backgrounds could really pop.
All the coming-of-age movies that I revered as a teenager and today also played a pivotal role in designing our camera moves and the general vibe and lighting of the film. I think Rico got sick of how many times per day I would reference Lady Bird, but it was really a guiding light for creating an environment of stylized authenticity that remained true to a prickly protagonists lived experience of the world. We also studied Ghost World, Rushmore and My Night at Mauds.
Moran: It was quite a range of movies we watched together to align ourselves, from Andrea Arnold to Eric Rohmer, with stops at Elephant and Marriage Story. Often there would be a specific reference point in terms of framing style, color treatment or coverage strategy, and other times it was just for a dash of fun. I was also keen on looking to photographers like Paul Graham, Hannah Starkey and Tina Barney for their vivid palettes and inspired framing.
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Moran: Panavision was always my first choice for my first feature. To be able to tell the story of our film-obsessed hero with the lenses that were used to shoot some of his favorite movies felt perfectly appropriate. I wanted to give a touch of Hollywood to the not-so-Hollywood Burlington, Ontario.
I've always felt so supported by Jerry Papernick, James McMahon and Johanna Gravelle at Panavision Toronto, and this project was no exception. Their team is always game to work with me and my crew to find the perfect lenses and accessories for every situation.
Levack: Panavision are the most iconic camera company in the world, and my favorite directors of all time have always shot with them. I love their lenses so much they're not only iconic but divine vessels of cinematic creation. I'd always dreamed of being a Panavision filmmaker. It was a shot in the dark, but I wrote Panavision a very sincere love letter expressing my desire to work with them on I Like Movies. Lawrences heroes Paul Thomas Anderson and Stanley Kubrick have famously always shot with Panavision, so I included behind-the-scenes photos of them shooting with Panavision cameras and explained my artistic vision for the movie and the way Rico and I wanted to shoot the film. When they said yes, I teared up.
Panavision have been such generous collaborators and supporters of the project. At our U.S. premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, I Like Movies even won a juried award for Independent Cinema that included an equipment grant from Panavision. It is such a gift to know that I can continue to shoot with Panavision cameras and lenses on future projects.
What optical characteristics do you see in the PVintage lenses that made them the right match for I Like Movies?
Moran: During prep, Chandler and I tested different sets to determine what would be the best fit. I had a feeling that the PVintages would be the winner, and after a blind test, this was confirmed. I love their soft contrast, velvety focus roll-off, expressive but not excessive flares, and fast T-stop. We didn't have a lot of
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
AgentPerf from Artificial Analysis, the industry's first agentic AI benchmark, gives developers, enterprises and infrastructure providers a clear way to com...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
Winner of the Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema at the 2023 Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award at the 2022 Calgary International Film Festival, the comedy feature I Like Movies follows the plight of a socially challenged 17-year-old who's forced to confront the realities of adulthood while working at his local video store. Drawing inspiration from writer-director Chandler Levack's cinematic acumen, the movie marks the feature-length debut for Levack as well as cinematographer Rico Moran. Together, the duo crafted a stylized aesthetic that underscores the perspective of the movie's protagonist, Lawrence (played by Isaiah Lehtinen).
