Cinematographer Ricardo Diaz joined the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty for Season 2's third episode, The Second Coming. Depicting the backstory of basketball legend Larry Bird (played by Sean Patrick Small), the episode marked the directorial debut of Todd Banhazl, ASC, who had served as cinematographer on the series' pilot episode and five subsequent episodes in Season 1 and was shooting four episodes across Season 2. Rick is such a supportive, talented filmmaker and a dear friend I knew I was taken care of, Banhazl shares. We had done the prep work together, and I trusted he had my back.
For his work on the episode, Diaz has now been nominated for an ASC Award in the Episode of a One-Hour Series category. Panavision recently connected with Diaz for his insights on the episode and his collaboration with Banhazl.
Panavision: How was your experience joining the Winning Time team?
Ricardo Diaz: Joining Winning Time was a dream come true. It felt like every cinematographer was talking about the groundbreaking style that [executive producer and pilot director] Adam McKay, Todd Banhazl, [production designer] Rich Toyon, [costume designer] Emma Potter and countless others created in Season 1. So when Todd reached out to me about lensing his Season 2 episode, I jumped at the opportunity. The entire team warmly welcomed me from the start, so I immediately felt like I was a part of the family. Todd has a way of doing that making you feel heard and as if you always belonged. He's a great listener. It's his superpower.
From that place of creative safety, I felt empowered to try things and experiment. In analyzing the script, we really saw Larry Bird's portion play out like a spaghetti western. Todd and I talked about how we wanted his backstory to have a small-town Americana feel but still be as bold as the rest of the show. So we took visual inspiration from aspects of Smallville in Superman: The Movie to play into the tall tale' of Bird. We also creatively mined the gunslinger-for-hire' aspect of Larry's recruitment by using Panavision's anamorphic 16mm glass to give us the scope of a Western and the nostalgia of Americana while still firmly planting us in the framework of Winning Time.
How did you familiarize yourself with the shows unique style?
Diaz: Todd and I have been friends since meeting at AFI, so while he was conceptualizing the look of the show, I was frequently checking in to see if he would spill the beans on his testing. The results, as you know, were exciting, bold, and singular. When I started prep for my episode, I was given the show's visual guides both of them, one created by Todd that gave detailed emotional and technical direction, and one created by camera operator and 8mm 2nd-unit cinematographer Justin Cameron detailing how and when the 8mm and Ikegami cameras were utilized. Finally, I had the man himself directing the ship at all times.
Todd was generous with his time, answering any and all of my questions about the show's visual language. He encouraged me to add my own voice to it when it came to conceptualizing Birds backstory, which led us to the creation of a new LUT for our episode. The Winning Time color palette is steeped in an Ektachrome look reminiscent of commercial photography in the '80s. So when designing Larry Birds early days, we looked to the '70s to find our color palette for the everyman.' That was Kodachrome. In combination with our 16mm anamorphic glass, we immersed Larry's past in this Kodachrome LUT that just oozed Americana. This helped ground the image while still giving it that outsized Western scope.
What was it like working with a director who's also a cinematographer?
Diaz: I've had the good fortune of collaborating with several directors whose roots were in cinematography. It's a total joy. The language and shorthand is there along with a zeal for visual storytelling. Todd's and my love of the craft and decade-long friendship is what drove our process. Most of our prep was spent speaking about how the pathos on the page could be translated into visual language. Then we went to the archives! We looked at work that inspired us and tried to understand how and why those scenes, shots and films were so effective. Often it came down to purpose.
Todd and I would also sometimes play out scenes in his dining room to get a feel for the characters. From their perspectives, we would try to imagine where the camera was in the room and why. They were wonderful meetings that reminded us why we do this: for the joy, immersion and magic of filmmaking.
Ricardo Diaz (right) with Todd Banhazl, ASC.
Explore all of our Winning Time coverage:
Championship Caliber
In Conversation: Winning Time
Winning Depth
All images courtesy of HBO.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
05/06/2026
Built from the same recordings as flagship library
Sonuscore's LUX Orchestral Strings has been met with widespread praise since its launch in late 2025,...
05/06/2026
High-end converter, interface & headphone amp upgraded
Said to represent the next evolution of RME's all-in-one reference converter concept, the all-new...
05/06/2026
Win a Soundgas Type 636P & Type G preamps
Soundgas, one of the UK's leading vintage and boutique audio equipment specialists have just announced the lau...
05/06/2026
New leadership of Technology Systems Division at Rohde & Schwarz On July 1, 2026, Hansj rg Herrbold and Andreas H gele will take over as Executive Vice Presid...
05/06/2026
Hitachi and Intel announced a strategic collaboration to explore opportunities t...
05/06/2026
05 Jun 2026
VEON's Kyivstar to Expand Digital Mobility Ecosystem with Acqui...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
BackStory follows four Irish young people as they travel back to their parents' homelands
Modern Irish identity is enriched by cultures and influences from...
03/06/2026
Step sequencer-style panning tool revealed
Alongside their flagship self-titled sound-design platform, Sound Particles offer an array of creative effects an...
03/06/2026
Now features full H90 algorithm library
Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...
03/06/2026
Significant discount available until 1 October 2026
Aim Audio have just announced a promotion that sees a significant discount applied to their Essence micr...
03/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to supply CERTIUM advanced communications system to Memmingen Ai...
03/06/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
03/06/2026
RT confirms multi-channel and free to air coverage of the expanded tournament with enhanced digital features and the return of Total Football for young fans
S...
03/06/2026
03 Jun 2026
VEON to Release 2Q26 Earnings on July 31, 2026 Dubai and New York, June 3, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON or t...
03/06/2026
RT has today announced Heineken 0.0 as the broadcast sponsor of their FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage.
The sponsorship, brokered by Dentsu, will see Heineken 0....
02/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
02/06/2026
Powerful new vocal-production tool announced
Described as a vocal performance station , Klevgrand's latest plug-in combines pitch-correction with harmo...
02/06/2026
Launched alongside Go Green sale extension
McDSP have just released the latest addition to their APB line-up, DC-2 Dual Compressor, and have also announced ...
02/06/2026
Create custom tools for Ableton Live 12 Suite
Ableton have just introduced a new open JavaScript toolkit that allows anyone to create their own custom tools...
02/06/2026
Now features full H90 algorithm library
Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...
02/06/2026
Plus UAD Half Yearly Sale now live
The latest arrival to the Universal Audio range delivers a new native pitch-correction plug-in that's capable of deli...
02/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to present comprehensive performance, conformance and spectrum-m...
02/06/2026
BTL Laboratory becomes Taiwan's first test house with a CTIA Certification c...
02/06/2026
If you've kept up with this article series, you know by now where to start w...
02/06/2026
With new DSP configurations and flexible licensing options, Calrec is removing the barriers to virtualised audio, giving broadcasters the freedom to scale produ...
02/06/2026
02 Jun 2026
VEON Closes USD 1.4 Billion Bond Offering, Refinancing 2027 Notes A...
02/06/2026
Praise for series three:
The Times - sun-dappled pleasure
The Daily Mail - The Homes Counties' Charlie's Angels
The Sun - 4* this [is an] enjoya...
02/06/2026
Wuppertal June 2, 2026
Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel N...
02/06/2026
Trust has become a commercial issue With global advertising spend forecast to exceed US$1 trillion this year*, the commercial consequences of weak governance co...
02/06/2026
June sees Ireland's cultural calendar in full bloom, as RT Supporting the Arts showcases a vibrant and wide-ranging programme spanning music, theatre, visu...
02/06/2026
After The Traitors Ireland launched in 2025, Irish audiences proved to have a taste for the global hit reality show. This Bank Holiday Monday fans can indulge e...
01/06/2026
Category line-up & sponsors announced
Photo: Paul Clarke
The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...
01/06/2026
New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed
Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...
01/06/2026
Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps
The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...
01/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
01/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...
01/06/2026
Luxembourg, June 1, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, launched fast and reliable multi-orbit satelli...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
Cinematographer Ricardo Diaz joined the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty for Season 2's third episode, The Second Coming. Depicting the backstory of basketball legend Larry Bird (played by Sean Patrick Small), the episode marked the directorial debut of Todd Banhazl, ASC, who had served as cinematographer on the series' pilot episode and five subsequent episodes in Season 1 and was shooting four episodes across Season 2. Rick is such a supportive, talented filmmaker and a dear friend I knew I was taken care of, Banhazl shares. We had done the prep work together, and I trusted he had my back. 
