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 ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
23/08/2026
Offers up to 10 bands of compression
Parish Audio's latest release allows users to place individual compressors anywhere in the frequency range, but tak...
21/08/2026
Hardware-style timing shifts for software instruments
Following on from the release of Omniclock, Rapid Flow have launched a new sequencer plug-in that can ...
21/08/2026
Highly anticipated synthesizer ships in October 2026
Iceland-based Love Synthesizers have announced that their highly anticipated synthesizer is now availab...
21/08/2026
Masterpiece PBS The Forsytes has expanded its cast as its begins production in ...
21/08/2026
The BBC has unveiled first-look pictures from The Witch Farm, a new ghost story and mystery set in the Welsh countryside, coming soon to BBC iPlayer and BBC One...
21/08/2026
The BBC and BritBox have revealed the first look of Edward Bluemel as Hercule Poirot in the forthcoming six-part series Hercule from Mammoth Screen and Agatha C...
21/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
21/08/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Takes Over Anime NYC with BLEACH, BLACK TORCH, M...
21/08/2026
Tell us a little bit about your job I'm a Marketing Manager and work across a mix of clients and projects. No two days are ever quite the same, which defini...
21/08/2026
Beat The Lotto dives into the plot behind the 1980s National Lottery scandal
24 August 2026 at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Beat The Lotto is the story o...
21/08/2026
The countdown to the most wonderful night of the year has officially begun!
Host Patrick Kielty is gearing up for another unforgettable Late Late Toy Show nig...
21/08/2026
Meet puppet duo Bellie and Whizz, who are about to explore all the big feelings ...
20/08/2026
Set up your own private remote collaboration infrastructure
SoundBridge have recently put together a tutorial video that provides users with a step-by-step ...
20/08/2026
New V-Control Pro features restore basic functionality
Neyrinck's V-Control software has long been keeping older Avid control surfaces compatible with n...
20/08/2026
TV, BritBox and Mammoth Screen have announced that filming is now underway on th...
20/08/2026
Thursday 20 August 2026
Nina Sosanya, Rizzle Kicks, Roman Kemp and Paul Whiteho...
20/08/2026
Wuppertal August 20, 2026
Transformation Church Elevates Production Communicat...
20/08/2026
The music between the notes Coming together In the middle of 2026, as conversations around artificial intelligence continue to raise questions about how musi...
20/08/2026
Arvato Systems Brings Together Digital Transformation Leaders in the Manufacturi...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
Company launch with stereo-imaging tool
Panoramic is the debut release from Panorama Labs, a new company formed by mastering engineer Nicholas Di Lorenzo. C...
18/08/2026
Control software now available for older interfaces
Focusrite have just announced the launch of an update that extends Control 2 software support for their ...
18/08/2026
Tuesday 18 August 2026
Sky Sports and The Fast and the Curious announce new partnership
Sky Sports and The Fast and the Curious have announced a new long-term...
18/08/2026
Wuppertal August 18, 2026
Riedel Brings Professional Live Production Into the Classrooms of ECURiedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan Universi...
18/08/2026
Apple today announced changes to its business terms for apps in the European Uni...
18/08/2026
THE HEALY RAES: BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS AIRS WEDNESDAY AUGUST 19 ON RT ONE AT 9:35PM
A new documentary The Healy-Raes: Blood, Sweat & Tears airs on RT One and ...
18/08/2026
Stunning Irish performances at European Athletics and Swimming Championships rea...
18/08/2026
The two-part series begins Sunday 23 August at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player
...
17/08/2026
New MIDI processor & macro controller revealed
SHIK have announced that they have opened pre-orders for the S32, a standalone MIDI processor and macro contr...
17/08/2026
Cover extended on innovative motorised pot system
Melbourne Instruments have just revealed that the innovative motorised pot system used in their synths and...
17/08/2026
Latest firmware version now available
1010music have just released a free firmware update that brings some nice new features to their renowned Bluebox digit...
17/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz showcases integrated defense and test solutions at DALO Industry...
17/08/2026
Calrec's ImPulseV Virtualised Audio Mixing Engine joins NEP Platform, the industry's largest ecosystem of trusted production software, bringing scalable...
17/08/2026
Visitors to IBC 2026 will see how FilmLight is reshaping the modern post pipelin...
17/08/2026
Visitors to Stand 1.C41 can explore innovations in areas such as addressable advertising, hybrid distribution, managed services and operational simplification.
...
16/08/2026
Virtual drummer joins line-up
The latest release from Gospel Musicians adds a virtual drummer to the company's line-up, combining a pair of meticulously...
15/08/2026
In-ear monitoring line-up gains new universal models
In-ear monitoring experts JH Audio have just announced a significant expansion of their Universal-Fit r...
14/08/2026
Latest instalment delivers disco-inspired grooves
The latest addition to UJAM's virtual drum line-up has been designed with contemporary pop, disco, dan...
14/08/2026
Elite range gains giant 24-inch powered sub
The latest expansion of Yorkville's Elite range introduces what the company say is the world's first act...
14/08/2026
Friday 14 August 2026
Breaking news! Sky releases trailer for The Paper, return...
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. 
