As the storied fast-food chain's recent U.K. ad campaign makes clear, Fancy a McDonald's? is a question best asked and answered with a raise of the eyebrows and a dance out of the office. The campaign's #RaiseYourArches television spot was directed by Edgar Wright and features the skillful camerawork of cinematographer Jake Polonsky, BSC; the duos previous collaborations include the 2021 music documentary The Sparks Brothers. In this Q&A, Polonsky shares how Wright's affinity for anamorphic helped steer their decision to capture the spot with C Series optics supplied by Panavision London.
Panavision: How would you describe the look of this spot?
Jake Polonsky, BSC: The aim with the look was a kind of heightened reality, so I wanted some beautiful lenses, but without the feeling that we were in a movie.' The choreography was key, and once we had an idea from Jen White, our wonderful choreographer, of how the movement would work, then it was time to start to choreograph the camera. The camera is always moving, whether on a dolly, Steadicam, crane or drone we needed to be as kinetic as the office workers, if not more.
One of the things that I really like about Edgar's work is his sense of humor with camera movement. Not many people have a feeling for this, but over the years that I've worked with him, I've come to know Edgar has a very specific sense of where he wants the camera to be when. With this kind of project, it's also about how to get the humor out of what you show the audience in specific moments. Whip pans, snap zooms and so on all help to make the language of the camera more engaging by adding punctuation and emphasis to specific pieces of action and looks.
Were there any particular visual references you looked at for inspiration?
Polonsky: We didn't discuss a lot of references for this ad. I think we jointly had a clear sense of what we were aiming for, without needing to base it on someone else's work. But in terms of Edgar's previous films, it felt like this had the most in common with Baby Driver, in terms of how everything was being driven by the music track. From the very first agency script I read, the Yello song Oh Yeah' was an integral part of the film, and many parts of the action and camera were tied to specific moments in that song.
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Polonsky: I know Edgar loves anamorphic lenses, and for me, the C Series still represents the gold standard of everything I look for in anamorphic glass a perfect level of softness and gorgeous flares, all in compact, reasonably light housings. You really can't go wrong with Cs in my opinion. Every time you put one on a finder or a camera, the world just looks more interesting.
The Cs softened off the edges of what could otherwise have been quite a sterile-looking location. We were filming in the old Diageo building in West London, which has a lot of straight lines and hard edges. Having a little curved funk' around the edges added some personality to the place.
How did this project compare to others in your career?
Polonsky: This was an opportunity to take a lot of my knowledge and experience and roll it into a short project with a very talented director. I've spent a lot of the last few years on longer TV shows, and it's nice to have the chance to be back in a world that I started out in commercials and music videos where it can be a bit more of a sprint' rather than a marathon.' On a shorter project, you can bring a lot of energy to every shoot day.
Another big difference was the process that Edgar has, which involves as much rehearsal as possible. We mapped out every part of the spot before the actual shoot days, with the real cast in place, which allowed an awful lot of troubleshooting and creativity to happen in advance.
What inspired you to become a cinematographer and what keeps you inspired today?
Polonsky: My dad sneaked me into the Renoir Cinema in London to see Peter Greenaway's Drowning by Numbers when I was a kid. For some reason it hit me like a thunderbolt. Michael Nyman's music, Sacha Vierny's photography, and Greenaway's unique approach to filmmaking. I'd never seen anything like it. My path was set.
As far as today, I believe inspiration can be anywhere in a random light reflection in your living room, a beautiful meal, a conversation with an old friend, or at an exhibition of photos you've never seen before. I think as long as you keep looking and experiencing, you can keep finding inspiration around you. Right now, I'm really enjoying Rick Rubin's book on creativity, The Creative Act. I'd love to film him at work.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
17/01/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...
17/01/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...
17/01/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...
17/01/2026
BHV has announced that it will highlight its new SportsBox remote vision mixer and picture processor at ISE in Booth #4H900 marking its official introduction in...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com will return to ISE 2026 to demonstrate its latest intercom solutions for broadcast, live production, and AV professionals. Exhibiting at Stand #4P700...
17/01/2026
Grass Valley, a leading provider in live production solutions, will exhibit at ISE 2026 in Barcelona from February 3 6, presenting its vision for how modern Bro...
17/01/2026
Utelogy Corporation, the global leader in connected workplace management, monitoring, control, automation and analytics closes out a record-breaking 2025. The c...
As the storied fast-food chain's recent U.K. ad campaign makes clear, Fancy a McDonald's? is a question best asked and answered with a raise of the eyebrows and a dance out of the office. The campaign's #RaiseYourArches television spot was directed by Edgar Wright and features the skillful camerawork of cinematographer Jake Polonsky, BSC; the duos previous collaborations include the 2021 music documentary The Sparks Brothers. In this Q&A, Polonsky shares how Wright's affinity for anamorphic helped steer their decision to capture the spot with C Series optics supplied by Panavision London.
