Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Ford v Ferrari Delivers Speed and Danger With Classic Approach

17/05/2022

Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC has a long history with Panavision lenses, having used them on many of his best-known credits including 3:10 to Yuma, The Weather Man, Sideways, W., The Descendants, The Ides of March, The Huntsman: Winter's War, and Nebraska, the latter of which brought him an Oscar nomination. The range of styles, directors and stories on that list speaks to the cinematographer's versatility.

Now, with James Mangold's Ford v Ferrari, Papamichael has framed another completely different tale, this time set in the competitive world of 1960s automobile racing. The script presented fantastic visual opportunities in terms of the period, the design of the cars, and the depiction of speed. Still, the acting chops of Christian Bale and Matt Damon are at the heart of the film, which portrays the friendship between car builder Carroll Shelby and driver Ken Miles. In 1966, they achieved what was considered impossible beating Ferrari at Le Mans and to this day, their GT40s remain the only American-built car ever to win at the iconic road race.

Looking for inspiration to films like Grand Prix, shot in the late 1960s on the Super Panavision 70 anamorphic format by Lionel Lindon, ASC, Papamichael and Mangold devised an approach that depended on hard-mounted cameras to deliver a sense of what it's like to be in the cockpit. They avoided visual effects and the swooping, Russian-arm racing footage that has become common today, deeming them anachronistic to the period, and welcomed the vibrations and G-forces experienced at high rates of speed. Lenses were chosen with this aesthetic in mind, as was the ARRI LF camera, which offers a larger image area and different depth of field and other distinct optical characteristics.

The only hitch in the plan was that Papamichael's beloved C Series anamorphics didn't fully cover the LF's bigger sensor area. I like the painterly fall-off quality of medium format lenses, says Papamichael. I was looking for that quality, but I also wanted the characteristics of the Panavision C Series anamorphics. I asked Dan Sasaki at Panavision if he could adapt the C and T Series to cover the larger sensor. He said that he could expand them, and somehow, he managed to get them to us a day before our shoot! That meant no testing, but I instantly loved the result. Dan customized the T Series slightly to take the edge off their usual sharpness, and to match them to the C Series so we could intercut them smoothly.

Over the course of five feature films together, Papamichael and Mangold have developed a shooting style that prizes being physically close to the actors what Mangold calls being in the arena. The close-focus capability of the T Series Panavision lenses was an important advantage.

I would have been happy to shoot everything on the 30, the 35, and the 40mm, says Papamichael. With this combination of optics and sensor, even if youre in tight, youre not isolating your actors. You always feel the environment, and you're able to compose with all of their surroundings. You feel the proximity of the other cars, which are all being driven with intricate and precise choreography. In normal circumstances, I might avoid those focal lengths because of potential distortion. But something about the expansion that Dan did made them look great.

Papamichael says that the low-light capability of the cameras and the expanded Panavision lenses was a terrific combination. There's something there that's just beautifully cinematic, he says. I've seen a lot of DIs, mine and others, and this one really feels like it has a film quality the textures, and the grain, and the colors. The contrast is closer to that of a film stock. The flares are all natural and really beautiful.

Regarding Mangold, Papamichael says, Jim's strength is always to define these strong and human characters and make them feel true and not stylized. As we're trying to portray these characters, we keep the lighting simple, working with the natural light, embracing the limitations of the location, and not distracting with fancy camerawork. That doesn't mean it's not cinematic. We just work in a classic cinematic language that works in every genre.

Ford v Ferrari has been included on many shortlists for the Best Cinematography Oscar. Papamichael is currently shooting another period film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, with director Aaron Sorkin. On that film, he is using the same combination of ALEXA LF and expanded Panavision anamorphics.
LINK: https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/ford-v-ferrari...
See more stories from panavision

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

10/09/2026

Fabric Data, TMT Insights Merge to Create Fabric Insights

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Leading Audio Manufacturers Join Forces on Dialog Intelli...

Leading professional audio manufacturers NUGEN Audio, RTW, Steinberg and Telos Alliance have joined forces with Fraunhofer IDMT to establish a common approach t...

10/09/2026

Setplex Introduces AI Insider for Faster Smarter Video Se...

Built Into Setplex's Zapflex Platform, AI Insider Turns Video Service Data Into Actionable Insights Setplex today introduced AI Insider, a breakthrough new...

10/09/2026

sync labs to Introduce sync productions at IBC2026 Bringi...

Managed service changes dialogue without actor-specific training or facial rigging while preserving the original performance and fitting established post-produc...

10/09/2026

ACT Pixel Academy Autumn Courses PR

The ACT Entertainment tvONE and Green Hippo Pixel Academy has released its autumn course schedule, with hands-on training dates in September, October and Novemb...

10/09/2026

Orange Polska Reaffirms Its Trust in Viaccess-Orca with M...

Orange Polska continues to Rely on Viaccess-Orca for Secure TV Services and the Next Phase of its Technology Evolution Viaccess-Orca (VO), a global leader in T...

10/09/2026

Generate and create directly in your timeline with new AI-powered innovations in Premiere and After Effects

Generate and create directly in your timeline with new AI-powered innovations in...

10/09/2026

Tedial to introduce Media Business Hub at IBC 2026

Tedial is introducing Media Business Hub (MBH) at IBC 2026, a new business enablement platform designed to help media organizations unlock the full value of the...

10/09/2026

Globecast Unveils Next Phase of Media Orchestration at IB...

Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will unveil the next phase of its transformation at IBC2026 with a preview...

10/09/2026

Fabric Data and TMT Insights Merge to Create Fabric Insig...

Fabric Data and TMT Insights today announced that the two companies are combining to create Fabric Insights, uniting authoritative data, purpose-built software,...

10/09/2026

Operative Launches Unified Platform to Transform Advertis...

Operative, the preferred advertising and broadcast management provider for the world's leading media brands, today announced a comprehensive slate of new pr...

10/09/2026

Leader announces new Sx2 handheld Test and Measurement se...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, has announced the launch of its latest range of handheld signal generation, analysis and monitoring ...

10/09/2026

Kiloview Partners with Zixi to Deliver Reliable IP Video...

The partnership begins with native Zixi protocol support on the Kiloview D350 and will extend to deeper product integration and joint go-to-market initiatives ...

10/09/2026

Avid and FilmLight announce strategic partnership to reimagine the color pipeline for post production

Avid and FilmLight announce strategic partnership to reimagine the color pipelin...

10/09/2026

Maxon Brings Exclusive Preview of Fall Innovations to IBC2026

Maxon Brings Exclusive Preview of Fall Innovations to IBC2026 Brie Clayton September 10, 2026 0 Comments IBC attendees will get the first look at new ...

10/09/2026

Three Boston Conservatory Dance Alums Honored for Their Early-Career Promise

Three Boston Conservatory Dance Alums Honored for Their Early-Career Promise India Hobbs and Demetrius Lee received Princess Grace Awards, while Lilly David t...

10/09/2026

MonoNeon Returns to Berklee to Kick Off Signature Series

MonoNeon Returns to Berklee to Kick Off Signature Series The Grammy-winning bassist and alumnus performs with students and faculty from the Planet MicroJam In...

10/09/2026

Study: NFL Ad Revenue to Hit a Record $6.3 Billion

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Teradek Unveils Bolt 7 With 900MHz RF Pipeline

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Survey: Roku Remains Most Popular Streamer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Sony Unveils Fourth Generation Of DWX Wireless Mics

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

Scripps Revamps Local Media Regional Leadership Structure

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

10/09/2026

RT Sign Ryder Cup Highlights Rights Ahead of Historic Return to Ireland

RT to Broadcast Amgen Irish Open free-to-air New multi-year agreement will see RT continue to bring the Amgen Irish Open to Irish audiences Ryder Cup hig...

10/09/2026

RT Prime Time report into the National Ambulance Service to air tonight

More than 30 women report allegations of sexual harassment, misogyny and bullying within National Ambulance Service Tonight on RT Prime Time, 9:35pm, RT One ...

10/09/2026

Visit the mythical island of Mrunglody in the new series of RT KIDS podcast and brand-new retro video game

Series 3 of Nero's Class begins Friday 11 September on RT Listen The third...

10/09/2026

Boots on the Ground: WARDOGS' Goes All Out on GeForce NOW at Early-Access Launch

Gear up: The latest PC games and major updates are ready to play on GeForce NOW ...

10/09/2026

d-Matrix Adopts NVIDIA NVLink Fusion for Rack-Scale XPU Deployment

AI inference chipmaker d-Matrix today announced it will use NVIDIA NVLink Fusion to connect its next-generation Raptor XPUs to NVIDIA's AI infrastructure pl...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Sony Introduces SEL814G Fisheye Zoom G Lens

Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Telestream Expands Practical AI Capabilities Across Vantage and UP Platform

Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Chyron and Haivision Announce Camera-to-Cloud Live Production Integration

Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...

09/09/2026

ManningCast Reveals 2026-27 Season Schedule with Heist Mini Movie

Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Imagine Communications to Showcase XVR Updates

Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14). XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: swXtch.io Launches AI Broadcast Orchestration Tool abbe

swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...

09/09/2026

Inside the NFL Returns to X for Second Season, Marking 50th Anniversary

NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...

09/09/2026

LiveU Expands AP Partnership with LU900Q Fleet and MAM Integration

LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...

09/09/2026

Diversified to Consolidate New Jersey Operations into New Newark Facility

Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Wisycom Showcases MATF Antenna Matrix, PFL RFoF Box, and MPR60 Updates

Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: G&D and VuWall to Introduce vsNEO KVM-over-IP Platform

Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...

09/09/2026

Mo-Sys Completes Restructuring, Promotes Selin Kemal to Managing Director

Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...

09/09/2026

Aicox and TAG Video Systems Power Monitoring for Telefnicas TSAmediaHUB

Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....

09/09/2026

IBC 2026: Blackmagic Design Releases DaVinci Resolve 21.1

Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...

09/09/2026

ESPN and Apple Music Collaborate on Monday Night Football Music Curation for 2026-27 Season

ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...

09/09/2026

Sacramento Production Services Deploys Wisycom RF System at Sutter Health Park

Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...

09/09/2026

NDI and NVIDIA Collaborate on AI-Powered Multilingual Content Workflows

NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...

09/09/2026

Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame Announces the Class of 2026

Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...

09/09/2026

NBC Sports Opens 21st SNF Season With Expanded Schedule, Traveling Studio Show, and Bulked Up Toolkit

ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...