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.
Most recent headlines
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...
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...
21/04/2026
Fox Sports has selected Appear as a technology partner to support the next phase...
21/04/2026
Diversified has appointed Tyler Affolter as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) to lead the company's commercial organisation. The appointment follows the firm'...
21/04/2026
Layercake has formalised the integration of Bitmovin's video streaming infra...
21/04/2026
The International Judo Federation (IJF) has extended its distribution partnershi...
21/04/2026
Glookast has launched the Cinnafilm Tachyon plugin for its Media Producer and Me...
21/04/2026
Eutelsat has entered into an agreement with Cadena Tres, a division of Grupo Ima...
21/04/2026
Dolby Laboratories and TV Azteca have partnered to introduce Dolby Atmos immersive audio to free-to-air television broadcasts. The implementation utilises the A...
21/04/2026
FOX Entertainment partnered with Verizon to overcome significant production hurd...
21/04/2026
Osprey Video has announced its technology showcase for the NAB Show 2026, highli...
21/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) introduced a range of new solutions at NAB S...
21/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
21/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine Immersive 100G, an immersive cinem...
21/04/2026
Clark Wire & Cable is continuing its evolution from cable supplier to full-scale solutions partner for broadcast and live production. At the 2026 NAB Show, we s...
21/04/2026
Rashad Frett attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Ricky at Eccles Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, UT. (Photo by George Pimentel/Shut...
21/04/2026
Five years ago, Spotify arrived in Pakistan, opening a new chapter in the country's music scene. Since then, local listeners have explored across genres, ge...
21/04/2026
Since its launch in 2020, RADAR has been our program for spotlighting emerging artists around the world. This year marks the sixth edition of RADAR Spain, our o...
21/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
21/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
21/04/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host Power Electronics Online Conference From Design to Vali...
21/04/2026
MAS and Lockheed Martin partner to establish an F-35 depot in Canada, enabling in-country sustainment and creating high-skilled aerospace jobs....
21/04/2026
Advertising strategies shift as competition grows for a large, active and qualit...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/04/2026
Layercake Deepens Bitmovin Integration to Power End-to-End Media Orchestration w...
21/04/2026
Cobalt Digital Announces Launch of blueCORE at NAB Show 2026: Compact Powerhouse...
21/04/2026
On-Premise AI Suite from Studio Network Solutions Debuts at NAB Show 2026
Melanie Ciotti April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Unlimited processing, no cloud depe...
21/04/2026
London, 21 April 2026 IBC today announced the appointment of Tim Banham as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), a newly created role that reflects the or...
21/04/2026
Motion Design Tools - April 2026
Roland Kahlenberg April 21, 2026
0 Comments
Within 2 days, Maxon and Canva announced pro-level motion design apps - A...
21/04/2026
Chaos and Zero Density to Showcase Real-Time Ray Tracing for Virtual Studios and...
21/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
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.
