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 ...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

23/06/2026

Case Study: YES Networks IP Transition Expands Production Possibilities and Redefines Workflows

When we began planning our transition from an SDI-based infrastructure to a new ...

23/06/2026

Imagine Communications Appoints Greg Garmon as SVP, Americas Video Sales

Imagine Communications has announced the appointment of Greg Garmon as Senior Vice President, Americas Video Sales. Garmon will oversee account growth and busin...

23/06/2026

Snap Promotes Emma Wakely to Head of Sports and Media Partnerships, Americas

Snap has promoted Emma Wakely to Head of Sports and Media Partnerships, Americas, succeeding Anmol Malhotra, who has been elevated to Global Head of Content and...

23/06/2026

YES Network and Gotham Sports App to Air MI New York Major League Cricket Matches

YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air MI New York's Major League Cr...

23/06/2026

HAND Issues Persistent Digital IDs to 2026 NBA Draft Class

The Universal Talent Identifier (HAND) has issued HAND IDs to 34 top projected prospects in the 2026 NBA Draft class, including AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, and...

23/06/2026

World Boxing Launches World Boxing TV Streaming Platform

World Boxing has announced the launch of World Boxing TV, a subscription-based streaming platform built on the Joymo platform, offering live events, on-demand c...

23/06/2026

FloRacing to Stream 32 Off-Road Motorcycle Racing Events Including AMA Amateur National Motocross Championship

FloSports will stream 32 off-road motorcycle racing events on FloRacing, includi...

23/06/2026

SES Adds 14 Regional Channels and New Set-Top Boxes to ASTRA TV in Spain

SES has announced the expansion of its ASTRA TV platform in Spain with the addition of 14 regional channels in HD and UHD quality and the launch of new hybrid s...

23/06/2026

Appear Supports Rede Legislativas Contribution Workflow for Brazils TV 3.0 Trials

Appear ASA has announced its role in Rede Legislativa de R dio e TV's contri...

23/06/2026

PBS Selects LTN for Nationwide IP Video Network Across 330 Member Stations

LTN has announced that PBS has selected it as its IP video partner to modernize content distribution and contribution across more than 330 public television sta...

23/06/2026

Ease Live Powers Interactive Experience on Rally.TV for WRC

Ease Live has announced that its graphics overlay platform is powering an interactive fan experience on Rally.TV, the official streaming platform of the FIA Wor...

23/06/2026

Chyron LIVE Adds Haivision StreamHub Integration, SCTE-35 Ad Insertion, and Switcher Updates

Chyron has announced updates to Chyron LIVE, its cloud-native live production pl...

23/06/2026

ESPN Announces ESPN Fan House, Fan Engagement Hub Powered by Flowcode

ESPN has announced ESPN Fan House, a fan engagement hub powered by Flowcode, launching in August ahead of the 2026 college football season. Publicis Sports will...

23/06/2026

Sennheiser Relocates Americas Regional Hub to Nashville

The city's solid position in broadcast, entertainment, and sports attracted the major microphone manufacturer Sennheiser Group is moving its Americas Regio...

23/06/2026

Violet Audio's dMix 128 now shipping

128 channels of signal routing & DSP Announced just before the NAMM Show 2026, Violet Audio's latest digital audio matrix offers 128 channels of signal ...

23/06/2026

Minimal Audio launch Memory Rites

Latest Current expansion created by EPROM Minimal Audio have just launched the latest Current Expansion, Memory Rites. Designed in collaboration with renown...

23/06/2026

Undertone Audio's MPEQ-1 goes virtual

Popular hardware EQ gets official plug-in emulation Undertone Audio have just launched a new plug-in that brings one of their most popular hardware designs ...

23/06/2026

Colorfront Support for AWS CDI Unlocks New Potential for Cloud-Based Visual Effects and Content Creation

December 7, 2022 Colorfront (colorfront.com) - the multi-award-winning develope...

23/06/2026

Colorfront Delivers Even More AI Automation Power and Extends Technology Partnerships with Dolby, Apple

April 23, 2026 NAB 2026, Las Vegas - the Academy and Emmy Award-winning develop...

23/06/2026

IAB Tech Lab Releases SupplyChain v1.1

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/06/2026

Besco to Represent PlayBox Neo in South Korea

PlayBox Neo appoints Besco as Channel Reseller to establish a firm foothold in Asia Pacific's thriving high-tech export-driven economic boom PlayBox Neo, t...

23/06/2026

PBS Selects LTN to Power Nationwide IP Video Network

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/06/2026

PBS selects LTN for nationwide IP video network

LTN, a global leader in IP-based video transport and network services, today announced that PBS has selected LTN as its IP video partner to modernize and future...

23/06/2026

The LiveU Q Era Arrives in ANZ with the LU900Q at ABE2026

LiveU will introduce its Q Era to Australia and New Zealand for the first time at ABE2026 on Stand No. 25, (July 30 31). Leading the showcase is the LU900Q, a n...

23/06/2026

Miri Technologies Ships V410 Live 4K Video Encoder-Decode...

Miri Technologies Inc. has begun shipping its highly anticipated V410 live 4K video encoder/decoder for streaming, IP-based production workflows and AV-over-IP ...

23/06/2026

DHD SX2 and TX2 Consoles Go On-Air at Radio Tzafon

DHD audio reports the completion of an upgrade to the audio production facilities at the Galilee headquarters of Radio Tzafon. The station broadcasts two progra...

23/06/2026

Nagravision Launches Nagra Venturi Security Offering

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/06/2026

ITN Expands Programmatic Local TV Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/06/2026

Warner Bros. Discovery Taps AWS for New AI-Powered Ad Tech

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/06/2026

Study: Younger Viewers More Distracted But More Receptive to Ads

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/06/2026

Chilevisin, ClaroVTR Tap Pixop for 4K FIFA World Cup Feed

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/06/2026

Imagine Communications Names Greg Garmon as Senior Vice P...

Multifaceted Growth Executive Brings 20+ Years of Experience Leading Organizations Across Tech and M&E Imagine Communications today announced the appointment ...

23/06/2026

Australians in Film and Screen Australia's talent development initiative UNTAPPED returns for 2026

Australians in Film and Screen Australia's talent development initiative UNT...

23/06/2026

Visual Productions Unveils RdmRelay2 Four-channel Relay Control at InfoComm 2026

Visual Productions Unveils RdmRelay2 Four-channel Relay Control at InfoComm 2026 Brie Clayton June 22, 2026 0 Comments New Relay Solution Combines DMX, ...

23/06/2026

SMPTE Makes Its Standards Freely Accessible, Opening Standards Library to the Global Media Technology Community

SMPTE Makes Its Standards Freely Accessible, Opening Standards Library to the Gl...

23/06/2026

UKTV and BBC Entertainment join forces on first joint comedy entertainment co-commission

23rd June 2026, London: UKTV and BBC Entertainment have unveiled a joint co-comm...

23/06/2026

Gugu Mbatha-Raw leads Sky Original supernatural thriller Possession in first teaser

Also starring Jonny Lee Miller, Sheldon Shepherd and Bel Powley, the ambitious f...

23/06/2026

Arqiva response to DCMS Green Paper

The priority now is a clear and credible plan June 23, 2026, Winchester, UK - Arqiva, the UK's leading communications infrastructure provider, welcomes tod...

23/06/2026

RT AND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION IRELAND ANNOUNCE RT TOY SHOW APPEAL GRANT AWARDS 2026

The RT Toy Show Appeal has raised over 31 million since its inception in 2020 ...

23/06/2026

NVIDIA Powers Over 400 of the World's 500 Fastest Supercomputers

News Highlights: NVIDIA technology runs 81% of the TOP500 and 90% of the systems new to the list. 26 systems on the TOP500 adopted the NVIDIA Grace CPU, up ei...

23/06/2026

How Businesses Are Building Specialized AI They Can Trust

Companies are asking how to build specialized AI that fits with the way their workflows actually run. The first wave of enterprise AI was about access. Compan...

23/06/2026

June 22, 2026

Newly identified molecule strengthens the eye's response to damage in retinal disease Scripps Research discovery finds that restoring the naturally occurrin...

22/06/2026

Behind the Mic: SportsCenters Lisa Cohn to Retire This June From ESPN as Longest-Tenured Anchor

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

22/06/2026

Cosm Appoints David Ho as Chief Legal Officer

Cosm has announced the appointment of David Ho as Chief Legal Officer, a newly created executive role reporting to President and CEO Jeb Terry. Ho will oversee ...

22/06/2026

Warner Bros. Discovery and AWS Announce AI-Powered Advertising Technology Platform

Warner Bros. Discovery and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced the developm...

22/06/2026

Daktronics Completes Audio Control System Upgrade at Petco Park for San Diego Padres

Daktronics has completed an audio control system upgrade at Petco Park in San Di...