Lucy In the Sky is the story of an astronaut who, on returning to Earth, begins to fall apart and lose touch with reality. Co-written and directed by Noah Hawley, the film is inspired by the real-life romantic drama of a U.S. astronaut, and stars Natalie Portman as fictional character Lucy Cola.
Hawley and cinematographer Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC tell Lucy's story with ambitious visual flourishes. The creative team chose Panavision's DXL2 camera and optics to bring this astronaut's disintegrating mindset to the big screen.
Written into the script was a lot of magical realism that charted Lucy's emotional decline and helped the viewer to go on this journey with her in a very visual way, Morgan says. There was a lot for a cinematographer to tuck into.
Most notably is a bold use of aspect ratio to chart the central character's emotional freefall.
When we find Lucy in space, she has this sense of immense freedom and the screen reflects that in widescreen format, Morgan explains. When she returns to Earth, she feels a sense of claustrophobia, of everything constricting her, so that's illustrated in the frame itself where we move to a squarer 4:3. It echoes her breathing. When she feels relaxed and free with a sense of wonder the screen opens up to reflect that, and when she feels overwhelmed and trapped, the frame boxes her in.
The transitions between aspect ratios were suggested by visual cues in the script. For example, as Lucy goes through a doorway, we'd use the darkness of the frame to take us from widescreen to 4:3. Or we'd match the light of the space shuttle entering the Earth's atmosphere with a bright light bulb at a doctor's office to switch from widescreen back into 4:3.
We discussed the transition elements a lot during pre-production so it would work without jarring the audience out of the story, she says. Noah and I had used aspect ratio changes on Legion to complement the story. Here we used light and darkness and set design as well as camera moves to translate the concept smoothly to the big screen.
The desire to convey the central character's altered state through aspect ratio and distortion convinced Morgan to choose anamorphic glass. In turn, that meant selecting a camera which would enable them to crop 4:3 from anamorphic 2.39:1 widescreen without losing detail in the image.
We tested a number of large format cameras but DXL2 seemed the perfect choice, she says. Shooting on the MONSTRO's 8K sensor allowed for both anamorphic squeeze and extraction of 4:3 from the 2.39 capture for a 2K deliverable. We shot REDCODE raw at 4:1 compression and 6:1 when we went to high speed.
She adds, I was really impressed with not only the sensitivity of the native 1600 ISO chip and its latitude but also its color rendition which felt very organic. Everything just pointed to using the DXL2.
In order for Morgan's choice of G Series Primes to work with the format, she worked with Panavision's Guy McVicker to customize the set.
Panavision adjusted the G Series to cover the large sensor, but it still optically stretched the image to the limit, she says. I fell in love with the look because when you took the 4:3 extraction from the 2.39 it gave this interesting effect where just the top and bottom of the frame had focus fall off and where cropping in at the sides helped us to focus sharpness in the center to punctuate the fact that Lucy is not seeing clearly and her world is distorted. I felt the lens gave a very painterly quality to the image and a softer, more feminine approach to the story. The optical artifacts helped deliver that.
Since a portion of the story is set in space for which several sequences required visual effects, Morgan decided to shoot these spherically and at full resolution 8K.
Scenes of NASA's underwater training facility were going to require particularly heavy VFX, so after some debate we decided to approach that dry for wet and to shoot it clean, full sensor, and spherically using Primo 70s. We added anamorphic optic effects to match the G series in post.
She also deployed spherical 35-200mm glass from Panavision for an infinite zoom effect to convey the out of body moment when Portman's character hears news of her grandmother's stroke.
We shot still plates at Lucy's house at night and then down an east-facing street through dawn into morning so you can see the sun rising in the plates, Morgan explains. VFX stitched those together to create a factual zoom. We then shot Natalie standing in front of an open elevator against blue screen in which we comped the infinite zoom plates. We created interactive moving light to tie Natalie into the plates and created movement by placing her on a dolly which is then pulled back and moved down a hallway in the hospital into her grandmother's room. The audience feels as if they are being pulled in a continuous shot from the house, down the street, and into the hospital.
The idea is that when you suffer traumatic news, time kind of disappears. When you think back to how you got somewhere you can't remember the details. It's one of the magical realism elements we used to illustrate Lucy's mental state.
The film is designed in primary colors red with blue and green reflecting the natural world. We wanted to have quite a vibrant color palette to contrast with the cool tone throughout the film. That was established on set and continued into the DI.
We really tried to protect highlights and have them roll off and to expose with quite subdued tones which was helped by the sensitivity of the DXL chip, she adds.
Morgan notes her relationship with Panavision began early in her career. I would go to Panavision in my spare time and label camera cases and filters for any production that would let me, she reca
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...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
Lucy In the Sky is the story of an astronaut who, on returning to Earth, begins to fall apart and lose touch with reality. Co-written and directed by Noah Hawley, the film is inspired by the real-life romantic drama of a U.S. astronaut, and stars Natalie Portman as fictional character Lucy Cola.
