Take a look at the gear and glass behind this year’s Academy Award-nominated films, and get the behind-the-scenes scoop from the filmmakers themselves.
Top image: Rodrigo Prieto on the set of Silence via Kodak
When it comes to filmmaking, it doesn’t really matter what gear you have — as long as you have a great story. That said, if you have a story so good that the Academy likes it, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have nice equipment too.
Here are the cameras and lenses behind many of the most popular 2017 Oscar nominees.
La La Land
Image: Damien Chazelle via Summit Entertainment
Oscar Nominations: 14, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing
Director: Damien Chazelle
Director of Photography: Linus Sandgren
Camera: Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2
Lenses: Panavision Anamorphic (C Series, E Series), Custom Panavision 40mm Anamorphic
Format: Film — 35mm (Kodak Vision3 500T 5219, Kodak Vision3 250D 5207), 16mm (Kodak Vision3 500T 7219)
Aspect Ratio: 2.55 : 1
In an interview with MovieMaker, Linus Sandgren, FSF talks about shooting on film with anamorphic lenses.
Read the entire Sandgren interview on MovieMaker.
Moonlight
Oscar Nominations: 8, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing
Director: Barry Jenkins
Director of Photography: James Laxton
Camera: ARRI ALEXA XT Plus
Lenses: Hawk V-Lite, Angenieux Optimo A2S
Format: Digital — ProRes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Cinematographer James Laxton, ASC talked with Filmmaker Magazine about his simple camera setup.
Laxton and colorist Alex Bickel talked to IndieWire about the films look and LUTs.
Regarding monitoring the color, Laxton told Filmmaker Magazine:
Read more about the cinematography and color on IndieWire and interview on Filmmaker Magazine.
Arrival
Image: Bradford Young via Paramount Pictures
Oscar Nominations: 8, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Director of Photography: Bradford Young
Cameras: ARRI ALEXA XT M, ARRI ALEXA XT Plus, ARRI ALEXA SXT
Lenses: Camtech Vintage Ultra Prime, Kowa Cine Prominar, Zeiss Super Speed
Format: Digital — ARRIRAW
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Bradford Young, ASC turned to ARRI’s ALEXA line for Arrival. Here’s a excerpt from his interview with No Film School.
IndieWire dove into Young’s process:
With regards to the camera’s movement in the film, Young told No Film School:
Read more about Young’s work on IndieWire and read his interview with No Film School
Lion
Image: Greig Fraser, Rita Roy, Sunny Pawar, and Garth Davis via Movies Film Cinema
Oscar Nominations: 6, including Best Picture, Best Cinematography
Director: Garth Davis
Director of Photography: Greig Fraser
Cameras: ARRI ALEXA XT, ARRI ALEXA XT M, RED EPIC DRAGON
Lenses: Unknown
Format: Digital
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Greig Fraser, ASC, ACS interviewed with No Film School, where the DP talked about his support gear on location in India.
Read the whole interview at No Film School.
Hell or High Water
Image: Chris Pine and David Mackenzie via Empire
Oscar Nominations: 4, including Best Picture, Best Film Editing
Director: David Mackenzie
Director of Photography: Giles Nuttgens
Camera: ARRI ALEXA XT Studio
Lenses: Hawk V-Lite, Angenieux Optimo A2S
Format: Digital — ARRIRAW
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Giles Nuttgens, BSC spoke with Studio Daily about his shoots on the set of Hell or High Water.
Read the entire piece on Studio Daily.
Hidden Figures
Image: Mandy Walker via ICG Magazine
Oscar Nominations: 3, including Best Picture
Director: Theodore Melfi
Director of Photography: Mandy Walker
Camera: ARRIFLEX 416, Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2
Lenses: Panavision Ultra Speed MKII, Panavision Primo (E-Series, T-Series, ATZ), Unknown Canon
Format: Film — 35mm and 16mm (Kodak 100D, 250D, 500T)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Regarding the Hidden Figures camera movement, A-Camera and Steadicam Operator Jason Elson told ICG Magazine:
Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS went on to talk about the color capture:
Read more about Walker and her crew on the International Cinematographers Guild Magazine site.
Manchester by the Sea
Image: Kenneth Lonergan via Post Perspective
Oscar Nominations: 6, including Best Picture, Best Director
Director: Kenneth Lonergan
Director of Photography: Jody Lee Lipes
Camera: ARRI ALEXA XT
Lenses: Canon K35, Angenieux Optimo
Format: Digital — ARRIRAW
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Director/Writer Kenneth Lonergan spoke to Filmmaker Magazine about his process of writing this film for John Krasinski and Matt Damon until eventually directing the film himself years later.
Read the whole interview on Filmmaker Magazine.
Hacksaw Ridge
Image: Simon Duggan via Panavision
Oscar Nominations: 6, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing
Director: Mel Gibson
Director of Photography: Simon Duggan
Camera: ARRI ALEXA XT Plus, RED EPIC DRAGON, Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera
Lenses: Panavision Primo, Primo V, Leica Summilux-C, Angenieux Optimo
Format: Digital — ARRIRAW
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Simon Duggan, ASC, ACS spoke with IndieWire about shooting the war epic.
To create the tight intensity, the second-unit placed Blackmagic pocket cinema cameras on stuntmen running through explosions.
Regarding the three main battle sequences, Duggan says
Read the whole interview on IndieWire.
Fences
Image: Charlotte Bruus Christensen and Denzel Washington via MovieMaker
Oscar Nominations: 4, including Best Picture
Director: Denzel Washington
Director of Photography: Charlotte Bruus Christensen
Camera: Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2
Lenses: Panavision C-Series, ATZ and AWZ2
Format: Film — 35 mm (Kodak Vision3 50D 5203, Vision3 250D 5207, Vision3 200T 5213, Vision3 500T 5219)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
In her interview with MovieMaker Magazine, Chartlotte Bruus Christensen talked about her choice to shoot on film.
Regarding all the camera movement at the beginning of the film, Christensen states,
Read the entire interview on MovieMaker Magazine.
Silence
Image: Martin Scorsese, Rodrigo Prieto and crew via The Playlist
Oscar Nominations: Best Cinematography
Director: Martin Scorsese
Director of Photography: Rodrigo Prieto
Cameras: ARRI ALEXA Studio, ARRICAM Lite
Lenses: Zeiss Master Anamorphic, Angenieux Optimo Lenses
Format: Digital — ARRIRAW, Film — 35mm (Kodak Vision3 250D 5207, Vision3 200T 5213, Vision3 500T 5219)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC sat down with No Film School to discuss his work on Silence.
Read the entire interview on No Film School.
Nocturnal Animals
Image: Tom Ford and Seamus McGarvey via Screen Daily
Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor
Director: Tom Ford
Director of Photography: Seamus McGarvey
Camera: Panavision Panaflex Millennium XL2
Lenses: Panavision Primo Lenses
Format: Film — 35mm (Kodak Vision3 200T 5213, Vision3 500T 5219)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC spoke to IndieWire about his work on both Nocturnal Animals and The Accountant.
Nocturnal Animals features an imagined story within one of the character’s minds.
Read more of McGarvey’s interview on IndieWire.
Academy Awards for Scientific and Technical Achievements
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has already awarded Scientific and Engineering Academy Plaques to ARRI, RED Digital Cinema, and Sony.
ARRI ALEXA
RED EPIC
Sony F65 CineAlta
Read the rest of the Scientific and Technical Achievement winners from the Oscars
Here’s a sharable infographic that dives into the gear behind 2017’s Best Cinematography Oscar Nominees.
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