How the filmmakers involved with Ford v Ferrari rigged custom vintage lenses to achieve the gritty look and feel of the 1966 Le Mans car race.
Director James Mangold and cinematographer Phedon Papamichael were invested in having a ’60s and ’70s film-like aesthetic while shooting digital. Because Ford v Ferrari is character driven, there was an intimacy they wanted to achieve behind the wheel. Unlike the approach of the Fast and Furious franchise, they weren’t looking for the beautifully clean, sharp imagery with all the resolution and detail that lenses such as the ZEISS Master Primes and Ultra Primes would provide. They distinctly wanted the grain, distortion, and flare achieved through vintage lenses — so they chose the Panavision C Series.
However, those classic lenses didn’t mesh with the ARRI Alexa LF, as they don’t cover in the sensor. In stepped Panavision’s Dan Sasaki with a prototype solution.
Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael explained it this way:
The production team was heading out to France in two weeks, and Papamichael was elated that Sasaki could turn it around that quickly.
The process was not without its glitches, as the prototype did need to be adjusted and tweaked before filming. However, the results were so impressive that Panavision now finds that expanding is in high demand.
You can see the results of this wild ride with Ford v Ferrari‘s release on November 15th.
Cover Image via Twentieth Century Fox.