Apple and Sony teamed up with director Joseph Kosinski and DP Claudio Miranda, ASC, to seize actual F1 racing in F1: The Film utilizing the VENICE 2, a Sony-engineered compact digicam, and a {custom} iPhone-based system, setting a brand new customary for high-speed cinematic seize. Let’s dive into the digicam tech behind the brand new racing spectacle.
When the group behind High Gun: Maverick determined to deal with Formulation 1, they have been clear about one factor: audiences ought to really feel like they’re in the cockpit at 200 mph, with out sacrificing picture high quality appropriate for IMAX screens. This problem led to 2 years of digicam engineering collaboration with Sony and Apple, growing methods that might face up to the warmth, vibration, and velocity of actual F1 automobiles whereas delivering footage that cuts seamlessly with conventional cinematic materials.
Director and producer Joseph Kosinski on the set of Apple Authentic Movies’ F1: The Film, now in theaters and IMAX. Picture credit score: Apple
Watching a Formulation 1 race – with out the same old TV boredom?
Let me be clear, and permit my very private opinion right here: Like many others, I’ve usually discovered Formulation 1 races a bit boring to observe on TV. The fowl’s-eye view of the published cameras detaches the viewer from the motion, and the automobiles really don’t appear very quick, though they’re racing at 200 mph.
Any fellow cinematographer will know: it’s all the way down to the truth that we’re, usually talking, watching the motion from afar, from an observer’s viewpoint. Solely lately have we seen extra reside streams from the cockpits of the automobiles, however these pictures are few and much between and don’t make the general expertise extra immersive. The principle cause is easy: the fowl’s-eye view lets us comply with the race higher by way of who’s main and who’s following whom, but it surely additionally means we by no means really really feel we’re a part of the race.
So I completely perceive the problem the filmmakers confronted: the immersion wanted to transcend something we’ve seen on TV earlier than so as to preserve individuals fascinated by a Formulation 1 film for two.5 hours.
Gripping: F1 filmmakers handle to place the viewer straight right into a Formulation 1 automobile’s driver’s seat
Earlier than diving into the “how they did it”, I need to applaud the filmmakers for the achievement that’s F1: The Film. I watched it in all its IMAX glory on an enormous display screen final evening, and I used to be far more impressed than I assumed I’d be. Miranda and Kosinski managed to place you proper within the driver’s seat of an F1 automobile. Just like their achievement in High Gun: Maverick, you are feeling such as you’re not solely within the cockpit of one thing most of us won’t ever have the possibility to truly drive or fly, however you turn into the driving force, with all of the related pleasure and nervousness. They usually did that by using progressive digicam angles that fairly merely weren’t doable earlier than.
Claudio Miranda, ASC, working a Sony VENICE 2 on set of F1: The Film. Picture credit score: Sony
The Sony VENICE 2: The cinematic spine of the manufacturing
On the core of F1: The Film’s principal images was the Sony VENICE 2, praised for its dual-base ISO, excessive dynamic vary, and full-frame capabilities. Miranda and Kosinski leveraged the VENICE 2’s versatility to seize the advanced lighting environments of racing, from the cruel daylight of the trackside to the contrasting interiors of the paddocks and garages. In fact, Miranda already championed utilizing the unique VENICE with the Rialto Extension Unit on High Gun: Maverick, so it’s solely a logical continuation for them to make use of the VENICE 2 on a distinct form of high-speed racing film, even when it’s a lot nearer to the bottom than earlier than.
Throughout 137 shoot days and 10 reside F1 race weekends, the manufacturing captured over 5,000 hours of fabric. In keeping with the group, the VENICE 2’s modularity allowed the digicam division to adapt for gimbals, Steadicams, handheld work, and car mounts whereas sustaining constant coloration science and high-resolution picture seize for large-format supply. This consistency was vital given the fast-paced nature of manufacturing round lively F1 weekends, the place shot alternatives might come up in seconds.
Miranda emphasised that the VENICE 2’s reliability beneath quickly altering monitor circumstances was key:
“You want a digicam system that doesn’t turn into a part of the issue however a part of the answer. That’s what the VENICE 2 gave us.”Claudio Miranda, ASC
Sony’s compact “sensor-on-a-stick” prototype: Becoming cinema right into a cockpit
As superior because the VENICE 2 is, it was by no means going to suit contained in the confined, high-vibration setting of an F1 cockpit beneath the halo. The manufacturing wanted a light-weight, strong, full-frame digicam that might keep cinematic high quality whereas withstanding 5G forces, vibrations, and excessive warmth throughout racing circumstances.
Body seize from the video output of one of many compact Sony prototypes, arrange contained in the cockpit of the automobile, filming Brad Pitt. Picture credit score: Sony (screenshot from BTS video)
In collaboration with Nobutatsu Takahashi-san and his Sony Cinema Line Division, Miranda and 1st AC Dan Ming labored with Sony engineers to develop a removable sensor prototype primarily based on the Exmor R full-frame back-illuminated CMOS sensor structure from the FX6. Aspect word: We just lately interviewed Sony’s Nobutatsu Takahashi-san in regards to the present technique within the Sony Cinema Line (following the announcement of the FX2) at Cine Gear. Test this interview out in case you missed it.
Inside simply eight weeks, the F1: The Film group and Sony developed a useful system, nicknamed “sensor-on-a-stick.” The system featured drop-in ND filters for exact publicity administration beneath various lighting circumstances and recorded internally in 4K 10-bit 4:2:2 XAVC-I at as much as 600 Mbps, delivering strong information seize within the demanding setting of F1 racing. Mainly, it’s the identical sensor that’s used within the FX6 – whereas the sensor within the FX3 can also be the identical, it makes use of IBIS, which Claudio Miranda didn’t need, so it’s nearer to the FX6. The system allowed the sensor to detach from the digicam physique whereas sustaining clear sign integrity, which was essential for becoming the unit into tight cockpit areas with out sacrificing high quality. Importantly, the digicam’s output was absolutely suitable with the manufacturing’s LUTs, guaranteeing seamless integration throughout grading to match the look established with the VENICE 2.
The compact Sony digicam prototypes have been positioned everywhere in the automobile. That is the model that may really do fast pans remotely, utilizing a Preston motor and distant. Picture credit score: Sony (screenshot from BTS video)
A prototype for the Sony VENICE Extension System Mini?
It appears to be like just like the system that was used turned nearly a prototype to what would later be launched because the Sony VENICE Extension System Mini, which I reported about earlier than when it was launched at an occasion in Pinewood Studios in London just a few months in the past (although that system really makes use of the total 8K sensor from the VENICE 2). Plus, the Extension System Mini after all makes use of a VENICE 2 because the precise recording physique, which was not finished on this film – as said above, curiously they actually labored with the compressed XAVC-I codec, giving them the identical picture high quality as an FX6 with their inner recording (and the identical sensor).
Compact Sony digicam prototype used on F1: The Film. Picture credit score: Sony (screenshot from BTS video)
However nonetheless, whereas extra compressed than the VENICE 2 RAW video picture, this custom-built system enabled unprecedented digicam placements on and inside Brad Pitt’s and Damson Idris’s F1 automobiles (really, modded F2 automobiles made to seem like F1 automobiles) with out including extra weight or compromising steadiness, whereas offering a full-frame cinematic look to POV pictures that had beforehand solely been doable with broadcast-level cameras.
Extra of the compact Sony cameras on the racing automobile. Picture credit score: Sony (screenshot from BTS video)
They even used these cameras for POV pictures from contained in the cockpit, as seen on the helmet. Picture credit score: Sony (screenshot from BTS video)
As a part of that, this compact Sony digicam prototype was additionally positioned on a panning contraption that could possibly be remotely panned utilizing a Preston motor. This allowed for some wonderful quick pans between the driving force of the automobile and what was in entrance of them.
Sony engineers traveled globally to lively tracks to check and refine the digicam beneath reside circumstances, guaranteeing it met manufacturing wants for reliability and picture high quality.
Batteries for cameras, in addition to distant wiring and different tech, needed to be hidden contained in the chassis of the racing automobile. Picture credit score: Sony (screenshot from BTS video)
In keeping with Miranda, Voigtlander and ZEISS Loxia lenses have been used on the compact Sony digicam prototypes to remain further small, additionally with the lens packages whereas capturing.
Voigtlander and ZEISS Loxia lenses have been used for the compact Sony prototype digicam that was placed on the automobiles to shoot F1: The Film. Picture credit score: Matti Haapoja / YouTube
Apple’s {custom} iPhone-based digicam: rethinking onboard views
To seize the enduring onboard pictures with the driving force’s helmet partially in body – a staple of Formulation 1 broadcasts however sometimes delivered at decrease decision – Apple engineered a {custom} digicam module utilizing components from the iPhone 15 Professional particularly for F1: The Film.
The {custom} Apple digicam system integrated the 48MP main sensor and A17 Professional chipset from the iPhone 15 Professional, guaranteeing high-resolution seize and dependable efficiency beneath race circumstances. An built-in impartial density filter enabled the group to handle publicity exactly, sustaining consistency for coloration grading in publish. The system recorded in Apple Log in ProRes, permitting seamless coloration area alignment with the VENICE 2 and Sony’s compact system throughout post-production. Designed throughout the weight and aerodynamic constraints of normal F1 broadcast cameras, the unit preserved the steadiness and compliance required by FIA rules.
Customized Apple digicam primarily based on the iPhone 15 Professional digicam constructed right into a automobile half for F1: The Film. Picture credit score: Bobby Tonelli / YouTube
Right here the digicam is fitted – contained in the automobile half – to the automobile for capturing F1: The Film. Picture credit score: Bobby Tonelli / YouTube
As a substitute of counting on wi-fi connectivity, the digicam system utilized a wired USB-C connection to a {custom} iPad app, enabling the crew to regulate body charge, publicity, white steadiness, and recording controls simply on race days whereas guaranteeing operational stability.
This technique changed conventional broadcast digicam modules utilized in F1 with a sensor able to capturing cinematic-quality onboard footage that could possibly be intercut seamlessly with VENICE 2 footage, eliminating the necessity to upscale or closely grade broadcast materials.
Apple’s engineering group rigorously examined the digicam on precise F1 automobiles in the course of the 2023 and 2024 seasons to validate reliability beneath high-G circumstances, vibration, and warmth, making it probably the most superior onboard digicam methods utilized in a story characteristic up to now.
Bringing all of it collectively: A unified workflow for a unified look
The manufacturing’s publish pipeline needed to deal with footage from the VENICE 2, Sony’s compact prototype, and Apple’s iPhone-based system whereas preserving a unified look throughout the IMAX and large-format meant outputs.To make sure a constant look throughout all cameras, the manufacturing captured log-profile footage on each system, permitting for optimum flexibility throughout grading. Sony’s coloration science maintained consistency between the VENICE 2 and the compact prototype system, offering a seamless visible match for pictures captured in radically completely different environments. Apple’s ProRes log recordings have been built-in into the grading pipeline utilizing {custom} LUTs that matched the VENICE 2’s look, guaranteeing that onboard footage might mix cleanly with the primary unit materials. Managing the sheer quantity of multi-camera and multi-environment footage throughout reside race weekends required meticulous audio synchronization and exact metadata tagging, which proved important for retaining the workflow organized and environment friendly all through post-production.
X-AVC I pictures maintain up on an enormous IMAX display screen, and so do “iPhone pictures”
What’s shocking to me is how simply and properly the compressed XAVC-I footage match into the RAW pictures captured on the VENICE 2, and it’s a testomony to how far small cameras have come when a significant Hollywood blockbuster can depend on pictures that primarily will also be achieved with a $3,000 FX3 (or FX2, for that matter).
“The know-how allowed us to maneuver the digicam in locations and at speeds that simply weren’t doable earlier than, however what issues is the way it serves the story. We didn’t need tech for tech’s sake. It’s about putting the viewers in the automobile, feeling the warmth, the vibration, and the stakes of each nook.”Claudio Miranda, ASC
With F1: The Film, Sony and Apple haven’t solely pushed digicam know-how ahead however have redefined what is feasible when high-end narrative filmmaking meets the acute world of Formulation 1. This collaboration units a brand new benchmark for immersive, high-speed filmmaking. And it proves that digicam know-how is certainly now not your limitation relating to capturing high-quality pictures that look wonderful, even on the biggest IMAX display screen. So – no extra excuses: an incredible story could be shot on the wonderful digicam you have already got in your drawer.
Have you ever seen F1: The Film but? How do you are feeling about utilizing smartphone know-how alongside flagship cinema cameras to seize Hollywood blockbusters? Share your ideas with us within the feedback beneath!
