Oscar Cinematography Survey: Cameras & Lenses Used To Shoot 35 Awards Contenders

[Marc Wielage]

Indiewire just posted their annual survey of what cameras & lenses were used to shoot the top 3 dozen contenders for the this year's Best Cinematography Oscar.

Here's the list:

Annihilation - Sony F65 at 4K update: also on Red 6K Weapon
At Eternity's Gate - Red Helium 8K
Bad Times at the El Royale - Panaflex XL (35mm film)
Ballad of Buster Scruggs - Alexa Studio XT & Mini
Beautiful Boy - Alexa SXT
Black Panther - Alexa SXT & Mini
BlacKKKlansman - Panavision/Arricam/Aaton 35mm film
Bohemian Rhapsody - Alexa SXT & 65 / Arri 35BL (film)
Boy Erased - Alexa (interior) Arri LT (35mm ext)
Can You Ever Forgive Me - Panavision DXL
Cold War - Alexa SXT
Colette - Alexa
Destroyer - Alexa Mini
The Favourite - Panavision/Arri 35mm
First Man - Aaton & Arri Super 16/35mm/65mmm film
First Reformed - Alexa SXT
Front Runner - Panavision XL2 (35mm)
Green Book - Alexa Mini
The Hate U Give - Panavision DXL
Hereditary - Alexa Mini
If Beale Street Could Talk - Alexa 65
Leave No Trace - Alexa Mini
Mary Poppins Returns - Alexa XT & Mini
Mary Queen of Scots - Panavision DXL
Old Man & The Gun - Arri 416 16mm
On the Basis of Sex - Alexa
Private War - Alexa Mini
Quiet Place - Panavision Millennium 35mm
The Rider - Arri Amira
Roma - Alexa 65
Sorry to Bother You - Alexa Mini
A Star Is Born - Alexa Mini
The Sisters Brothers - Alexa Mini
Vice - Arricam 16mm & 35mm
Wildlife - Alexa XT

I'm glad to see the Panavision Milennium DXL make some inroads -- that's a helluva camera.

Full article with interviews at this link:

https://www.indiewire.com/2018/11/cameras-lens-2019-oscar-contenders-best-cinematography-1202019782/

I'm surprised to see that film is still alive and doing well -- even Super 16mm. Film is still a viable option for indie feature projects at a certain budget level.

 

[Karim D. Ghantous]

Well, I'm surprised that film isn't used more. Easy to say when you're not the one spending the money, I guess.

 

[andrewhake]

Annhilation:

Format and Camera: Sony F65 at 4K, for the shimmer we switched to RED weapon 6K.
Lens: We started with Primo anamorphic, then for the shimmer we switched to the G-Series anamorphic.

 

[Shaeden Gallegos]

Annhilation was shot 70% on RED (the shimmer was a majority of the film). Also, even after the shimmer when Natalie's character came back to the world, it was still RED to show that things had changed visually.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Well, I'm surprised that film isn't used more. Easy to say when you're not the one spending the money, I guess.

Well, look at it this way: there have been million-dollar indies that shot on film. Even Super 16mm film is a viable format. The cost of stock, developing, and scanning is not as costly as you might think.

15 Cannes Film Festival Movies Were Shot on Film,
Including ‘The Beguiled’
https://www.indiewire.com/2017/05/15-cannes-movies-shot-film-1201818742/

Me personally, I try to be as format-agnostic as I can. We'll conform and do final color on anything, whether it's shot on an iPhone or shot on 65mm film. We don't care, as long as it's well-lit and well-exposed. The lighting makes the biggest possible difference. And for films of a certain budget, the above-the-line costs (actors, writers, producers, director) cost far more than anything else. I think the total film costs on a $100 million feature are maybe $2 million, so that's not even 1/50th of its budget. 35mm film is basically $100 per minute ($1000 per 10 minutes), so figure it out from there. My guess is that catering probably costs as much or more.

The big surprise to me on the list is that there are a lot of different choices there. It'd be interesting to have a similar list of current hit TV shows and compare what the acquisition camera and formats are.

 

[dio Zafi]

Something very interesting about super 16mm film
With a budget or not