F1 movie director Joseph Kosinski has broken down the differences between the camera technology used in Top Gun: Maverick and the upcoming Formula 1-based film.
Having directed both action-packed blockbusters, Kosinski has spoken to film journalist Kevin McCarthy about how he adapted the technology and filming approach from Top Gun: Maverick for use in F1.
“So on Top Gun, internally we had six cameras – four on the actor in the back seat and then two cameras over the shoulder of the pilot in the front seat,” Kosinski explained. “So, it was six angles fixed for all those sequences. It was the [Sony] Venice one.
“On this film, we had, I think, 16 different mounting positions, which we had built into the car working with the Mercedes Formula 1 team. These are custom-built race cars for this movie with 16 camera mounts. We would run four at a time.
“This is a new camera system – our code name internally was Carmen. It was a Sony prototype, which is essentially the quality of the Venice camera from Top Gun but shrunk down to like one-third of its size. Just the sensor and the lens are up in front of the driver – in this case, Brad [Pitt] and Damson [Idris].
“The recorders, the batteries, the transmitters are all below the radiators, built into the body of the car. And you know, there is no stunt driver. It’s Brad and Damson driving the cars themselves. So, you know, we had this panning camera mount that we developed, so you’re really seeing that they’re alone in the car, driving it on these tracks.”
Drawing a further comparison between F1 and Top Gun: Maverick, McCarthy asked how involved Pitt and Idris were in operating their own cameras and managing their lighting behind the wheel.
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Photo by: Erik Junius
“Yeah, I mean, in this case we were able to actually pull focus in real time while we were shooting,” Kosinski responded. “So we had a lot more interactive control because the car was always within a mile of us. We’d set up our base station in the centre of the track. We had antennas all the way around, so we were always getting real-time picture, real-time control, real-time focus. But you can imagine how much technology it takes to be able to pull that off.
“So Brad and Damson could focus on driving, which is important because, you know, they’re driving these cars at, you know, 180 miles an hour. And I would worry about the shooting.”
F1 is set for international release on 25 June, followed by the release in North America on 27 June.
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