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Car, Commercial

Idris Elba: What Gives Cars A Soul

Idris Elba at Grand Basel exploring the meaning of automobiles in our society, its impact on art, architecture and...

“Idris Elba at Grand Basel exploring the meaning of automobiles in our society, its impact on art, architecture and design, and what makes certain cars a masterpiece.”

Lens/Camera Information
Lens series: Anamorphic/i Primes
Focus Lengths: 25mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm, 100mm, 135mm
Non Cooke lens: Arri Zeiss S-16 Zoom Focus length: 11-110mm
Original Aspect Ratio: 1:2.35
Cameras: Arri Alexa Mini and Arri SR3 S-16mm
Format: Digital
Rental Company:  Movie People, Milano http://www.moviepeople.it/

DOP Information
Director of Photography:  Daryl Hefti http://www.darylhefti.com
Agency: NO/AGENCY http://n-o-agency.com
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/darylhefti/
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user4056033

Production Information
Production: What Gives Cars A Soul
Producer: Michela Trümpi
Director: Elias Ressegatti
Colourist: Bryan Smaller
Production Company: Chocolate Films AG https://www.chocolatefilms.ch
Postproduction: Online Video Zürich http://www.onlinevideo.ch  Colorgrading: Company 3 LA https://www.company3.com/

Awards
Edi Silver, Special Edi for Camera

DOP Daryl Hefti on his lens choice:
“The  idea was to dive into the world between Idris Elba and the cars, rather than having the eyes on the architectural aspect of the location. That’s probably why you don’t see the classic super wide architectural shots in the clip. My opinion is, there is not one specific format or lens type to use when architectural constructions are involved. Just because the large format and spherical lenses is the most common in this field of photography, it does not mean that this is the only way to do it.

We had moments where we have gone a focal length tighter because of too strong curvature. But I have to say, the anamorphic field curvature gave us an even better focus to the centre of the image and that’s where we wanted the action to be happening.

We looked at various different Anamorphic lenses, especially older ones. But to me it was clear, the way we are going to shoot, we need a modern anamorphic set. The director Elias Ressegatti wanted Idris to be able to move freely and use the entire space of a floor at the Lingotto Building in Turin. During these freestyle shots, operated by steadicam operator Gianni Aldi, I was holding a second remote to pull the aperture. Sometimes I had to open up to one and a half stops, it was not noticeable and was no problem for the modern design and technology of the Cooke anamorphics. They performed well at every stop. ”