While working on Top Gun: Maverick, Joseph Kosinski was already thinking about his next film, F1, an adrenaline-fueled action movie set in the world of Formula One racing. So he turned to his go-to cinematographer, Claudio Miranda. He also worked on Top Gun: Maverick.
Kosinski wanted everything to be authentic, avoiding the use of green screens and immersing the audience in the film. Miranda started thinking, “Is there some technology that we need to figure out?”
Similar to Top Gun: Maverick, which pushed camera technology to new limits, Miranda worked with Sony Electronics to develop a custom camera to capture high-speed shots. Custom cameras are built into the racing machines for filming, four per car, with pan and focus controlled by remote control.
In a conversation moderated by Jazz Tancay, Variety’s senior journeyman editor, Kosinski said that while much of the behind-the-scenes stuff is about technology, everything is driven by story and character. “How do you connect the audience with the characters in a film like this? That’s what drove all this innovation that Claudio did.”
The Apple Original Film stars Brad Pitt as Sonny Hayes, a retired Formula 1 race car driver. Javier Bardem plays Ruben, the boss of a small racing team who convinces Sonny to return to the sport in order to partner with and mentor new driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris). The film begins midway through the F1 season, and by bringing Sony into the mix, Ruben hopes the team can score a podium.
When it came to creating tension between Sonny and Joshua, Kosinski explained that it needed to be put on the page first. His next challenge was to find the right actor to play Joshua Pierce. Enter casting director Lucy Bevan. He searched extensively for thousands of tapes. Director Kosinski said: “Damson is a miracle; in his first film, he went toe-to-toe with one of the biggest movie stars in the world and created a really vivid character.” He continued, “He’s an antagonist, but he’s so likable because he totally understands where he’s coming from.”
In composing, Miranda said, “I chose the angles I needed for the scene. If I wanted it to be intense, I pushed it a little more.” However, we were looking for ways to create tension and beauty not only on the race track, but also in scenes off the grid.
In one scene, Sonny and Kate, played by Kelly Condon, have a heart-to-heart on a hotel balcony and he confesses his feelings to her in Las Vegas. Except the shot was very high up, and Miranda had to contend with the neon lights of the city. “It’s a real location and the lighting is going to be a little bit of a problem. It’s really the night before the Grand Prix and you can see the stadium being set up. It’s real time and it’s Las Vegas so the lighting can be annoying sometimes,” Miranda said. But he found positivity in the things he couldn’t control. “Sometimes the lights would go white, but in a way that was the basis of the movie. I liked that because these things would explode.” He added, “It roots the actors in the environment. If I had less control over it, it might have felt a little more synthetic.”
