The cinematographer who is currently filming Brad Pitt's Formula 1 film spoke Species about inventing a new camera to record the film's heart-stopping race shots.
Two-time Oscar winner Claudio Miranda (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Life of Pi) revealed that he worked with Sony Electronics and F1 Director Joseph Kosinski to develop a new ultra-tiny camera that would allow Pitt and co-star Damson Idris to shoot the film themselves. Miranda photographed all of Kosinski's features, the most significant Top Gun: Maverick. In this film, the two men also used a pioneering piece of Sony camera technology to shoot the closed cockpit scenes, which required much smaller cameras that could easily be mounted on any surface.
But except for Tom Cruise, Independenthis band “didn't fly the plane[s]Miranda remarked. “Tin Formula 1 [sic]the actors were driving the cars… So we needed a fairly small camera system where we could make sure that [Pitt] we could drive and watch until we got the shots we wanted.”
The cameras were built and installed in the Mercedes Benz used for filming, with four units placed in each vehicle to capture different angles. “We spent a lot of time preparing the cars,” Miranda said, explaining that some tests had drivers going as fast as 200 MPH. “Sony is paying close attention to us.”
It was especially important that the cameras worked properly before taking pictures, because F1 he was given unprecedented access to the actual Formula 1 track. Kosinski and Miranda shot on the actual race days, using the real participants as the film's backdrop, but Pitt and Idris more than held their own. “Both Brad and Damson are really good drivers,” Miranda revealed, adding that the driving scenes seen in the trailer are “early Brads.” It's actually a lot faster now.”
It is unclear whether Sony plans to release the newly invented camera to commercial consumers. F1 is currently in the final few months of filming, with scenes set in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi yet to be shot. this is it in theaters June 27, 2025.