Yahoo Lifestyle Brad Pitt’s ‘F1’ Movie Built Custom Cameras to Capture All the Racetrack Action
In a film bound to be packed with exhilarating racing sequences and high-speed shots, regular cameras only go so far.
Fans eagerly awaiting the release of Brad Pitt’s F1 movie know that director-producer duo Joe Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer have been vocal about filming the forthcoming flick during actual Formula 1 races. So how exactly did they do it? According to Chilean cinematographer Claudio Miranda, who also worked alongside the pair for Top Gun: Maverick, it required the help of custom cameras, Variety reported.
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Miranda tapped Sony Electronics to develop bespoke camera technology that would be used to get up close and personal with the stunt drivers, which includes Pitt as Sonny Hayes and British actor Damson Idris as racing prodigy and Pitt’s teammate Joshua Pearce. The two-time Oscar winner (Life of Pi, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) worked on the Top Gun sequel with a similar methodology, the Sony Venice Rialto, to capture plane scenes.
“The actors didn’t fly the aircraft,” Miranda explained. “On Formula One, the actors were driving the cars . . . So we needed to have a small enough camera system where we could make sure that [Pitt] could drive and see while we get the shots we want.”
This time around, the equipment needed to be lighter, moveable, and more compact, so it didn’t impede the actor or the car’s performance—even at speeds of up to 200 mph, Miranda explained. The cameras themselves were built and mounted in groups of four onto Mercedes Benz racing cars for filming to take audiences into the cockpit. “We spent a lot of time getting the cars ready,” he added. “Sony really listens to us.”
The Apple Studios movie, which is slated to premiere in June 2025, is actually still being shot in real-time during various F1 race weekends, including Silverstone, Abu Dhabi, and Las Vegas. And as for Pitt, it seems like he adapted to life on the racetrack rather quickly. “He trained for four or five months. He’s an amazing driver,” Bruckheimer said of the actor’s driving skills in May. “In fact, some of the F1 drivers said he’s a natural athlete. He really is. He’s amazing in that car.”
While the release is still eight months away, you can check out the F1 trailer here in the meantime.
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