The T-Series strikes again. Those Panavision lenses were used to shoot Line of Duty film. Let’s explore some BTS footage and what the cinematographer Brandon Cox has to say about this glass.
Panavision T-Series Anamorphic lenses
The T-series were utilized by Director of Photography Robert Richardson, ASC, on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Those lenses made their 35mm-film screen debut in that film. However, the T-Series, which was released in 2016, was designed specifically for digital sensors. They combine new optical layouts with mechanical advances from the G series, but have a larger sweet spot and focus closer than some of their predecessors. According to Panavision, the optical features of the T Series lenses include high contrast, well-balanced aberration control, excellent glare resistance, tightly controlled anamorphic squeeze ratio, and minimal breathing.
The optical features of the T Series lenses include high contrast, well-balanced aberration control, excellent glare resistance, tightly controlled anamorphic squeeze ratio, and minimal breathing.
Panavision
Films that were shot on the Panavision T-series are Ready Player One, A Quiet Place, Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Logan, Captain America: Civil War, and now, Line of Duty.
Line of Duty – cinematography
Cinematographer Brandon Cox has used the T-Series in the making of Line of Duty. “I love the way the 40 / 50 / 60 flare and the flexibility of minimum focus. Especially the 60mm has a 19” minimum focus – for an anamorphic lens that’s insane. The contrast, sharpness without being too sharp, bokeh, and shallow depth of field is all of the best attributes of Panavision’s anamorphic.” Brandon says.
I love the way the 40 / 50 / 60 flare and the flexibility of minimum focus. Especially the 60mm has a 19” minimum focus – for an anamorphic lens that’s insane
Cinematographer Brandon Cox
The T Series focal lengths include 28mm, 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 60mm, 75mm, 100mm, 135mm, 150mm, and 180mm primes. Furthermore, the primes have a typical speed of T2.3 and a close focus of 2 feet. The T60 focuses down to 1 ½ ft.
The glass is characterized by the “Panavision look,” which is the extraordinary flare and contrast. Explore the film screengrabs in the article.
Real action (minimization of the green screen)
Line of Duty, directed by Steven C. Miller, tells the story of a disgraced cop who finds himself in a race against time to find a kidnap victim whose abductor he accidentally killed. Watch the trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRaUesAT7YM
As stated by Miller: “We set out to make this film feel like the 90s action films I grew up loving. Practical EVERYTHING. Real stunts, real mid-air fights, real muzzle flashes, real dirty fights. That is 100% my love letter to action films I watched as a kid”. That words make us happy. Nothing like a real motion picture action high-octane film, without tons of green (or blue) screens.
Watch this super-cool BTS video below. It proves our point:
A fun behind the scenes look from @Revolvermag. They spent a few days on set putting cameras everywhere when the film was caller LIVE! pic.twitter.com/gS3Bo8xqYb
— Steven C Miller (@stevencmiller) November 17, 2019
We set out to make this film feel like the 90s action films I grew up loving. Practical EVERYTHING. Real stunts, real mid-air fights, real muzzle flashes, real dirty fights.
Director Steven C. Miller
Also, check out the BTS video below which shows the shooting of chasing sequence with Cinematographer Brandon Cox and his A-Cam op Connor O’Brien.
Some fun BTS of myself and A-Cam op Connor O’Brien running profile chasing @ben_mckenzie in LINE OF DUTY! Enjoy! @stevencmiller #LineofDutyfilm pic.twitter.com/h7ffVYRJXs
— Brandon Lee Cox (@bcoxdp) November 19, 2019
Wrapping up
The Panavision T-series glass is quite new and that’s the reason why not many films were shot with them. However, the film Line of Duty shows that the combination of real action sequences with the Panavision anamorphic look provides an epic high adrenaline movie that is fun to watch. Line of Duty is now in theaters, on-demand, and digital. Watch the movie and let us know your thoughts regarding its cinematography.
