Latest news with #Arkapaw
Gulf Today
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
‘Sinners,' shot on IMAX film, is a historic first for female DP
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw didn't realize she was going to make history on 'Sinners.' The Ryan Coogler film, now playing in theatres nationwide, marks the first time a female director of photography has shot a movie on large format IMAX film. It was Kodak executive Vanessa Bendetti who texted her the news. 'I smiled at the thought,' Arkapaw said in a recent interview. 'I felt very proud that Ryan gave me the opportunity.' The format, a favourite of filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, has gained popularity in recent years — not just with directors but with moviegoers seeking it out as well. Coogler hadn't originally sought it out for 'Sinners' (he had planned on using 16 mm) until Warner Bros. executive Jesse Ehrman asked him if he'd considered large format, which gives moviegoers more resolution and a shallower depth of field. 'Just from an exhibition sense in this day and age with folks having so much access to streaming and watching so many things on their phones, it's nice to have a format like IMAX that can be an experience you can only experience in the theaters,' Coogler said. Coogler and Arkapaw then began a testing process, looking at 70 mm IMAX prints of films like '2001: A Space Odyssey,' 'The Hateful Eight' and 'Tenet' and consulting with Nolan and his regular cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. Coogler quickly fell in love with the format and felt it was fitting for the larger-than-life, genre-bending film about vampires, the blues and life in the Jim Crow south in 1932. 'I wasn't surprised that we were exploring large format,' Arkapaw said. 'We shot 'Wakanda Forever' on IMAX, but that was digital. We always talked about true IMAX being ... something that you see and you fall in love with.' Her conversation with Hoytema made her even more excited. The Oscar-winning 'Oppenheimer' cinematographer told her not to worry about the size or weight of the equipment and to shoot the movie as she would with any other kind of camera. 'Hearing that straight off was inspiring and encouraging and we took that advice and just told our story,' Arkapaw said. 'It was very freeing.' In the end, they decided to employ a combination of IMAX film and Ultra Panavision 70, an even rarer format that Quentin Tarantino resurrected for 'The Hateful Eight.' This means different scenes have different aspect ratios, which Coogler himself broke down in a video explainer for Kodak. 'We're using these two formats for the very first time,' Coogler said. 'It really complements the story, it really complements the setting and it really complements the filmmaking.' One of Arkapaw's favourite scenes was one they weren't even initially going to do on IMAX film because it was dialogue heavy and the cameras are notoriously noisy. But if her work on 'Wakanda' taught her anything about Coogler, it's that he's always looking to push boundaries. The scene is the introduction to Jack O'Connell's Irish vampire Remmick and the Choctaw trying to hunt him down, which they shot like a Western as the sun sets in the distance. 'We had a lot of beautiful crane work in that and some intimate stuff. Ryan loves a hallway, so there's a Steadicam shot inside. It's very eerie,' she said. 'I can't see that scene in any other format now.' With 'Sinners' out now, the hope is that audiences will seek out the special formats where they can, whether it's IMAX film or digital. The profession has come a long way since Arkapaw started exploring cinematography as a career path. It wasn't too long ago that she said she struggled to find many women cinematographers besides Ellen Kuras ('Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'). And while there are more than there were 20 years ago, there are still barriers to be broken, including an Oscar win. Only three have been nominated: Rachel Morrison (who worked with Coogler on 'Fruitvale Station' and 'Black Panther') was the first for 'Mudbound,' in 2018, followed by Ari Wegner for 'The Power of the Dog' and Mandy Walker for 'Elvis.' Associated Press
Forbes
21-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Sinners In IMAX Is ‘An An Out-Of-Body Experience' Says DoP Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Autumn Durald Arkapaw going handheld with an IMAX film camera on location with "Sinners". Only a select few cinematographers have shot movies using IMAX film cameras, but on Sinners, the new thriller-cum-vampire movie from writer/director Ryan Coogler, another name can now be added to that exclusive roster — Autumn Durald Arkapaw. Sinners isn't technically the first time Arkapaw had framed for IMAX, having done so on her previous collaboration with Coogler, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. However, that movie was shot with IMAX-certified digital cameras, and, as Arkapaw said on a Zoom call with Forbes, 'To me, true IMAX is 15 perf, 65-millimetre film.' IMAX 70mm film, as explained with great enthusiasm by Ryan Coogler in an engaging YouTube video, is most closely associated with Christopher Nolan. As he was already friends with the legendary director, Coogler sought his advice, while Arkapaw got in touch with Nolan's cinematographer, Hoyte van Hoytema. 'It was a lovely call—the work that they do is inspiring'. The conversation meant that instead of being intimidated by the IMAX cameras, she was fired up by his enthusiasm. 'You could hear it in his voice. He's very passionate about it'. Her excitement only grew after she and Coogler viewed IMAX test shots. 'It was gorgeous! There really is no way to explain the feeling you get when you're in a theater looking at a print of 15 perf 65 IMAX footage. I can sit here all day and kind of describe it and use words like immersive and larger than life, but when you sit there in the theater and you're able to actually look at footage that you shot, it's as if you're melting into the screen. I guess that would be my kind of ethereal way of putting it.' On Sinners, Arkapaw is doing things with IMAX that even the likes of Hoytema have not. Not only is she the first female director to work with real IMAX cameras, but she is also the first to work on a movie shot on both IMAX film and the Ultra Panavision, respectively presenting both the tallest possible aspect ratio (1.43:1) and the widest (2.76:1). Completing a hat trick of firsts, Arkapaw can also lay claim to being the only cinematographer to shoot with IMAX EktaChrome film stock, which was created by Kodak especially for the movie. EktaChrome is known for combining clean and crisp images with rich and accurate color hues but had never been made for IMAX 1570 stock. "Ryan and our producer were having conversations about Ektachrome and they were able to pull it off. Because it's also a timing thing, right? You know, can you make it, how much can you make, and when can you get it to us? Stuff like that. We had a few rolls, and we were able to shoot with some of it. It was fun!' However, the calm and collected Arkapaw seemingly takes in all these firsts as effortlessly as she carried the notoriously heavy IMAX film cameras while shooting. Ryan Coogler, with a mounted IMAX 70mm film camera, directing Michael B. Jordan and Delroy Lindo in ... More "Sinners". While some cinematographers might have delegated the task, Arkapaw made light of having to handle the 100lb camera. 'It's part of my job to put heavy things on my shoulder.' As she explained, though, 'the IMAX camera goes through a 1,000ft roll of film in two and a half minutes before it has to be changed, so it's not on your shoulder forever!' Originally conceived as a 16mm project, Coogler and Arakapaw then decided on 35mm to provide more resolution headroom for the 'twinning' VFX (Michael B Jordan plays identical twins in the movie). However, when Warner Bros approached Coogler about shooting on large format, they were able to scale up their ambitions. 'He grasped at the opportunity. He was very interested in that kind of scope image to tell the story with the flat horizon of the Mississippi landscape.' IMAX film cameras are also notoriously loud and, as such, the initial plan was to save for scenes without dialogue, but as they and the actors got more comfortable with it, they started to be 'braver'. She describes a dialogue-heavy scene with Jack, who enters frame on his feet, and then goes inside the farmhouse to meet Joan and Bert. 'We didn't think that we would be shooting that on IMAX but as we started shooting the format and fell in love with it, and having discussions with actors, him having discussions with his actors —because obviously that's a choice, you know, that impacts them—we shot them in Imax knowing that he would be doing ADR. And I think we're better for it, because those scenes are so beautiful.' Sinners convincingly roots the viewer in the southeastern state in the 1930s, making the transition to the supernatural seem even more unsettling. In terms of influences, Arkapaw namechecks the 1930s writer and photographer Eudora Welty and Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood — her favorite movie. Her prep room was also lined with Kodachrome slide films from the Farm Security Administration, the agency established in the late 1930s to deal with rural poverty. 'They don't make Kodachrome film anymore, but they're just so vibrant and have so much kind of texture and this emotional quality.' Arkapaw says that when shooting she had to cater for three aspect ratios with the camera viewfinder having indicators for 2.76, 1.90, and 1.43. To ensure no one misses out on critical picture information, she ensured that everything essential was in the middle of the image. 'I tend to center-punch so everything important is in the center of the frame, whether you're watching a thin ratio or a tall ratio.' However, IMAX expansion is not about essential picture information – it's about that extra sense of immersion. As Arkapaw puts it, 'Your eyes are just wide open — it's a kind of an out-of-body experience.' Some IMAX film enthusiasts who have seen Sinners have commented that the image is less sharp than the 700m images they are accustomed to from Christopher Nolan films. However, Arkapaw confirms that this is a deliberate stylistic choice. 'I tend to like softer lenses.' She also used older vintage lenses with the Ultra Panavision camera to match the 1930s setting. 'I do feel like there's a really nice kind of soft quality to our lensing and then pairing that with the 65 gave it a really nice look'. Sinners is available in numerous formats, and it's no surprise that she says that the IMAX 1.43:1 film print is her favorite. However, she also has a lot of love for the five-perf constant 2.76:1 aspect ratio 70mm print, which she describes as 'gorgeous.' She also confirmed that she QCed all the standard digital DCP and the Dolby Vision print, aside from the HDR by Barco version, which, due to her filming schedule, was delegated to Fotokem's Kostas Theodosiou, the colorist who worked on all of Christopher Nolan's films. Regardless of the final format, though, it was capturing on larger format film that was vital to achieving the look they wanted. 'It's really great to know that no matter what, it still all has that film texture. Sinners is currently showing in theaters in several formats. Ultimately, Autumn Durald Arkapaw says she feels blessed to have had the chance not only to shoot a VFX-heavy movie on film, but to know that audiences have a chance to see it exhibited on film too. 'It's just really nice to be able to have final release prints so that they could see the beauty of the actual texture of what we shot, you know?'
Arab Times
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Arab Times
'Sinners' breaks new ground: The first IMAX film shot by a female cinematographer
LOS ANGELES, April 20, (AP): Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw didn't realize she was going to make history on "Sinners.' The Ryan Coogler film, now playing in theaters nationwide, marks the first time a female director of photography has shot a movie on large-format IMAX film. It was Kodak executive Vanessa Bendetti who texted her the news. "I smiled at the thought,' Arkapaw said in a recent interview. "I felt very proud that Ryan gave me the opportunity.' The format, a favorite of filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, has gained popularity in recent years, not just with directors but with moviegoers seeking it out as well. Coogler hadn't originally sought it out for "Sinners' (he had planned on using 16 mm) until Warner Bros. executive Jesse Ehrman asked him if he'd considered large format, which gives moviegoers more resolution and a shallower depth of field. "Just from an exhibition sense in this day and age with folks having so much access to streaming and watching so many things on their phones, it's nice to have a format like IMAX that can be an experience you can only experience in the theaters,' Coogler told The Associated Press. Coogler and Arkapaw then began a testing process, looking at 70 mm IMAX prints of films like "2001: A Space Odyssey,' "The Hateful Eight' and "Tenet' and consulting with Nolan and his regular cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. Coogler quickly fell in love with the format and felt it was fitting for the larger-than-life, genre-bending film about vampires, the blues, and life in the Jim Crow south in 1932. "I wasn't surprised that we were exploring large format,' Arkapaw said. "We shot 'Wakanda Forever' on IMAX, but that was digital. We always talked about true IMAX being ... something that you see and you fall in love with.' Her conversation with Hoytema made her even more excited. The Oscar-winning "Oppenheimer' cinematographer told her not to worry about the size or weight of the equipment and to shoot the movie as she would with any other kind of camera. "Hearing that straight off was inspiring and encouraging, and we took that advice and just told our story,' Arkapaw said. "It was very freeing.' In the end, they decided to employ a combination of IMAX film and Ultra Panavision 70, an even rarer format that Quentin Tarantino resurrected for "The Hateful Eight.' This means different scenes have different aspect ratios, which Coogler himself broke down in a video explainer for Kodak. "We're using these two formats for the very first time,' Coogler said. "It really complements the story, it really complements the setting, and it really complements the filmmaking.' One of Arkapaw's favorite scenes was one they weren't even initially going to do on IMAX film because it was dialogue-heavy, and the cameras are notoriously noisy. But if her work on "Wakanda' taught her anything about Coogler, it's that he's always looking to push boundaries. The scene is the introduction to Jack O'Connell's Irish vampire Remmick and the Choctaw trying to hunt him down, which they shot like a Western as the sun sets in the distance. "We had a lot of beautiful crane work in that and some intimate stuff. Ryan loves a hallway, so there's a Steadicam shot inside. It's very eerie,' she said. "I can't see that scene in any other format now.' With "Sinners' out now, the hope is that audiences will seek out the special formats where they can, whether it's IMAX film or digital. "We want to bring people back to the cinema, get back to theaters,' "Sinners' star Michael B. Jordan said. "I think this is a movie that's meant to give for the moviegoing experience…it takes you on a ride.' The profession has come a long way since Arkapaw started exploring cinematography as a career path. It wasn't too long ago that she said she struggled to find many women cinematographers besides Ellen Kuras ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'). And while there are more than there were 20 years ago, there are still barriers to be broken, including an Oscar win. Only three have been nominated: Rachel Morrison (who worked with Coogler on "Fruitvale Station' and "Black Panther') was the first for "Mudbound," in 2018, followed by Ari Wegner for "The Power of the Dog" and Mandy Walker for "Elvis.' Arkapaw takes the significance of her landmark seriously. "I heard a phrase that said you need to see you to be you,' she said. "I think for us females in business, the more women are able to shoot on large format, it will inspire the younger girls who maybe don't think that they can get there.'
The Independent
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
‘Sinners,' shot on IMAX film, is a historic first for female cinematographers
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw didn't realize she was going to make history on ' Sinners.' The Ryan Coogler film, now playing in theaters nationwide, marks the first time a female director of photography has shot a movie on large format IMAX film. It was Kodak executive Vanessa Bendetti who texted her the news. 'I smiled at the thought,' Arkapaw said in a recent interview. 'I felt very proud that Ryan gave me the opportunity.' The format, a favorite of filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, has gained popularity in recent years — not just with directors but with moviegoers seeking it out as well. Coogler hadn't originally sought it out for 'Sinners' (he had planned on using 16 mm) until Warner Bros. executive Jesse Ehrman asked him if he'd considered large format, which gives moviegoers more resolution and a shallower depth of field. 'Just from an exhibition sense in this day and age with folks having so much access to streaming and watching so many things on their phones, it's nice to have a format like IMAX that can be an experience you can only experience in the theaters,' Coogler told The Associated Press. Coogler and Arkapaw then began a testing process, looking at 70 mm IMAX prints of films like '2001: A Space Odyssey,' 'The Hateful Eight' and 'Tenet' and consulting with Nolan and his regular cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. Coogler quickly fell in love with the format and felt it was fitting for the larger-than-life, genre-bending film about vampires, the blues and life in the Jim Crow south in 1932. 'I wasn't surprised that we were exploring large format,' Arkapaw said. 'We shot 'Wakanda Forever' on IMAX, but that was digital. We always talked about true IMAX being ... something that you see and you fall in love with.' Her conversation with Hoytema made her even more excited. The Oscar-winning 'Oppenheimer' cinematographer told her not to worry about the size or weight of the equipment and to shoot the movie as she would with any other kind of camera. 'Hearing that straight off was inspiring and encouraging and we took that advice and just told our story,' Arkapaw said. 'It was very freeing.' In the end, they decided to employ a combination of IMAX film and Ultra Panavision 70, an even rarer format that Quentin Tarantino resurrected for 'The Hateful Eight.' This means different scenes have different aspect ratios, which Coogler himself broke down in a video explainer for Kodak. 'We're using these two formats for the very first time,' Coogler said. 'It really complements the story, it really complements the setting and it really complements the filmmaking.' One of Arkapaw's favorite scenes was one they weren't even initially going to do on IMAX film because it was dialogue heavy and the cameras are notoriously noisy. But if her work on 'Wakanda' taught her anything about Coogler, it's that he's always looking to push boundaries. The scene is the introduction to Jack O'Connell's Irish vampire Remmick and the Choctaw trying to hunt him down, which they shot like a Western as the sun sets in the distance. 'We had a lot of beautiful crane work in that and some intimate stuff. Ryan loves a hallway, so there's a Steadicam shot inside. It's very eerie,' she said. 'I can't see that scene in any other format now.' With 'Sinners' out now, the hope is that audiences will seek out the special formats where they can, whether it's IMAX film or digital. 'We want to bring people back to the cinema, get back to theaters,' 'Sinners' star Michael B. Jordan said. 'I think this is a movie that's meant to give for the moviegoing experience…it takes you on a ride.' The profession has come a long way since Arkapaw started exploring cinematography as a career path. It wasn't too long ago that she said she struggled to find many women cinematographers besides Ellen Kuras ('Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'). And while there are more than there were 20 years ago, there are still barriers to be broken, including an Oscar win. Only three have been nominated: Rachel Morrison (who worked with Coogler on 'Fruitvale Station' and 'Black Panther') was the first for 'Mudbound," in 2018, followed by Ari Wegner for 'The Power of the Dog" and Mandy Walker for 'Elvis.' Arkapaw takes the significance of her landmark seriously. 'I heard a phrase that said you need to see you to be you,' she said. 'I think for us females in business, the more women are able to shoot on large format, it will inspire the younger girls who maybe don't think that they can get there.'
Associated Press
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
‘Sinners,' shot on IMAX film, is a historic first for female cinematographers
Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw didn't realize she was going to make history on 'Sinners.' The Ryan Coogler film, now playing in theaters nationwide, marks the first time a female director of photography has shot a movie on large format IMAX film. It was Kodak executive Vanessa Bendetti who texted her the news. 'I smiled at the thought,' Arkapaw said in a recent interview. 'I felt very proud that Ryan gave me the opportunity.' The format, a favorite of filmmakers like Christopher Nolan, has gained popularity in recent years — not just with directors but with moviegoers seeking it out as well. Coogler hadn't originally sought it out for 'Sinners' (he had planned on using 16 mm) until Warner Bros. executive Jesse Ehrman asked him if he'd considered large format, which gives moviegoers more resolution and a shallower depth of field. 'Just from an exhibition sense in this day and age with folks having so much access to streaming and watching so many things on their phones, it's nice to have a format like IMAX that can be an experience you can only experience in the theaters,' Coogler told The Associated Press. Coogler and Arkapaw then began a testing process, looking at 70 mm IMAX prints of films like '2001: A Space Odyssey,' 'The Hateful Eight' and 'Tenet' and consulting with Nolan and his regular cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. Coogler quickly fell in love with the format and felt it was fitting for the larger-than-life, genre-bending film about vampires, the blues and life in the Jim Crow south in 1932. 'I wasn't surprised that we were exploring large format,' Arkapaw said. 'We shot 'Wakanda Forever' on IMAX, but that was digital. We always talked about true IMAX being ... something that you see and you fall in love with.' Her conversation with Hoytema made her even more excited. The Oscar-winning 'Oppenheimer' cinematographer told her not to worry about the size or weight of the equipment and to shoot the movie as she would with any other kind of camera. 'Hearing that straight off was inspiring and encouraging and we took that advice and just told our story,' Arkapaw said. 'It was very freeing.' In the end, they decided to employ a combination of IMAX film and Ultra Panavision 70, an even rarer format that Quentin Tarantino resurrected for 'The Hateful Eight.' This means different scenes have different aspect ratios, which Coogler himself broke down in a video explainer for Kodak. 'We're using these two formats for the very first time,' Coogler said. 'It really complements the story, it really complements the setting and it really complements the filmmaking.' One of Arkapaw's favorite scenes was one they weren't even initially going to do on IMAX film because it was dialogue heavy and the cameras are notoriously noisy. But if her work on 'Wakanda' taught her anything about Coogler, it's that he's always looking to push boundaries. The scene is the introduction to Jack O'Connell's Irish vampire Remmick and the Choctaw trying to hunt him down, which they shot like a Western as the sun sets in the distance. 'We had a lot of beautiful crane work in that and some intimate stuff. Ryan loves a hallway, so there's a Steadicam shot inside. It's very eerie,' she said. 'I can't see that scene in any other format now.' With 'Sinners' out now, the hope is that audiences will seek out the special formats where they can, whether it's IMAX film or digital. 'We want to bring people back to the cinema, get back to theaters,' 'Sinners' star Michael B. Jordan said. 'I think this is a movie that's meant to give for the moviegoing experience…it takes you on a ride.' The profession has come a long way since Arkapaw started exploring cinematography as a career path. It wasn't too long ago that she said she struggled to find many women cinematographers besides Ellen Kuras ('Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'). And while there are more than there were 20 years ago, there are still barriers to be broken, including an Oscar win. Only three have been nominated: Rachel Morrison (who worked with Coogler on 'Fruitvale Station' and 'Black Panther') was the first for 'Mudbound,' in 2018, followed by Ari Wegner for 'The Power of the Dog' and Mandy Walker for 'Elvis.' Arkapaw takes the significance of her landmark seriously. 'I heard a phrase that said you need to see you to be you,' she said. 'I think for us females in business, the more women are able to shoot on large format, it will inspire the younger girls who maybe don't think that they can get there.'
