The 98th annual Academy Awards recently concluded, marking a pivotal moment in celebrating the pinnacle of cinematic achievement from the past year. While attention often gravitates towards Best Picture or acting accolades, the category of Best Cinematography remains a profound testament to the visual artistry that shapes storytelling. This year, the nominees showcased an exceptional breadth of innovation and a deep reverence for the craft, pushing boundaries with cutting-edge technology while also revisiting classic film formats. For enthusiasts of film and television, understanding the meticulous choices behind the camera offers invaluable insight into the creation of truly memorable moments. As the awards season draws to a close, a closer examination of the gear and techniques employed by this year’s celebrated cinematographers reveals the strategic vision underpinning each nominee’s distinctive visual language.
The Significance of Cinematography in Modern Filmmaking
Cinematography, often described as painting with light, is the art and science of motion-picture photography. It encompasses everything from camera choice and lens selection to lighting, framing, and composition, all meticulously orchestrated to convey emotion, advance narrative, and establish the aesthetic tone of a film. The Academy Award for Best Cinematography recognizes the director of photography whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic and technical skill. This year’s selections highlighted a compelling blend of digital innovation and a renewed embrace of analog techniques, reflecting a vibrant dialogue within the industry about the optimal tools for visual expression. The choices made by these cinematographers underscore not just technical prowess but a profound understanding of how visual elements contribute to a film’s emotional resonance and thematic depth.
A Deep Dive into the Visual Architects: The Nominees and Their Craft
The following films, recognized for their extraordinary cinematography, offer a masterclass in visual storytelling, each employing specific tools and techniques to forge their unique identities.
Bugonia: Distorted Realities and Thematic Visuals
Cameras Used: Vistavision Wilcam W-11 & ARRIFLEX 435 & 435 HS
Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia continues his compelling collaboration with cinematographer Robbie Ryan, renowned for their distinctive visual language in films like Poor Things and The Favourite. In Bugonia, Ryan’s cinematography serves as a direct mirror to the film’s central themes of obsession and paranoia. The creative team’s decision to utilize a combination of the Vistavision Wilcam W-11 and ARRIFLEX 435/435 HS cameras speaks to a desire for both expansive detail and precise control over the image. The use of extreme wide-angle and fisheye lenses is particularly notable, deliberately creating a distorted, almost claustrophobic sense of reality that immerses the viewer into the characters’ fractured perceptions. This expert level of filmmaking challenges audience members to question their own reality, delivering a fun, quirky, yet unsettling visual experience. Ryan’s consistent ability to translate Lanthimos’s unique narrative voice into a palpable visual style underscores their strong artistic partnership, making Bugonia a prime example of how cinematography can elevate thematic content to an visceral level. The choice of film cameras, particularly the ARRIFLEX series, provides a robust, classic cinematic texture, grounding the otherwise surreal visuals in a tangible, if unsettling, world.
F1: High-Octane Action and Bespoke Innovation
Cameras Used: Sony Venice 2, Carmen (Custom Prototype), DJI Ronin 4D
The cinematography of F1, led by Oscar-winning Claudio Miranda, represents a monumental leap in practical action filmmaking, particularly for high-speed sequences. Building on the groundbreaking techniques Miranda pioneered for Top Gun: Maverick, the production pushed the envelope by mounting real cameras directly onto custom-modified Formula 2 cars. These vehicles, driven by stars Brad Pitt and Damson Idris, reached speeds exceeding 150 mph during filming. The logistical and technical challenges were immense; maintaining the car’s aerodynamics and the driver’s visibility while capturing cinematic-quality footage required unprecedented innovation.
Miranda’s collaboration with Sony was key to overcoming these hurdles, leading to the development of "Carmen"—a bespoke, miniaturized 6K sensor-on-a-stick prototype. This custom camera was approximately a quarter of the size of a standard cinema camera, allowing for discreet yet powerful integration. These high-tech rigs were strategically distributed across the car’s "halo" (the protective cockpit frame) and chassis, providing up to seven simultaneous angles. Crucially, they offered full remote-controlled pan and tilt capabilities, enabling dynamic and precise shot composition even at extreme speeds. The additional use of the Sony Venice 2, known for its exceptional image quality and low-light capabilities, and the DJI Ronin 4D, a professional-grade cinema camera with an integrated 4-axis stabilization system, further enhanced the film’s ability to capture exhilarating, immersive racing footage. This dedication to practical effects and custom hardware not only resulted in spectacular cinematography but also sets a new benchmark for realism in action filmmaking.
Hamnet: An Intimate Gaze into Grief
Cameras Used: ARRI Alexa 35
Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet features a strikingly intimate visual language crafted by cinematographer Lukasz Zal, celebrated for his Academy Award-nominated work on Ida and Cold War. Zal’s approach in Hamnet embraces a "ghost camera" perspective—an observational, drifting lens that has been evocatively described as "death’s point of view." This technique allows the camera to scan scenes with a quiet, non-judgmental weight, offering a profound sense of introspection and melancholy. The choice of the ARRI Alexa 35, a digital cinema camera known for its exceptional dynamic range, natural color rendition, and film-like image quality, was instrumental in achieving this delicate aesthetic. The Alexa 35’s ability to capture subtle nuances in light and shadow, combined with its robust performance, allowed Zal to maintain a consistent visual tone that underscores the film’s themes of loss, memory, and the unseen presences that haunt a grieving family. The camera’s discreet operation further facilitated the intimate, almost voyeuristic, style, ensuring that the technology never intruded upon the raw emotional performances.
Frankenstein: Gothic Grandeur in Large Format
Cameras Used: ARRI Alexa 65
In Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, cinematographer Dan Laustsen employs a sweeping, large-format visual style to modernize the gothic horror aesthetic, a hallmark of del Toro’s cinematic universe. The film was shot entirely on the ARRI ALEXA 65, a behemoth in digital cinema known for its immense sensor size and unparalleled resolution, paired with Leitz THALIA 65 lenses. This combination allowed for breathtakingly detailed images and a shallow depth of field that imbues the classic tale with a contemporary, yet timeless, grandeur. Laustsen’s strategy relied heavily on a 24mm wide-angle lens for nearly 90% of its shots, providing expansive views that emphasize the architectural and atmospheric elements crucial to gothic horror.
To counteract the inherent digital sharpness of the ALEXA 65 and achieve a more organic, cinematic feel, Laustsen innovatively utilized custom Black Pro-Mist diffusion filters. These were placed behind the lens, a less common but effective technique that "burns out" highlights—creating a soft, ethereal glow—while meticulously preserving the deep, rich blacks essential to the film’s moody and foreboding atmosphere. This deliberate manipulation of light and shadow, combined with the immense detail afforded by the large format, creates a visually stunning and thematically resonant interpretation of the classic monster tale, immersing the audience in its melancholic beauty and inherent dread.
Marty Supreme: A Painterly Ode to Isolation
Cameras Used: Arricam LT, ST, SR, Bolex
Josh Safdie’s Marty Supreme sees cinematographer Darius Khondji deliberately moving away from modern digital aesthetics to embrace a richly textured, "painterly" 35mm film look. The production primarily utilized Arricam LT and ST cameras, loaded with Kodak Vision3 500T film stock, a choice celebrated for its vibrant color rendition and fine grain structure. To further enhance this classic cinematic feel, vintage Panavision B and C Series anamorphic lenses were employed, known for their unique flares, shallow depth of field, and widescreen aspect ratio.
Khondji’s visual strategy in Marty Supreme centers on an aggressive use of tight telephoto shots, frequently employing exceptionally long lenses (up to 360mm). This extreme telephoto approach allowed for suffocating, expressive close-ups of Timothée Chalamet’s character, Marty, creating a shallow depth of field that dramatically isolates him from his environment. This visual technique effectively makes Marty appear "larger than life" while simultaneously simulating an observational feel, mirroring the intense scrutiny and challenges he faces in the competitive world of table tennis. The deliberate choice of analog film and vintage glass, combined with this specific lensing strategy, imbues the film with a unique texture and emotional intensity, reflecting Khondji’s signature artistry seen in works like Se7en and Evita.
One Battle After Another: Vintage Grit in Modern Thriller
Cameras Used: Beaumont Vistavision, Panavision Millennium XL2
One Battle After Another stands out for its bold revival of the VistaVision format, aiming to capture the gritty, authentic feel of a 1970s-inspired political thriller. The film employs a 1.50:1 aspect ratio and utilizes large negative spacing throughout, a direct homage to the visual style of 1970s classics such as The French Connection. This choice immediately signals a commitment to a specific era and aesthetic, aiming for a visual texture that digital formats often struggle to replicate without significant post-processing.
To achieve this distinct texture, Panavision’s Dan Sasaki developed a custom set of prototype spherical lenses, affectionately dubbed "GWs." These lenses were specifically engineered to emulate the optical characteristics of the glass used by the legendary cinematographer Gordon Willis, known for his iconic work on films like The Godfather Part II and All the President’s Men. The "GWs" lenses contribute to the film’s unique look, delivering specific aberrations, fall-off, and color rendition that harken back to that era. Shot with the Beaumont Vistavision camera, a rarity in modern production, and supplemented by the Panavision Millennium XL2, the film masterfully highlights detailed California landscapes while simultaneously employing suffocating, long-lens close-ups. The result is a modern masterpiece that feels like a classic from the ’70s or ’80s, blurring the lines between contemporary filmmaking and historical homage, and securing its place as a personal favorite for many.
Train Dreams: Photographic Memory and Natural Light
Cameras Used: ARRI Alexa 35
In Train Dreams, cinematographer Adolpho Veloso crafts a visual language deeply rooted in "photographic memory," creating an evocative and timeless aesthetic. The film uniquely utilizes a rare 3:2 aspect ratio, specifically chosen to evoke the feel of vintage still portraits from the early 20th century. This aspect ratio, reminiscent of classic photography, contributes significantly to the film’s narrative theme of recalling distant memories and historical moments.
Shot digitally on the ARRI Alexa 35, Veloso’s approach to lighting is particularly noteworthy. He almost exclusively relied on natural light, supplemented only by real campfires and candles as practical light sources. This minimalist lighting strategy imbues the film with a raw, textured, and deeply organic feel, enhancing the sense of authenticity and historical immersion. The Alexa 35’s exceptional sensitivity and dynamic range allowed for detailed capture even in challenging low-light conditions, preserving the subtle nuances of these natural sources. This combination of a specific aspect ratio, naturalistic lighting, and the advanced capabilities of the Alexa 35 results in a visually stunning film that feels both historically accurate and profoundly intimate, drawing viewers into a world perceived through the lens of memory.
Sentimental Value: Dual Formats for Narrative Nuance
Cameras Used: ARRICAM Lt 35mm
Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value (2025) showcases cinematographer Kasper Tuxen’s masterful use of a dual-format visual strategy, expertly navigating the film’s complex themes of memory, family, and reconciliation. The primary narrative, focusing on the present, is captured on 35mm Kodak film using the Arricam LT and Cooke 5/i lenses. This choice provides a rich, classic cinematic texture, imbuing the contemporary story with a sense of warmth and depth. The Arricam LT is renowned for its quiet operation and reliability, making it an ideal choice for emotionally driven scenes.
To visually distinguish the film-within-a-film sequences and historical flashbacks, the production made a deliberate shift to 16mm film. Furthermore, a bleach bypass process was applied to these segments. Bleach bypass, a photographic film processing technique, partially or entirely skips the bleaching step, leaving silver in the emulsion along with the color dyes. This results in a desaturated, high-contrast, and often grainy image, giving the flashbacks a "crustier, older look." This clever manipulation of film formats and processing techniques allows Tuxen to visually articulate different temporal and narrative layers, enhancing the audience’s understanding of the characters’ past and present intertwining experiences without relying on explicit exposition.
Secret Agent: Saturated Hues of 1970s Brazil
Cameras Used: ARRI Alexa 35
In The Secret Agent, cinematographer Evgenia Alexandrova employs a vibrant and distinctive palette to render the oppressive yet visually rich atmosphere of 1970s Brazil. The film was primarily shot on the ARRI Alexa 35, paired with vintage Panavision B Series anamorphic lenses. This combination provides a unique blend of modern digital clarity with the characteristic anamorphic flair and organic imperfections of vintage glass, contributing to a nostalgic yet sharp visual style.
Alexandrova’s cinematography embraces a "360-degree" philosophy, utilizing wide shots that meticulously capture the historical textures of Recife and São Paulo. This immersive approach allows the audience to fully absorb the environment, which itself becomes a character in the narrative. A key element of her visual strategy is the use of saturated primary colors and a distinctive reddish undertone in the shadows. This creates a "woozy," nostalgic heat that not only reflects the tropical climate of Brazil but also subtly hints at the simmering political tensions and underlying unease of the era. The bold color choices and wide framing immerse the viewer in a specific time and place, making the oppressive atmosphere palpable through sheer visual power.
Sinners: Towering Dread in Large Format IMAX
Cameras Used: IMAX MSM 9802, MKIV, Panavision System 65
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners sees cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw craft a gothic aesthetic that expertly anchors supernatural horror within a tangible, historical reality. The film was shot entirely on IMAX-certified digital cameras, including the IMAX MSM 9802 and MKIV, paired with custom-tuned Panavision Specho spherical lenses. This commitment to IMAX capture is immediately evident in the film’s visual scale.
Sinners utilizes an ultra-wide 1.43:1 aspect ratio for its most sequence-heavy moments, a choice that dramatically enhances the sense of "towering dread" in the early 1900s South. This immense canvas allows for breathtaking compositions that emphasize the vastness and foreboding nature of the landscape. Durald Arkapaw’s lighting strategy is particularly innovative, deliberately avoiding the "Hollywood blue" often seen in typical night scenes. Instead, she opts for a "true black" philosophy, where characters are frequently silhouetted against flickering firelight or the harsh, singular glare of period-accurate lanterns. This high-contrast approach creates a striking visual effect, physically separating the twin protagonists from the deep shadows that seemingly house the film’s monstrous threats. The stark contrast between subjects and their surroundings generates a pervasive uneasiness throughout the entire film, leveraging the immense resolution and dynamic range of IMAX to create a truly immersive and terrifying experience.
Emerging Trends and Lasting Impressions
This year’s Academy Award nominees for cinematography highlight several compelling trends within the film industry. The resurgence of traditional film formats, particularly 35mm and even the niche VistaVision, demonstrates a continued appreciation for analog aesthetics and textures that digital can only emulate. Simultaneously, the relentless innovation in digital cinema, exemplified by the ARRI Alexa 35 and 65, and the Sony Venice 2, showcases the capabilities of modern digital sensors in capturing unparalleled detail and dynamic range. The development of custom camera solutions, such as "Carmen" for F1, points to a future where bespoke technology will increasingly enable filmmakers to achieve previously impossible shots.
Furthermore, the emphasis on unique aspect ratios, large format cinematography (IMAX, Alexa 65), and the meticulous crafting of lighting—from natural light reliance to "true black" philosophies—underscores a collective drive to push the boundaries of visual storytelling. These cinematographers are not just operating cameras; they are visual architects, using every tool at their disposal to deepen narrative impact and evoke profound emotional responses from their audiences.
The Broader Impact: Pushing the Boundaries of Visual Art
The visual achievements recognized at the 98th Academy Awards serve as a powerful reminder of cinematography’s crucial role in shaping the cinematic experience. Each film, through its unique technical and artistic choices, contributes to the evolving lexicon of visual storytelling. From the intimate gaze of Hamnet to the epic scale of Sinners and the innovative action of F1, these works demonstrate that the art of the lens remains at the forefront of cinematic innovation. Their collective brilliance not only celebrates the individual artists but also inspires future generations of filmmakers to explore new visual frontiers, ensuring that the magic of the moving image continues to captivate and challenge audiences worldwide.
Sources – American Cinematographer, Letiz-Cine, MotionPictures.org, Kodak
