CONTENT THROUGH A LENS GE AR .
AMERICAN IN FOOTBALL
Jason Sudeikis and team’s Ted Lasso was an instant hit when it aired in late 2020, but it wasn’t until the show swept an armful of Emmys last year that it hit the zeitgeist. By the time Season 2 was released, it was eagerly awaited by countless viewers across the world. John Sorapure established the show’s polished visual style alongside fellow DOP, David Rom. After capturing the lion’s share of Season 1, he handed the reins to others for much of the follow-up – but not before the iconic first two returning episodes. “When the show was picked up, David and I knew we wanted to shoot on the Arri Alexa LF. It was a big part of the high-production- value look we set out to achieve,” says Sorapure. “It was a relatively new camera at the time, and there wasn’t a huge selection of lenses offering that level of coverage. “We wanted optics without too many artefacts. Having decided on the shallow depth-of-field the camera provides, the focal plane had to be reasonably good. Vignetting or too much breathing wouldn’t be great. With comedy, you often want delivery and reaction at the same time. If you can’t line performers up along the same focal plane, minimising the breathing so as not to draw attention to the shift in focus is ideal. That all amounts to a sharp and technical modern lens.” Enter the Tokina Vista primes. “Another pragmatic choice was the need for two sets, with similar weights and diameters across focal lengths. We were keen on using our B camera almost exclusively
“When it came to Season 2, we tested a number of options, but came back to the Tokina Vistas”
on a gimbal. Keeping it low to the ground on a fast-moving dolly was key to making actors look like football superstars. “In terms of the aesthetic, we avoided a sitcom feel, but the world of Ted Lasso is not reality,” Sorapure continues. “It needed its own style that was believable and didn’t allude to a studio – even though a lot of it was captured that way. “In that sense, the Tokinas were slightly too sharp – but we toned that down with Glimmerglass or Digital Diffusion filters. We were slightly more forgiving on complexions, but averse to anything too heavy that would cause halation of the fixtures at
night. I like the sharp quality of the lenses – it’s easier to soften than recover detail. “The Tokinas checked all these boxes for Season 1. When it came to Season 2, we tested a number of options, but came back to the Vistas, realising they worked the first time. It was quite surprising, actually, how well they compared to more expensive options.” Sorapure and Rom’s visual approach to Season 2 pleasingly carries over into every other element of the smash hit. “If it isn’t broken, don’t try to fix it,” he adds. With one month of the new year down, we’ve already seen some tantalising pictures – from CGI romps like Spider-Man: No Way Home , to the art house Licorice Pizza . Here’s looking at you, 2022.
GLOWING Far from a grimy British football drama, John Sorapure brought Ted Lasso’s clean-cut comedy to screens using Tokina Vista primes
39. FEBRUARY 2022
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