ONE BATTLE, ONE VISION

To craft Paul Thomas Anderson’s road movie with a difference, Michael Bauman set off on a multi-city shoot to capture the director’s wild and wonderful story of epic proportions almost entirely on VistaVision, taking the format to new heights. 

When Michael Bauman discovered the concept, scale, and ambition of longtime collaborator director Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest project, it was evident it would depart from their previous filmmaking ventures. Anderson’s vision for the expansive action thriller One Battle After Another would see cast and crew shoot across 10 US counties, capturing a gritty, expansive road movie on a grand canvas. 

Written and directed by Anderson, and 20 years in the making, the film is loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s 1960s-set novel Vineland. In Anderson’s reimagining, the story shifts to present-day America, where washed-up revolutionary Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) lives off-grid with daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his nemesis (Sean Penn) reappears after 16 years and Willa goes missing, Bob—or Pat, as he was known when he was a member of dissident group the French 75 before going into hiding—races across the country to find her, battling consequences from his past. 

As an audience member, Anderson wants to see a story he can relate to and that is emotional. “For me, that emotion usually comes from a story about family, from the ways in which we love and hate,” he says. “This is the first film I’ve made in a long time that is contemporary, and that’s very freeing. It was a lot of fun because we could go wild and shoot what we wanted when we wanted to shoot it, rather than wait for period cars and things to roll up.” 

Bauman adds: “The scope was different from anything we’d done before. Paul wanted to push it as far as possible, which is where the VistaVision format came in as the locations were going to be on a grand scale.” 

Invented in 1955 by Paramount Pictures to use a larger portion of the 35mm camera negative and later adopted by Warner Bros. with limited use, VistaVision photography has been enjoying a resurgence recently, partly due to One Battle After Another being filmed and presented in the format. In conventional 35mm motion picture photography, the film runs vertically through the camera and projector and each frame is four perforations high. In VistaVision, the film runs horizontally, and each frame is eight perforations wide. The larger frame means double the resolution and a bigger, brighter projected image, with less grain and greater detail than conventional 35mm film. 

Already a supporter of capturing cinematic stories on celluloid, Anderson was captivated by the texture and scale of films shot using large-format VistaVision. “In other words, bigger is better,” he says. “It gives you a very deep, rich, beautiful image, but it’s not entirely practical or as easy as shooting with a regular 35mm camera, so it went out of fashion in the early ’60s.” 

Bauman was already familiar with Anderson’s process, having shot productions on film with him such as Licorice Pizza and Phantom Thread during their decade-long collaboration. But this was a new filmmaking experience, bringing both technical obstacles and artistic opportunities. 

One production after another 

Bauman and Anderson’s collaborative process is rooted in a shorthand that allows the director to improvise as well as work with precision. As Bauman highlights, once Anderson finds a team he gels with, he does not want to let them go: “Operator Colin Anderson SOC has shot six movies with him, producer and assistant director on this film, Adam Somner—who sadly passed away last year—has also worked on six, I’ve done five, and script supervisor Jillian Giacomini has worked with him for a very long time,” says Bauman. 

For Paul Thomas Anderson, collaboration is the best part of making a movie: “The camaraderie you feel with the people you’re collaborating with, the trust you put in them, the way you admire and hold each other up when you’re tired or need support, it’s a team sport for sure, and I’m surrounded by people I just love; that is a family. It’s the foundation of everything.” 

That unity proved essential on a production that functioned, as Bauman highlights, like a traveling circus, moving from one city to the next in quick succession, never staying in one place for more than five or six days. “It was about building an environment where Paul could thrive—experiment, rewrite, and let the actors discover things on the day,” he recalls. “Much of our creative process is referencing our past work too.” 

Spontaneity and imperfection 

Anderson was influenced by the naturalism, energy, light levels and contrast of The French Connection (1971) and also referred to The Last Detail (1973) when looking to combine immediacy and spontaneity with fast-paced narrative in One Battle After Another. “Its imperfections and the way it had been shot with little money impressed Paul—he wanted that energy,” says Bauman. 

Referring to qualities Anderson admired in both films, he and Bauman carried out around 15 different tests including stock and lens to ensure they could be realised in a large-format VistaVision workflow. “There were also in-depth practical tests to see how the cameras behaved on cars, Steadicam, handheld,” Bauman explains. “VistaVision was recently used by Lol Crawley ASC BSC on Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist, but mostly in controlled setups. We wanted to see if the system could keep up with us when strapped to cars and bouncing around.” 

Testing allowed them to determine the format’s reliability when capturing action-packed scenes on the move and how best to achieve the desired texture. “It was about figuring out what we could get away with,” Bauman says. “We wanted those imperfections but also needed to know under what circumstances the system may struggle.” 

Vast vision, nimble workflow 

Anderson’s desire to embrace 8-perf VistaVision stemmed from his passion for photographing and finishing on film. “Paul’s never going to shoot digital,” Bauman says. “He commits to a format, and his goal is to shoot and finish on film. He always asks, ‘How does it end up on 70mm or the biggest format possible? And then how does it end up on IMAX?’” 

As the director loves using the original negative, the VistaVision prints were created from the negative, with any visual effects needing to be filmed out. Offering “massive resolution, but with the flexibility of many more lens options,” the majority of the film was captured on Beaumont (Beaucam) VistaVision cameras, with the A camera body provided by cinematographer Giovanni Ribisi and two additional bodies from Geo Film Group. Some sequences were captured on Super 35 on the Panavision Millennium XL2, when space was restricted or the Beaumont camera’s noise was an issue. 

“We used the Millennium XL2 sparingly, and earlier in the film rather than later, when we needed a longer run time than the Beaucam was capable of, and once or twice to overcome sound issues,” camera operator Colin Anderson SOC says. 

A unique aspect of working with Anderson which Bauman enjoyed was assessing 35mm print dailies rather than digital scans. “Paul insists on watching prints,” Bauman says. “We travelled with a full mobile projection booth comprising a VistaVision projector and two Super 35 projectors to screen footage each night. We always carried a print of The French Connection too, in case Paul wanted to rewatch it and refresh our visual sensibilities.” 

Dynamic duo 

Though Bauman holds the film’s director of photography credit, he crafted the visual language closely alongside Anderson, who is always deeply involved in lens and camera selection. “Paul has a lens addiction,” Bauman laughs. “Dan Sasaki at Panavision is his enabler. Paul will say, ‘Let’s get lenses from the ’70s,’ and Dan shows up with carts full of lenses.” 

They tested and assembled a treasure trove of glass—some that worked for both VistaVision and Super 35, and others only VistaVision compatible—including Panavision Primos (65mm, 75mm), Ultra Speeds (35mm, 150mm, 200mm), H Series (55mm), System 65 (24mm); Leica Geos (35mm, 50mm, 80mm); Zeiss Jenas (85mm); Pathé lenses (50mm, modified by Sasaki); Voigtländer Heliars (35mm); and Zeiss Super Speeds (50mm, 55mm, 100mm, 127mm, 300mm), and Canon (1200mm and 1000mm). 

Panavision also developed a prototype set of lenses for the film through close collaboration between Sasaki and Anderson, who have a 20-year creative relationship. Anderson liked the look of Panavision’s legacy Super Speed lenses he used on films such as Phantom Thread. Movies shot by Gordon Willis ASC with Super Speeds were also often referenced by Anderson and Sasaki. 

To achieve a similar look to the Super Speeds while covering the VistaVision format, the Panavision Special Optics team built new prototype primes, with 18mm, 25mm, 40mm, 43mm, 65mm, and 83mm focal lengths used for the film. 

“1st AC Sergius Nafa laid all the lenses out in prep, and it looked like Christmas morning. Paul was in heaven,” Bauman says. “Serge used to work at Panavision and is a total gearhead as well as a gifted focus puller. We couldn’t have done it without him.” 

While Anderson immersed himself in lens exploration, Bauman—also a veteran gaffer and co-founder of the International Cinema Lighting Society (ICLS)—concentrated on lighting and image consistency. “Paul has strong opinions about lensing; I’ll shape the lighting and we meet in the middle,” Bauman explains. “On Phantom Thread, I took the title ‘lighting cameraman’ in homage to John Alcott BSC on Barry Lyndon. That spirit carried through here—it’s always a back-and-forth.” 

For a sequence that required an aerial perspective from a helicopter, Dylan Goss, aerial director of photography, adapted his setup to capture footage in VistaVision – yet in a modern gimbal. Working closely with producer Will Weiske, Goss overcame challenges posed by the camera’s shape and size, which initially prevented it from fitting into the stabilised gimbals now more typically used with digital systems. 

“There’s a fairly hard wall in terms of hitting the size limit for the camera package to fit in even the largest aerial rig,” Goss says. “Paul insisted the chase be shot as a oner, which for running time then required a 1,000-foot mag. We already had a big zoom that also grew in size with format-specific optics added on. It was a big ask.” 

Texture and emotion 

The adventure audiences experience in One Battle After Another is both emotional and geographical. Bauman designed the lighting progression to reflect this arc, much of it dictated by the locations. “Early in the film, for sequences at Bob’s house in the hills in Eureka, we tried to keep the lighting intimate and warm,” he says. “As the story evolves, the light becomes harder, and we played off that contrast.” 

Naturalism dictated much of the look. In the opening sequence, Perfidia (Teyana Taylor)—Bob’s fellow radical and mother of his child—is seen walking along a roadside near an immigration camp, lit almost entirely with existing practicals. “Roadside sodium lamps, industrial colour—the harshness was important,” Bauman explains. “We then cut to the woods, where it’s more about naturalism and playing those two worlds against each other.” 

Anderson thrives on environments that allow for improvisation. Bauman incorporated flexibility into every setup, lighting in 360 degrees so actors could move freely. Fixtures were embedded into sets, practicals were used wherever possible, and cherry pickers were minimised. 

Bauman’s lighting background, alongside longtime collaborators gaffer Justin Dickson and key grip Tana Dubbe, helped navigate unique and sensitive locations such as California missions. “Justin and Tana found solutions while being nimble and respectful,” he says. 

While Anderson prefers “real lights”—incandescent and HMI sources—practical realities often required compromises. “Paul bought three Lowel Tota light kits from eBay for $75 and said, ‘What if we light the movie with these?’” Bauman laughs. “We tested them; they’re fragile. But he responds to their quality of light, so Justin ended up incorporating them into the lighting package and we used them for certain environments..” 

The multi-faceted LED and incandescent package supplied by Warner Bros and Lux Lighting included Nanlux 1200B and 2400B, Rosco DMG Dash units, Astera Titan Tubes, 12-lights, and T12 incandescents. “We leaned on LEDs for speed and power sensitivity but tried to shoot incandescent if possible because I love their look and feel. Generating heat with incandescents was not viable at some sensitive locations,” Bauman explains. “It was all about bounce and negative fill—keeping things natural and grounded.” 

To realise Anderson’s vision, Dickson and his crew used the Aputure CS15 to light buildings in the background. “As we were shooting VistaVision, we saw a lot, so we had to do much of the lighting from the ground, and the CS15 could light two or three buildings at a time rather than one person or building,” he says. 

Dickson chose the “beautiful sodium” CS15 over tungsten because it “had a lot of punch and reach,” giving flexibility without using excessive power. “Even though it was an expensive movie, we didn’t have all the cable, manpower, or generators in the world; it would have been too much. A simple solution was a battery pack down the street, combo stand, and Aputure fixture to light buildings.” 

Dubbe’s grip department developed rigs to subtly shape light, setting up negative fill and building clusters of incandescent bulbs with small reflectors. “We used what we called ‘bling lights’—something Chris Menges BSC and Harris Savides did very well using small collections of low-wattage bulbs to highlight different spaces,” Bauman says. “We also used a lot of umbrellas.” 

Dickson was impressed by how Anderson tied the story into multiple cities while making it feel like one. “Paul has this level that can go higher and higher and he has an expectation. It taught me to give everything I have; it’s like no other film he has done, and I learned so much.” 

On the road 

As DiCaprio highlights, One Battle After Another is not a traditional action film: “It’s not something that feels manipulated by technology in any way. It’s very bare bones—real cars, real environments, and situations that feel tactile. It’s Paul Thomas Anderson’s version of action, which is unique to any other action film that we’re used to seeing.” 

For visual authenticity, Anderson opted to shoot on location. Aside from a few days on stage at LA North Studios in Santa Clara, the shoot traversed small towns and vast parks across California and Texas, including Humboldt County, Stockton, San Juan Bautista, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and El Paso, as well as a few days in Los Angeles and Sacramento. 

Sacramento was ideal, according to supervising location manager Michael Glaser, because it “has not been filmed much and features striking brutalist architecture not found in LA.” El Paso’s limited late-night life, with many businesses closing by 6pm, allowed the production to capture nighttime driving sequences. 

Many locations were so obscure even veteran Los Angeles-based filmmaker Bauman had not heard of them. Anderson wanted spaces that had not been widely photographed, making uniqueness a priority, along with logistical coordination of moving cast, crew, and equipment. 

“You’re hauling VistaVision cameras, hundreds of thousands of feet of film, dozens of lenses, into tiny communities with minimal infrastructure,” Bauman recalls. “Paul wanted a light footprint—his dream was a few trucks and minimal kit. I said, ‘That’s great until you factor in VistaVision and Super 35 cameras, 63 lenses, plus gunfire and car chases in the script.’ But we still tried to keep the footprint small, even if the camera truck was packed to the gills.” 

Bauman’s pre-production spanned four months, while production designer Florencia Martin scouted and prepped locations for over a year. “Although the story picks up sixteen years after the first segment, rather than emphasising any time shift, her approach, and Paul’s, was based more in narrative and emotional continuity than period look,” says Bauman. 

Vast cinematic palette 

Keeping up the story’s momentum was a priority. “Perfection was not what Paul wanted,” Bauman emphasises. “He said, ‘It’s got to be dirty, grimy, full of texture.’ That dictated our shooting approach.” 

Colin Anderson SOC captured action as the director envisioned. “I’ve done so many films with Colin, I trust his instincts completely,” Bauman says. “There was a tonne of movement in the film: Steadicam, Easyrigs, cranes. We’d mount the camera on small Steadisleds or on arms to travel close behind characters.” 

The film was a special project for Anderson, marking his sixth collaboration with the director and this time using a format unused since 1961. “The privilege and nostalgia was not lost on me,” he says. “Anyone familiar with Paul’s work knows he shoots exclusively on film, so shooting VistaVision made it even more special. The image quality is astounding. VistaVision was almost obligatory for the grand landscapes, lending a breathtaking cinematic palette.” 

While Beaucam offered unmatched image quality, challenges remained. “Sergius Nafa, our extraordinary A camera 1st AC, spent months at Panavision getting the cameras battle-ready. Even though he performed miracles, we had issues to resolve with video taps, voltage, and magazine jams,” Colin Anderson says. 

Magazine run times were a major concern: 400 feet lasted two minutes, 1,000 feet five minutes. “As Paul favours long takes, this was something we had to be aware of. Shooting 1,000-foot mags often jammed at 800 feet as the motor struggled,” Anderson explains. The film was therefore cut to 800 feet. “Later productions improved this,” Bauman adds. “For example, Linus [Sandgren ASC FSF] has shot Wuthering Heights on VistaVision, and Chivo [Emmanuel Lubezki ASC AMC] used it recently.” 

Colin Anderson adds: “In preproduction, Panavision modernised the viewfinder but did not have time to add illuminated frame lines, making night work challenging. The eyepiece position atop the camera with the magazine underneath made access difficult, requiring boxes or ladders for chest-height shots. Steadicam also presented challenges due to the horizontally mounted magazine. 

“While the film runs, weight redistributes from right to left. We countered this by mounting a traveling weight synchronised to the motor travelling in the opposite direction, allowing the Steadicam to remain balanced. Garrett Brown pioneered this system on Star Wars in 1975; we used it on Anima and tracked it down again for this film.” 

Paul Thomas Anderson is known for long tracking shots, and this film was no exception. On rough terrain like Northern California forests or Southern California deserts, dolly track was laid. “In urban locations, the tool of choice was a Steadicam on a SteadiSled, expertly steered by John ‘Mango’ Mang,” Colin Anderson explains. “For the bank robbery escape, Paul referenced The French Connection; the camera mounted low on a chase vehicle, and key grip Tana Dubbe ensured it wasn’t locked off soldly, giving tremendous energy.” 

Car chases and high-speed work involved Alan Padelford, a veteran of high-speed camera-car rigs. “Paul initially said, ‘Let’s just strap cameras to cars like they did for The French Connection,’” Bauman recalls. “But once he saw what we could achieve with Alan’s arm car and elevator rig system, which I first experienced when I was a gaffer on Ford v Ferrari, he was sold. With heavy VistaVision cameras, it offered dynamic, safe movement.” 

Car chases were designed by Anderson, stunt coordinator Brian Machleit, and others, using Matchbox cars for blocking. Anderson wanted cameras placed to make the streets appear random and off-the-cuff. 

A standout nighttime sequence—Bob escaping a prison hospital into a car in which Benicio del Toro’s character Sensai is waiting—required an eight-foot rail on the vehicle. “Paul wanted a wide shot pushing into a close-up as the car drove off,” Bauman says. “Tana Dubbe and rigging grip James Coffin engineered unique, complex rigs.” 

A climactic three-vehicle chase near Highway 78 in Borrego Springs, California, demonstrated Anderson’s ambition of maintaining perpetual motion while telling the high-energy tale. “The sequence was all shot practically on real terrain using arm-car work and stabilised heads,” Bauman says. “Paul wants everything in-camera.” 

To manage sound from the camera mechanics, the team built a camera blimp, echoing classic Hollywood practices. “It felt like we were back in the ’50s,” Bauman laughs. “In every photo of Colin and the team next to that blimp, no one’s smiling—that part was demanding.” 

Despite the hurdles, Bauman champions VistaVision as it “offers massive information, incredible colour depth, and an unbeatable sense of vastness”. 

Lock, stock and 1.5 million feet of film 

One Battle After Another was shot on an astounding 1.5 million feet of film. The primary stocks were Kodak Vision3 500T 5219 and Vision3 250D 5207, with occasional use of Vision3 50D 5203 and Vision3 200T 5213. “We rarely rated anything at its normal rating,” Bauman says. “Paul didn’t want a clean or rich black. We’d push a stop or two regularly—rating 5219 at 640 or 800, sometimes 1600 for night work. VistaVision handles it beautifully. The grain never got ugly; it was an aesthetic Paul liked a lot.” 

The latitude of 5219 particularly impressed Bauman for nighttime sequences in El Paso, Texas, overlooking the lights of Juárez, Mexico. “You could shoot from the rooftop wide open, T1.1, and still hold detail in those hillside lights.” Daytime driving interiors were captured on 250D for colour fidelity and tight grain. “We experimented with 50D because Paul loves it—he and Robert Elswit ASC shot There Will Be Blood on it—but it didn’t suit this story as well as 250D or 500T.” 

Getting comfortable with uncomfortable 

All negative was processed at FotoKem, continuing an existing, close relationship between the filmmakers and lab. “They can handle anything,” Bauman says. “Kristen Zimmerman, our film dailies timer, was phenomenal. We’d ship film while shooting hundreds of miles away, so we wouldn’t see prints for a couple of days. FotoKem also gave us iPads so Willie Lawton, our digital dailies colourist, could see digital scans immediately for density and colour checks, but final decisions came from print dailies.” 

The hybrid workflow required constant communication between FotoKem, post supervisor Erica Frauman, editor Andy Jurgensen and senior colourist Gregg Garvin at Roundabout. “Quality control was insane on this film; it took six months,” Bauman says. “There were so many levels of photochemical mixed with digital. DCPs, 70mm prints, IMAX VistaVision prints—each had to match as closely as possible to the photochemical reference.” 

Anderson reviewed film prints using his home projection setup, a process he relishes. “He’s got 35mm and 70mm projectors at his house,” Bauman says. “He’d screen a VistaVision print, send notes, and then we’d conform digital deliverables to that gold standard.” 

For Anderson, the final VistaVision print is the definitive version against which all other formats—70mm, IMAX, DCP—are judged. “Paul’s fingerprint is on every frame,” Bauman says. “He’s involved in production design, editing, wardrobe, everything. From start to photochemical finish, his influence ensures the story is told in the most suitable and powerful way. He’s immersed in the whole process, and it’s really something to watch when it’s firing on all cylinders.” 

Pioneering production One Battle After Another invited Bauman to once again “let go and discover the joy of getting comfortable with the uncomfortable. There was a level of rawness we wrapped our arms around and embraced”. As the film is experienced in a variety of immersive forms by audiences—from 70mm IMAX screenings or VistaVision showings through to 4DX—Bauman has been inspired by the enthusiasm for the format from a wide range of filmmakers and cinemagoers.