Sinners' cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw discusses managing the film's most challenging shots and shares insights from Christopher Nolan's guidance.

      Surpassing all expectations, Sinners achieved both critical acclaim and box-office success upon its release this past spring. Authored and helmed by Ryan Coogler, the film features Michael B. Jordan as twins Smoke and Stack, who establish a juke joint in the southern United States during 1932. By confronting the racial standards of their era, they unintentionally unleash perilous forces.

      For Sinners, Coogler teamed up with cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, continuing their collaboration that began with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. They opted for film, utilizing two formats: IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70. Arkapaw became the first woman to shoot an IMAX feature film in large format. Her previous project, The Last Showgirl, was her third collaboration with director Gia Coppola. She has also worked on documentaries, television series like Loki, and numerous music videos.

      Before the IMAX 70mm re-release at select theaters starting December 12, I interviewed Arkapaw at this year’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE in Toruń, Poland, where Sinners was featured in the Main Competition. Outgoing and generous, Arkapaw engaged in panels and Q&As at the festival, spending time with fans and colleagues alike.

      The Film Stage: Let’s start with the formats for Sinners. The film transitions from 1.43:1 IMAX to 2.76:1 widescreen.

      Autumn Durald Arkapaw: It was a bold choice made by Ryan. I mean, it’s something that hasn’t been done before. We’re the eleventh film to use Ultra Panavision 70, which is not a common format. It’s also challenging to maintain your aspect ratio in theaters. Some 2.76 films shot digitally in the past have often had their sides cropped. When Tarantino did the roadshow for The Hateful Eight, he established specific projection guidelines for theaters.

      We are fans of IMAX, and we believed that the different formats could convey different meanings. We created a test reel and watched it at IMAX headquarters, and it just felt right and beautiful. It didn’t seem like a poor decision.

      Did you have specific plans for transitioning between formats?

      It’s not about the transition; it’s about the format itself. When we’re planning our shooting schedule and reviewing full scenes, that’s when we determine whether to use IMAX or 2.76.

      What are you trying to achieve by switching formats?

      That’s something they experimented with during editing. As a storyteller, Ryan collaborates with [editor] Michael [Shawver] to find the right moments to be more aggressive or subtle. For instance, there’s a montage at the end where Ryan does incorporate a bit more back and forth. He selects shots that convey the story emotionally. He can’t transform a 2.76 shot into an IMAX shot, so ultimately it needs to switch based on how it was filmed. I believe it’s more about the emotional resonance of the image than purely focusing on the aspect ratio.

      Moviegoers viewing it in 2.76 won’t perceive the issue you're mentioning, correct? Because there are no transitions. Only someone watching in IMAX would notice the montage moving back and forth.

      The first appearance of Remmick [Jack O’Connell] is an IMAX shot. There’s a lot in the foreground of the frame, and the camera movements are disorienting. As a viewer, you suddenly find yourself in a different realm. I was unsure of what to focus on.

      Well, you’re meant to absorb everything. It’s a large frame. It feels akin to a medium-format photograph, something familiar. It’s boxier and features a very shallow depth of field.

      In an IMAX theater, the screen measures a hundred feet. Your eye needs to move intelligently to take it all in. There’s so much to observe and depth to the image that when you focus on the foreground, where the attention lies, you’re also aware of the house in the background. While the house is out of focus, it’s still present. The large resolution allows you to see both layers.

      Your eye has to wander; it needs to move around to capture everything. Your eye also reacts differently to a 2.76 image. A part of the IMAX experience is the abundance of details to explore, prompting you to engage with the format and choose what you want to focus on, which is an enjoyable aspect.

      Some IMAX directors of photography prefer not to move the camera extensively.

      We enjoy moving it. That was crucial to Ryan. He received advice from Christopher Nolan to handle the camera like a Super 8, encouraging us to move it freely without feeling restricted by its larger size or louder nature. Ryan and I adhered to that guidance, frequently using Steadicam and cranes. Accomplishing that