Pavo 2X Anamorphic


1. About You & the Project


My name is Adam Pátzay, a freelance filmmaker (DoP, Director) from Budapest, Hungary. I mainly shoot and edit documentaries, commercials and small budget music videos, just like Goodbye Darjeeling's Secret Floors.



The singer/songwriter of the band and also the Director of the music video, András Z. Marosi and I met in Film school. We became good friends with similar tastes and shot many projects in the past 15 years together.

Secret Floors as a song tells a very personal story about the band's frontman and his near-death experience. We collaborated in trying to translate that experience and the song's emotions into a narrative music video - choosing more of an abstract approach than literal. It's a narrative about mortality.

Secret Floors MV

2. How Did You Discover the Pavo?


I heard about the Pavos from cinematographer Mark Wareham, who shot Beast of War (2025) on them. I really liked the anamorphic look of that movie, so I emailed him about what lenses he used and he kindly replied! 



When András, the Director pitched me the storyline of the music video, I knew right away I want to use anamorphic lenses.


The video starts in a movie theater where the Protagonist watches a film starring himself. After the first verse, the camera zooms towards the screen and the viewer gets transported into that film. That's where we switched from spherical to anamorphic. We really wanted to give to that "movie in a movie sequence" a cinematic look and feel and what else can represent that more than anamorphic lenses?


3. Why the Pavo 28mm?


We were referencing Lawrence of Arabia (1962) a lot in prep. The blue sky and open vistas were a key motif for András, the Director. We needed to frame the Protagonist and also show the environment as much as possible. I also tested the 32mm but ended up using the widest of the Pavo set (28mm).



4. Experience of Shooting Wide Open


I tested the 28mm Pavo intensively before the shoot and discovered that it really gives off a dreamy and super cinematic soft focus look when shooting close to a subject at wide open (T2.1) It's somewhat unconventional to shoot a closeup with a wide angle lens, especially with an anamorphic, but I always loved that special perspective when the camera is super close to the actors. It creates really intimate images. Terrence Malick's films are the prime example for that look.



In our project I would name the shot where the blood covered hands are shown against some greenery. The swirly bokeh creates a painterly, impressionistic image.


5. Alexa + Pavo + Micro-Budget


Our main camera was an Arri Alexa Classic. As an owner/operator I think the ALEV sensor creates the most beautiful digital images and colors that feel natural and the closest to what our eyes see. On the other hand, it's a cumbersome and heavy camera especially compared to today's standards. Operating it isn't easy for a small crew like ours was.



We couldn't afford a steadicam operator but I didn't want to use handheld for the many tracking shots we planned. So we used our van as a camera car, me sitting on the back with an Easyrig on, trying to shoot a steady image, while pulling my own focus. It was fun though!


We used a screw-on ND filter directly on the lens, to keep a low profile and for easy filtration without using a mattebox with drop in filters. That saved us a lot of time on set. Nice addition to the Pavos to have a filter thread, not many cinema grade anamorphics have that.


6. High-Speed with the Freefly Ember


The video concludes in a poetic "flying sequence" where the main character gets lifted skywards. We wanted to represent flying through ultra slow motion. The Pavo 28mm was mounted on a Freefly Ember high speed camera and captured images at 850 fps. We shot that sequence stopped-down around T8 to have more depth of field. We even got some horizontal flares that way!



7. Favorite Frame or Moment


Like I mentioned before, my favorite shot is the blood covered hands with the swirly background. That was something we didn't shotlist or planned. I really believe in serendipity, a happy accident!



8 Advice for Other Filmmakers

Having nice gear that suppports the story you want to tell is a blessing, but the most important aspect of any film project is "what's in the frame? - I believe.


Especially DP's should care less about technique and focus more on how to translate a specific story into images. To find the right tone for a story rather than shoot the prettiest image all the time.



Anamorphic lenses are notoriously harder to shoot on, it's always a challenge for any DP. For a long time it was impossible for aspiring filmmakers to use them. Thanks to companies like DZOFILM, nowadays it's easier than ever to utilize that special format on a budget.