Capturing a 70s Vibe: Why the Pavo 2X Anamorphic Was the Perfect Fit for the Feature Film Carolina Caroline

1. Please briefly introduce yourself.

I’m Jean-Philippe Bernier CSC, a cinematographer & composer/electronic producer from Montreal, QC, Canada. I started my cinematography journey filming hardcore punk shows and short films in the early 2000s while working as a film loader on bigger American productions shot in Montreal. I did the full transition from assistant camera to DP around 2012.

2.Carolina Caroline is described as a film with "1970s Americana" and a vintage tone. Is this a visual style you're familiar with from your previous work, or was this a new narrative experiment for you? What specific films or works did you reference? How did you and the director use lens flares, color saturation, and depth of field to create that atmosphere?

My past work definitely has a nostalgic aesthetic. Summer of 84, Turbo Kid and Snack Shack are 80s/90s throwbacks. The music I make with Le Matos is also infused with 70s/80s/90s electronic music and film scores. We could also say that Dinner in America (my first collaboration with Adam) feels like a 90s movie even if it is set in present times. 

The original script of Carolina Caroline didn’t have that 70s vibe in it. The story took place before 2001, when security protocol was looser. That was the perfect period for a story about a young couple on the run robbing a bank. But it was never our intention to ground that world in a specific era visually. We created Carolina’s world with a visual language that speaks to us and feels romantic. Bringing back that feeling of a new crush and endless summer that makes you feel invincible. 

So much of that look was created in collaboration with Francesca Palombo (production design), Anaïs Castaldi & Hannah Greenblatt (costume designers), and Ian Vertovect (colorist). We talked a lot in prep about the use of primary colors. The late 80s/90s colors are so different from the 70s and early 80s. One of my biggest visual references was Wim Wenders’s “Paris, Texas.” I love how dense and rich the primary colors look in that movie. The scene when Caroline stops outside of a laundromat at night to use a payphone is a nod to the color of Paris, Texas, and Robby Müller’s cinematography. Other mentions are “At Close Range,” “Badlands,” and “To Live and Let Die in L.A.” and “The French Connection” for Caroline and Oliver’s last robbery.

We didn’t push or use flares for Carolina. If they happen naturally, we embrace them. That was one of the reasons I loved using the Pavo with a neutral coating. You really need to hit the lens to get them to flare, and when they do, they feel natural by matching the light source. Contrast was another important aspect of our look, and these lenses are a really good balance of contrast vs. flare.

3. The story has been compared to a "Bonnie and Clyde"-style road crime romance. How did you use visual language to distinguish between the "romantic road" and "crime thriller" tones? Did you make clear choices in color, composition, and lens selection for each?

We did have our rulebook for how these two worlds collide. The biggest difference was in the beginning and ending of the movie, which showed the same moment from two different perspectives. We wanted this moment to feel more contemporary and raw to match the emotion of Caroline at that moment. We use a loose, shaky hand-held with a colder and softer look. Our primary colors are not as present, and we made it look like S16 film with a bigger grain structure and gate weave. I also shot these scenes between T2.1 and T2.8 to get the expressive look of the Pavo in comparison to a T4 1/2 for the rest of the movie.

To show Carolina and Oliver’s passionate connection, I mostly used the 40mm, 55mm, 75mm, and 65mm macro lenses close to the actors. It was really important to me to bring the audience as close as possible to them. To make sure they feel and experience their story with them and not from a distance. 

For the action scenes and robbing montage sequence, we use long snap zooms and the longer focal length of the Pavo set. Long compressed shots are part of the classic 70s heist and spy movies. Having a 2x anamorphic 135mm and 180mm was such a great tool for us. 

4. Critics have noted the film's "high‑energy" visual style. Did you carry over the approach from Dinner in America of assigning different camera movement to different characters? What visual language did you assign to Caroline and Oliver, respectively?

We didn’t make specific rules for Caroline and Oliver like we did in Dinner in America and Snack Shack, at least not as clear. We did go back to our fun montage sequence, using zooms, fast pushes, and whip pan transitions. This was part of the design to make the audience think this movie is all fun and games until reality catches up and hits you like a brick. 

5. This is your first feature shot with DZOFILM Pavo anamorphic lenses. From early lens tests to on-set use, what surprised you most about the Pavo lenses?

In my early discussion with Adam, we talked about the possibility of getting a camera package that would make us move faster on set. The schedule was extremely tight, with 92 on-location sets over 25 shooting days, and we had a lot of scenes in tight spaces, including cars. On Snack Shack, we use the DXL M with a set of J.D.C. Xtal Xpress and the Panavision T-Series 37-85. The zoom was our main lens for studio setup, and we used the Xtal Express for every gimbal and handheld shot. These vintage primes are beautiful, but they are all physically different. Changing lenses was a long and slow process. 

When it came to choosing Carolina Caroline’s camera package, I knew I needed a small camera body, internal NDs, a fast sensor readout & a set of 2x anamorphic lenses with modern mechanics. I picked the RED V-Raptor X as my first piece of the puzzle because of the global shutter (perfect for fast action and driving shots with fast-moving backgrounds) and its small size. I was also interested in the RED eND PL mount, but the only problem is that there are not a lot of lenses that are compatible with that system. This is where the Pavo came under my radar. On paper the Pavos checked so many boxes. The back elements of the nine lenses were compatible with RED eND. They are small and light and have modern mechanics, but the biggest selling point for me was the entire set's incredible close-focus capability.

Before reaching out to DZO to test the full set in preproduction, I watched a YouTube video by Matti Haapoja called "The Most Unique Lens I've Ever Used." After watching the intro of the video, I knew I needed to test them. How can these lenses check all the boxes and have such amazing characters? 

My biggest surprise with the Pavo was definitely the look. I knew from that video they were interesting, but I didn’t realize how beautiful and versatile the look of these lenses can be. If you push them wide open on the limits of the close focus, you get this incredible Petzval swirly look. But even if you close them down to a 4 1/2, you still keep beautiful separation and bokeh that feel quite vintage. Sometimes with modern glass, they tend to get a bit too clean close down and a bit too soft wide open. With the Pavo I never felt like I needed to hit a specific stop to protect the look. They do have “a look” and they don’t flare easily, but for me, that was part of the reason I chose them.

6. Many scenes in the film take place inside a moving vehicle. How did you handle the challenges of limited space and moving-car shooting? Did the compact size and weight of the Pavo lenses help in any way?

Carolina Caroline follows Caroline and Simon on the road from Texas to South Carolina. I can’t recall how many scenes we shot in a moving car and process trailer, but it was a lot. It was important to me that we shot all these car scenes practically in real moving cars, often hand-held. The idea was to bring the audience right there with them. To make them feel that they are part of the journey and that they are not just watching from a car rig. The size and close focus of the Pavo paired with the small V-Raptor with eND gave me the freedom to shoot from inside the car without a matte box and diopters. I was able to go from a medium close-up to an extreme close-up of the eyes. I really felt like nothing was stopping me from following the actor’s performance and emotion or from getting the right shot. The size of the Pavo helped a lot, but that close focus on a 2x anamorphic is a game changer.

7. Road films involve a lot of daytime exteriors, as well as dusk and night scenes. How did the Pavo lenses perform at T2.1 wide open, and how did they respond to different lighting conditions—especially in terms of flare characteristics? Did you choose the blue or neutral flare version, and why?

Like I said, I think the Pavo can be used at any T stop without compromising the look. The T2.1 definitely helped with the big exterior night scene. Having a lens that still holds up wide open is a lifesaver on indie movies. As for the flare, I went with the neutral version to make the flare feel more natural. 

8. On Dinner in America, you chose Cooke anamorphics with the RED Helium sensor, noting that Cooke's "vintage aberrations in a modern design" paired well with high-resolution sensors. What led you to choose the Pavo lenses for this project? How do they compare optically to the Cookes?

I do love Cooke a lot, but their anamorphics have 2 characteristics I’m not a fan of. They are really heavy, and they do have a slight pincushion distortion. I shot 3 movies on the Cooke anamorphic; it was the best available option 10 years ago. Hawk and Panavision were outside of our price range and not readily available for indie low-budget movies. These days there are so many options that are available to us. 

The biggest differences between the Pavo and the Cooke are size, close focus, and the general look. The Cookes look like Cookes, beautiful and not medically sharp but still clean. They are more subtle. The Pavos have that swirly look and separation; they are bold.

For Carolina Caroline, I chose the Pavo for its efficiency and for the workflow we needed. But that being said, I felt in love with the look the moment I did my first test with them. I’m now shooting my third feature film with them.

9. If you were to recommend the Pavo lenses to a fellow DP in one sentence, what would you say?

Vintage anamorphic look and bokeh with an unheard-of close focus capability in the body of a modern spherical prime.