Season 3 of Ted Lasso is currently being released on Apple TV+ and has got everyone talking all over again.
One of the things people have been talking about since back in Season 1 is the distinct visuals of the show achieved by British DP David Rom and his team using the Arri Alexa Mini LF and Tokina Vista Prime lenses.
David Rom discussed how the style of cinematography impacted his gear decisions for the series. Saying that he felt that the show’s interior locations should be filmed with a wide field of view and a drop off in focus. But for handheld and gimbal work he wanted a smaller camera. They were able to meet all of these requirements using the Arri Alexa Mini LF which had just come out when the first season started filming.
The DP was new to using the Tokina’s before shooting Season 1 of Ted Lasso. While conducting some early tests Rom was given some Tokinas to play with and was really surprised at the quality - particularly the natural bokeh and focus fall off. He decided that these lenses had the perfect characteristics for what they needed for Ted Lasso.
The Tokina Vista lenses are very fast at T1.5 which combined with the Alexa Mini LF allows for some very shallow depth of field even at wider angles. Which has become a signature look of the show and ensures it doesn’t drift towards a more traditional sports documentary style.
The wider lenses are most commonly used on the show with a particular focus on the 35mm and 50mm especially during series one. However despite the ongoing success and increased budgets for future seasons the creators have decided to continue using the Tokina Primes for the show.
You can check out Ted Lasso on Apple TV+ and if the Lasso look is what you are after you can hire the Alexa LF Mini and Tokina Vista Primes from Cinemachine.