Christopher Nolan IMAX filming advice helped inspire the bold cinematography for ‘Sinners’, Ryan Coogler’s acclaimed movie that recently stunned critics and audiences alike. Released this spring, the film features Michael B. Jordan as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who run a juke joint in 1932’s deep south, stirring up racial tensions and supernatural events in their community.
The creative team behind ‘Sinners’ pushed technical and artistic boundaries from the start. Coogler partnered with cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, extending their collaboration after ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.’ Choosing to shoot on film, they embraced a rare dual-format approach: IMAX 15-perf and Ultra Panavision 70. Arkapaw’s pioneering work marked her as the first woman to shoot a large-format IMAX feature, further cementing her trailblazing reputation from previous projects like ‘The Last Showgirl’ and her work with director Gia Coppola and television series such as ‘Loki.’
During the international EnergaCAMERIMAGE festival in Toruń, Poland, Arkapaw shared insights about the film’s format innovations ahead of its IMAX 70mm re-release on December 12. As she engaged with fans, experts, and peers, the impact of their technical decisions became a hot topic among festival-goers and industry professionals.
Blending Cinematic Formats for Storytelling Power
The decision to switch between IMAX’s 1.43:1 aspect ratio and the ultra-widescreen 2.76:1 set ‘Sinners’ apart from conventional productions. Arkapaw and Coogler ventured into rarely-explored territory, as only a few films in history—from Stanley Kubrick’s epics to Quentin Tarantino’s ‘The Hateful Eight’—have utilized Ultra Panavision 70. According to Arkapaw, many digital widescreen releases lose some of their intended scope due to cropping in theaters, an issue Tarantino worked to solve with strict projection specifications during his own roadshow presentations.
For ‘Sinners,’ however, leveraging both formats became a storytelling device in itself. After extensive camera tests at IMAX headquarters, Coogler and Arkapaw agreed that alternating between the immersive expanse of IMAX and the grandeur of Ultra Panavision enhanced the film’s narrative style. Their intention was not to call attention to the aspect ratio switches, but to use them as tools to convey emotion and story beats within each scene.
“It was a pretty bold choice from Ryan. I mean, it’s never been done before. I think we’re the eleventh film to shoot on Ultra Panavision 70, so it’s not a format that gets used often. It’s also difficult to preserve your aspect ratio in theaters. Some 2.76 films shot digitally in the past often had the sides chopped off. When Tarantino did the roadshow for The Hateful Eight, he had projection specifications for theaters.”
– Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Cinematographer
The edit room became crucial in determining when to use each format. Editor Michael Shawver worked closely with Coogler to balance the energy and emotion within the story, embracing “montage” moments at the film’s conclusion that move dynamically between formats. These jumps became especially impactful for viewers experiencing the movie in full IMAX quality—a carefully considered choice given that most theatrical audiences would see the 2.76 version, where such transitions are not perceptible.
The Experiential Impact of IMAX and Ultra Panavision
Arkapaw highlighted how IMAX’s immense resolution and screen size alter the audience’s interaction with the film frame. For example, Jack O’Connell’s character Remmick is first introduced in a larger-than-life IMAX shot, presenting both disorienting camera moves and deep foreground layers that sweep viewers into a new cinematic space. The format’s boxier shape and shallow depth of field encourage eyes to roam and absorb the intricate set details, background, and story clues that might be less apparent in narrower formats.
The difference in how a moviegoer “travels” through an image became part of the film’s immersive allure. In IMAX, with its towering hundred-foot screens, viewers actively scan the frame, discovering hidden elements and engaging deeply with the world on screen. This design was deliberate, as Arkapaw explained, making the visual experience both fun and interactive, giving each audience member a unique entry point into ‘Sinners’ narrative layers.
Christopher Nolan’s Super 8 Approach: Moving the IMAX Camera With Creative Freedom
Some directors and cinematographers restrict movement with IMAX cameras because of their size, but the ‘Sinners’ team, following Christopher Nolan’s IMAX filming advice, took the opposite approach. Nolan encouraged treating the IMAX camera with the same energy and fluidity as a lightweight Super 8 camera, freeing the filmmakers to move dynamically and capture the story without feeling constrained by technical heft.
“We love to move it around. That was important to Ryan. He got advice from Christopher Nolan to treat the camera like a Super 8 camera. Move it around as you normally would and tell your story; don’t feel restricted because it’s bigger or louder. Ryan and I followed that advice. We put it on Steadicam a lot. We put it on cranes a lot. To be able to do that, you have to have amazing focus-pullers. I’m very proud of my camera assistants for their impeccable work.”
– Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Cinematographer
This philosophy led to extensive Steadicam and crane work, demanding a highly skilled crew—especially for maintaining sharp focus in the shallow depth provided by IMAX lenses. The camera assistants earned special praise for their ability to keep every frame precise, even in the most kinetic scenes.
Integrating Music Into the Visual Narrative
Much of ‘Sinners’ rhythmic life stemmed from its integration of music into key sequences. While not every scene was mapped to its soundtrack in advance, composer Ludwig Göransson’s on-set presence allowed the musical tone to influence camera movement directly. For musical performances—like Miles Caton’s Sammie delivering “I Lied to You”—the camera choreography was planned to amplify the song’s emotional resonance, capturing both the performers and the vibrant juke joint backdrop.
One standout accomplishment was a single-take “oner” that follows characters through the club’s world of music, history, and drama. This ambitious shot united creative vision with technical logistics, requiring meticulous departmental coordination and rehearsals. IMAX’s huge film magazines would allow shooting only up to 75 seconds without having to reload, so transitions were carefully plotted mid-song—sometimes even across separate shooting days and locations. The complexity of the execution only added to the scene’s impact in the finished film.
The result was a visually and sonically immersive moment that framed character introductions and the juke joint’s lively history all at once. Audience responses and industry chatter quickly singled out the “oner” as a demonstration of what was possible by in-camera collaboration and creative ambition.
“That’s the shot that I get asked about the most, something people really responded to. No one’s ever seen anything like that before, especially shot on IMAX. On the page, it’s a beautifully written and complex scene. Once we get on the ground with Ryan during prep, once we figure out what it means to him and how he wants to execute, then it’s a lot of logistical meetings with all the departments. We shot it with Steadicam, and in order for the operator to hold it, you can only run 75 seconds before you have to switch the magazine. Since the song is over three minutes, we have to figure out where we will transition from one shot to another, and then the second half of the shot takes place in a different location, shot on a different day.”
– Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Cinematographer
Collaboration on Set: Lighting and Camera Operation
Arkapaw operated the camera herself, often in close physical proximity to Coogler throughout each take. Their collaborative process included pre-shoot rehearsals with actors, discussions about emotional intent, and review of storyboards to ensure that technical design always served storytelling goals. Years of creative partnership, strengthened on complex projects such as ‘Wakanda Forever,’ allowed them to anticipate each other’s preferences and respond intuitively to what unfolded during production.
Although every sequence was mapped out through storyboarding and, when needed, precise previsualization, the team maintained flexibility to adapt and find new ideas on set if circumstances or performances called for it. Previs became a tool for working out logistics such as visual effects or stunts but never a rigid script. Arkapaw explained that the most compelling images arose when the filmmakers could react to unplanned moments—whether it was a shift in lighting, an actor’s impromptu move, or the feel of the space on the day.
Lighting design followed this philosophy of flexibility and collaboration, with Arkapaw taking care to “light the space” instead of just the actors or camera positions. This freed actors and Coogler to explore scenes organically and minimized obstacles or delays when improvisation struck. She credited production designer Hannah Beachler, her close friend, for ensuring that practical lights within sets aligned with the needs of specific scenes.
“A good DP knows how to make decisions quickly. I like to light the space because I want Ryan to be able to move the camera freely and not have to constantly tell him,
Um, I didn’t light over there, so I need more time.
So yeah: I tend to light the space. Also, I don’t want a lot of stuff on the floor that will prevent actors from moving around. It’s like poetry in a way. Sometimes it has to ebb and flow in a nice way so you don’t restrict the actors or the director. You want them to be able to find it, when it needs to be found.”
– Autumn Durald Arkapaw, Cinematographer
Technical Challenges: Twinning Effects and Deliverables
The visual challenge of Michael B. Jordan playing both Smoke and Stack required an array of technical tricks, including programmable camera heads, motion-control rigs like the TechnoDolly, and skilled use of body doubles. Yet Arkapaw emphasized the pivotal role played by Jordan himself, whose performances distinguished the two brothers through physical nuance and acting skill.
The team also had to consider futureproofing the film for a range of viewing experiences, adjusting their work in postproduction for theatrical, IMAX, and Blu-ray releases. Different aspect ratios require unique “passes” to ensure framing and composition are optimized for each platform, especially when the IMAX’s tall frame transitions to more standard home video formats.
The guiding principle, however, remained clear: technical considerations must always serve the primary goal of telling the story with emotional clarity and impact. The logistics of deliverables faded into the background so long as every moment on screen pulled the audience into the world of ‘Sinners’—whether viewed in massive IMAX theaters, on standard cinema screens, or eventually, at home.
The Lasting Influence of Nolan’s Filmmaking Philosophy
‘Sinners’ not only marks a landmark achievement in visual storytelling, but also showcases how Christopher Nolan IMAX filming advice can help modern directors and cinematographers unlock creative freedom even with the most advanced and demanding film equipment. By treating the IMAX camera as a creative tool rather than a technical burden, Ryan Coogler, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, and their team produced a film that is both artistically daring and emotionally powerful.
As the film returns to select IMAX 70mm theaters for a limited engagement and becomes available via digital and Blu-ray, its innovations are certain to spark further discussion throughout Hollywood and among film enthusiasts worldwide. The collaborative ethos on display—from director, cinematographer, and camera assistants to designers and editors—sets a compelling example, underscoring how bold choices and technical mastery can elevate storytelling to new heights.
