#1980s f1

[ferret-the-overseer]

so camera angles in F1 right

In case you don’t know this about me, I’m a mild film/cam passionista, and I have opinions sometimes okay.

F1’s main problem with cameras (imo) is that they really want to “keep people in the action” which they’ve done by keeping cars in the direct center of your screen all the times, and putting cameras at sections with wider angles of view. This is nice, because the sort of limited camera angles from before made it occasionally difficult to keep track of race action.

HOWEVER

They sort of swapped to this wide, central shot style, instead of implementing it. One thing F1 did really well was letting you feel and understand the power of these cars, even through a TV screen. The camera whipped around to follow Raikkonen absolutely sending his car through Eau Rouge (absolute madlad btw) or the Schumacher brothers chasing each other through that wide right hander in Silverstone. The cars felt fast, they felt close, and a lot of that was due to the very stationary cameras relatively close to the track, and the fact that the operators didn’t seem to feel the need to adjust the zoom angle every microsecond to keep the car perfectly centered on your TVs screen. Like sure, I couldn’t see all the pretty sponsor logos, or maybe I didn’t always catch the honestly fascinating front or rear wings of the 2000s (next up on the fact list?), but that was part of the magic. The cars were screaming past so quickly you could hardly keep them in frame at all.

This started going away in the 2010s. By 2020 it was nearly gone completely, and watching races just felt sort of stagnant: no matter how fast I knew Hamilton and Vettel were throwing themselves through every corner, they always seemed to be moving at the same speed.

But things are starting to change.

New cams like the ones on front wings, on/inside driver helmets, and the saving grace of the mid-season camera development upgrades (lol), the gyro cam. These are SO COOL, and the gyro cam in particular feels FAST, I think because the mildly warped field of view makes the motion blur heavier while still keeping that crisp video quality we’ve come to expect from modern cameras, combined with the defining feature of it rolling with the horizon as the car experienced angle changes itself.

Also just angles in general, like the ones at the Monaco pool chicane and tunnel, and some of the ones at Singapore this year, they just bring back that close-to-the-track action.

Interestingly, if you go back and watch recordings from the 1970s and 80s, you’ll notice they actually had some of these. The onboard cameras back then were genuinely exciting, and I watch them all the time. I’d recommend that any F1 fan do that, even if just to see the evolution of driving styles and cars. 

I think F1 is finally listening to fans saying they liked the more stationary cameras, the wild onboards, stuff like that. You can feel the speed of the cars like back in the 2000’s and early 2010’s.

[bucket-of-f1]

the camera angles post (fact/opinion 3)

Bucket!

you did encourage the camera angles, soooo

this is more opinion but there are some facts in here if you count the mild history of cameras in F1 as facts.

F1’s main problem with cameras (imo) is that they really want to “keep people in the action” which they’ve done by keeping cars in the direct center of your screen all the times, and putting cameras at sections with wider angles of view. This is nice, because the sort of limited camera angles from before made it occasionally difficult to keep track of race action.

HOWEVER

They sort of swapped to this wide, central shot style, instead of implementing it. One thing F1 did really well was letting you feel and understand the power of these cars, even through a TV screen. The camera whipped around to follow Raikkonen absolutely sending his car through Eau Rouge (absolute madlad btw) or the Schumacher brothers chasing each other through that wide right hander in Silverstone. The cars felt fast, they felt close, and a lot of that was due to the very stationary cameras relatively close to the track, and the fact that the operators didn’t seem to feel the need to adjust the zoom angle every microsecond to keep the car perfectly centered on your TVs screen. Like sure, I couldn’t see all the pretty sponsor logos, or maybe I didn’t always catch the honestly fascinating front or rear wings of the 2000s (next up on the fact list?), but that was part of the magic. The cars were screaming past so quickly you could hardly keep them in frame at all.

This started going away in the 2010s. By 2020 it was nearly gone completely, and watching races just felt sort of stagnant: no matter how fast I knew Hamilton and Vettel were throwing themselves through every corner, they always seemed to be moving at the same speed.

But things are starting to change.

New cams like the ones on front wings, on/inside driver helmets, and the saving grace of the mid-season camera development upgrades (lol), the gyro cam. These are SO COOL, and the gyro cam in particular feels FAST, I think because the mildly warped field of view makes the motion blur heavier while still keeping that crisp video quality we’ve come to expect from modern cameras, combined with the defining feature of it rolling with the horizon as the car experienced angle changes itself.

Also just angles in general, like the ones at the Monaco pool chicane and tunnel, and some of the ones at Singapore this year, they just bring back that close-to-the-track action.

Interestingly, if you go back and watch recordings from the 1970s and 80s, you’ll notice they actually had some of these. The onboard cameras back then were genuinely exciting, and I watch them all the time. I’d recommend that any F1 fan do that, even if just to see the evolution of driving styles and cars. 

I think F1 is finally listening to fans saying they liked the more stationary cameras, the wild onboards, stuff like that. You can feel the speed of the cars like back in the 2000’s and early 2010’s.

mildly considering starting a bucket blog ngl but also the anon-bucket-question is fun what do you think

<><><><><>

[christiangeistdorfer]

NIKI LAUDA at the 1984 DETROIT GRAND PRIX

[thinkingaboutfilm11]

Something I don’t think we talk about enough is the fact that Ayrton’s last meal was with Alain. And to this day Alain is publicly selfish in admitting he was glad it was him Ayrton had lunch with before the crash, and not anyone else.

Like- jesus.

[eliotheeangelis]

look we as a society moved on from this too fast... fr could you imagine next year if a driver is getting bad treatment and their ex-teammate walks into the garage with them to defend them... like lewis comes back into mercedes with george in ferrari overalls to show support for him, or charles and carlos... everyone would lose their MINDS and yet nigel mansell was doing this casually in 1985 for elio de angelis... much to think about...

[photoarvhiofone]

Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve (on roof) with the helicopter of Villeneuve after the 1981 San Marino Grand Prix at Imola.

[sharlleclair2]

And what if i cry

[vintagef1]

"Remembering the iconic Niki Lauda on his birthday ❤️" - february 22, 2024 📷 @.mercedesamgf1 / instagram

[franzantonbeckenbauer]

A serene escape with Niki Lauda, who sits looking out across the river before the race at Detroit Grand Prix, 1984 🇺🇸

[bellofjpg]

Remembering Stefan Bellof on what would've been his 67th birthday. Gone too soon, dearly missed but never forgotten❤️‍🩹

(photo credits to their owner)

[mariaesrs]

Keep thinking about his angeleyes... i keep thinking.

— ABBA

[angelamzs]

Here you have some silly pics I’ve found of Patrick and Gilles because I love their friendship💕

[bbbrianjones]

ayrton senna pushing away reporters

[christiangeistdorfer]

KEKE ROSBERG having a cigarette before the start of the 1983 GERMAN GRAND PRIX

[thinkingaboutfilm11]

[stone-cold-groove]

Dallas Grand Prix poster - 1984.