Location scouting

British Cinematographer

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The creative, technical and diplomatic skills of the location manager often fly under the radar. We explore their role and how they work with the cinematographer to help bring a story to life in the most suitable location. 

When Steven Spielberg was honoured by the Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) in 2023, he commented that location managers should be working as foreign diplomats because of the amount of skilled negotiating they have to do. 

“It’s true. This is very much a political job,” says John Rakich, president, LMGI. “We’re negotiating with creatives and the studio. We’re also the public face of the production. We have to go out into the real world and try to pitch what we want and get the production what it needs but still respect and preserve the environment. Locations are a non-renewable resource and we want to be able to return to shoot another show there. Location management is a balancing act where you’re appeasing a lot of masters.” 

Ask students who’s in charge on a film set and they may give the stock answer: ‘It’s the director’. “Well, yes, but it’s also the designer, the DP, the producer and the location manager,” Rakich says. “They’re equal participants in what is being put up on screen.”  

Often one of the first people hired and some of the last people to leave a show, the location supervisor’s primary job is to research and find locations that both fit the script and are also practical. On his current project, a series adaptation of a novel set in Mozambique, Rakich was hired by the studio before the director to start doing legwork. 

“The current political climate in Mozambique isn’t conducent to filming but that’s one of a myriad decisions that production makes on where to locate a film. There are travel costs, tax incentives, production bases, equipment hire.” 

In this case, they’re shooting in South Africa where Rakich spent three weeks in pre-production with a producer, production designer and local service company narrowing options down. 

“We’re looking at the functionality of the set and visually for lighting and shadow. We could find the most perfect place in the world but if you can’t light it or you can’t get the gear to it, there’s no point.” 

He adds, “It’s often the case that we think it’s a perfect spot, but it doesn’t work for the DP in one sense or another. The age-old one is the sun is in the wrong spot, but it could be about access. On a project some years ago we’d scouted all our locations, brought the DP in and he agreed they were fantastic but impractical when he unveiled the immense size of the Cameron Pace 3D system.” 

For episodic TV, many key creative decisions are made by a small group for the longevity of the whole show. This often includes the DP shooting the pilot but it’s the LM who will ensure there’s a continuity between multiple directors and DP teams. “It’s beholden on us to make sure that the director and their DP understands the choices they are being presented,” Rakich says. 

Play time 

As a prelude to their own recce, a cinematographer will view a selection of media researched and scouted by the LM. “Some DPs prefer to see only what the director likes already, rather than see every option,” says Diana Olifirova (Heartstopper). “I always try to get involved at that stage if I can because there’s an opportunity to influence the story visually.” 

She takes her own stills on location from multiple angles which helps inspire ideas. “Even if we don’t choose that location in the end, the pictures I’ve taken can help me replicate similar experiences in another location. Some locations can be dressed a certain way, or have interesting practicals, mirrors, blinds or sunlight that comes through at a certain angle. For me, the scout is play time with the director.” 

She takes a compass to check sun positions and passes that information onto the AD during the later tech scout. “If it’s impossible to shoot at the time I want, then I’d think of other ways of making it work.”  

Even on a returning series like Bridgerton season three, fresh locations for new characters often need to be found: “We have an opportunity to create something interesting and that hasn’t been done before,” says Olifirova. 

Ravi Varman ASC ISC is involved in every location search from inception. “I will go to every location personally, finding two to three options for every scene and then factoring in cost and logistics.” 

For historical epic Ponniyin Selvan: Part II, Varman shot scenes in Ahilyeshwar Temple in Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh with matte paintings added in post rather than green screen. “You can get permissions to shoot throughout India via the right political connections,” he says.  

To stage key scenes from science fiction romcom Love Insurance Kompany, set in 2035, Varman visited Singapore and Malaysia as well as Tamil Nadu in India. “Places like Japan, Singapore have cityscapes that are more futuristic than any you would find here. India, though, has the best temples.” 

“It’s essential to visit locations to give your input on whether it should be used or not,” agrees DP Irene Gomez-Emilsson (Umeshu Night). “If it’s an interior what is the orientation of the windows? Can we light through them or can I put a lamp outside? What do we see outside? Does it relate to the script? The colour of the walls plays into this too. Is it something that can change or not? I need to understand the layout of a place so I can communicate with the technical crew.” 

She expects location managers to have understood the script from a creative and a technical standpoint. “They should be thinking several steps ahead and walking in our shoes.” 

This is in the location supervisor’s DNA, agrees Rakich. “Clearly, you should ask DPs what they want and include that in your brief. Just as the DP visualises painting in colour, light and shadow and then has to figure out which lenses to use, you’ve got to think creatively in terms of what the DP is looking for then logistically to make the show work as a whole.” 

Exteriors for a shoot in the South African bush is dependent on where the sun is and where it’s going to be. “But what if it’s cloudy? You need to bring in lights. What if it’s too sunny? Now we have to bring in something to block it with. You have to anticipate and plan.” 

Dynamic duo 

“You can tell if a location manager has great relationships with the people,” says Shane Hurlbut ASC of Christopher Kusiak, the LM on Way of the Warrior Kid. “When we showed up at different places in San Diego it felt like we were all family and we’re going to get whatever the hell we want. That was really reassuring because we had a lot of locations that were very sensitive, such as Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. I had a lot of demands on time and light. I needed to take out a lot of fencing to be able to complete one big crane shot.” 

Hurlbut is a huge advocate for prep. “The production designer and I are like the dynamic duo. I try to explain my ideas for lighting early on so the location team actually have the time to be able to make it happen. When you don’t plan, you’re flying by the seat of your pants.” 

It might only be possible to block off locations for half a day, such as Parisian streets on Mission: Impossible, which puts added pressure on achieving the sequence. Even on a more sedate show like Bridgerton certain locations will only permit access for a weekend, or limit access or equipment. “Pragmatically, you decide to go with something that’s a bit more available and flexible rather than shoot it all in the location that has the beautiful ceiling,” says Olifirova. 

Locations can also change at the last minute. On location in Iceland Gomez-Emilsson had to find a barren ‘post-apocalyptic’ spot with no human construction, something you’d think would be straightforward in that country. 

“Because we were restricted on time and budget we were trying to stay close to Reykjavik but it took several scouts to find the right one. It ended up being a little bit further away but the extra travel time was worth it.” 

The finale of HBO horror comedy series The Baby required a night exterior for characters running from a forest onto grass towards a cliff with a baby then falling off the cliff.  

“They wanted to shoot it in a real location with blue screen,” says Olifirova. “Finding a forest that comes out onto grass that could also be serviced was a big challenge.” 

A perfect location was found to which different departments went a dozen times to set the shot up. Then a week before photography the permission was revoked. “The location team had to find somewhere else while we were shooting. We scouted it one weekend then went straight there but because we’d done so much work on the original location it helped us transfer the whole setup without a hitch.” 

The lesson is to roll with sudden changes. “Always have a backup and don’t get attached to a location because it’s not always up to you,” she says. “Even if you have the best lighting plans, things can change and then you should just embrace what’s new.” 

Hurlbut says he embraces the challenges with location filming because it forces creative solutions. “When you can’t rip the ceiling up to put in a top light or you can’t screw into anything or hide lights there’s problem solving with that. Being put in that box is what I love because it makes things feel more honest and real.” 

Way of the Warrior Kid 

Action drama Way of the Warrior Kid, starring Chris Pratt and directed by McG, (Skydance Media for AppleTV+) needed a scene where a man jumps from a rock face into a river. Shane Hurlbut ASC pitched the idea that they stage it at a dam in Malibu Creek State Park, CA.  

“I do my location research with Google Earth. It’s got so powerful, you’re able to drill down and even see the perspective.” 

Director McG wanted the stunt to be performed from an iconic Southern California 1920s bridge. This they found at Tujunga but since it had no water underneath making it impossible for anyone to jump into, the final shot was a composite of dam, bridge, tank and VFX. 

“What I love is when location people can see that it’s going to take three locations to be able to bring the director’s vision to life,” Hurlbut says. “When a location manager reads the script and gets passionately involved in finding unique locations that we haven’t seen before. Our rock star LM [Kusiak] was able to extrapolate those three different locations to put it all into one. He worked with Parks and Rec to get access with four-wheel drive vehicles.” 

Prior to being opened to the public in 1976, the park was owned by 20th Century Fox and used extensively as a backlot to film numerous shows, notably Planet of the Apes (1967). 

Authenticity was important for this coming-of-age story which is why they declined to shoot on volume stage. “I don’t care how good you are, you’re not able to get those serendipity moments of light ricocheting off of cars or faces on a volume,” says Hurlbut. “We wanted to do this practical, shoot with four cameras and light it in a way that it looks awesome from every angle. That was where the location department was essential. This needed to be backlit. I needed a road going west. I want to shoot late afternoon. In fact, I’m telling them the exact time I want to shoot. These things are crucial when scouting.” 

The film’s location budget was $4.7 million. Even so the producers baulked at spending $250k per day just to park crew on location in LA. “There was some questioning asking why can’t [the location manager] negotiate better deals, but this is Los Angeles, the most expensive city to shoot in. That’s why everyone is going everywhere else!” 

Dion Beebe ASC ACS - interview

British Cinematographer

Dion Beebe ASC ACS, a trailblazing cinematographer from the Australian New Wave, blends bold artistry and cutting-edge technology across Hollywood, indie and musical cinema.

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Emerging from the Australian New Wave, Dion Beebe ASC ACS quickly made his mark on diverse Antipodean and Hollywood projects, earning an Oscar and a reputation for innovation. Born in Brisbane in 1968 and raised in Cape Town, he had no family filmmaking background; his earliest film memory was John Boorman’s unusual Zardoz (1974). 

“We used to screen movies in our lounge and talk about them afterwards and after Zardoz I remember thinking ‘What the hell?’” 

Aged 11 his mind was tripped by seeing Ingmar Bergman’s Cries and Whispers. “I walked out of the cinema feeling slightly different. I was shattered. For the first time, I had a sense of the power of cinema beyond entertainment.” 

He noted the work of Sven Nykvist ASC FSF, “in terms of how you can affect people with a camera beyond making them just laugh or cry” and gradually his attention turned from amateur stills photography to professional cinematography. By the time Beebe joined the film program at AFTRS in Sydney he knew what he wanted to do. 

His ascent to DP was quick and accidental. “I was a terrible assistant,” he recalls. “I did a super low budget movie as a focus puller while at film school. On day one, I locked the keys to the equipment in the van. The cinematographer was very kind and forgiving but the whole experience made me realise that assisting was not right for me and I needed to focus on shooting.” 
 
Two shorts he shot, including Hang Up (Cannes, 1990), caught attention and led to music video work after film school. He’s since balanced promos for artists like INXS, Rihanna, Lana Del Rey, and Beyoncé, directing videos such as Des’ree’s ‘I’m Kissing You’ (1997). 

“In the early ‘90s music videos were still a very strong and fun genre with decent budgets, so I went straight into shooting them,” he says. 

Within a year he was approached by Alison MacLean to photograph her directorial feature debut Crush which was selected for competition at Cannes 1992. The New Zealand-set drama was Beebe’s first as DP. 

“I look back now and realise how fortunate I was to get that opportunity so early because it’s a real Catch-22. Producers may roll the dice on a new director or untried actors but when it comes to cinematographer they often don’t want to take a chance.” 

“Going to Cannes was a huge deal for me,” he says. “The traction and attention the film got gave me a platform to build on.” 

Half of his next 12 features between 1993-2001 were helmed by female directors: Margot Nash (Vacant Possession), Clara Law (Floating Life; The Goddess of 1967); Niki Caro (Memory & Desire); Jane Campion (Holy Smoke, and later, In The Cut); Gillian Armstrong (Charlotte Gray).  

“Whether there’s an approach or sensitivity to the work or whether it’s because I was working with strong female directors that brought me to the attention of other great female directors, it’s hard for me to connect the dots,” he says. “They were all willing to take a chance on a relatively unknown. To Alison I was a complete unknown. Even when Jane came with Holy Smoke, I was doing these one million dollar movies and she gave me a much bigger American-financed project with major stars (Harvey Keitel and Kate Winslet).” 

In 2000 theatre director and choreographer Rob Marshall approached Beebe to make his screen adaptation of Broadway hit Chicago (2002) after seeing the cinematographer’s promo-laden showreel. They bonded over a shared love of cinema. 

“Rob’s pathway had been very similar to Bob Fosse’s in terms of getting into movies,” he relates. “We spoke about the musical genre, about Cabaret, how great musicals strive to take you on a journey similar to any other movie but using music. I’ve never forgotten that Rob said, ‘We have to earn the song’. If someone’s going to break into song you have to have earned that moment when words are no longer enough. With that in mind the question was how do you transition from dramatic sequences into song? Finding ways to use cinema language to help us in and out of these moments became the foundation of our creative conversations.” 

With Chicago, for instance, he used a flashlight into a spotlight and theatrical scrims to fade in and out to make the walls of a set disappear. It earned Beebe a first Oscar nomination. 

“On each musical we’ve made together since (Nine, Into The Woods, Mary Poppins Returns, The Little Mermaid) we are in pursuit of the right language that will help us earn the song each time.” 

Beebe learned from Marshall’s theatre background, while the director relied on Beebe’s technical expertise to realise their shared vision. Their peak collaboration was Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), featuring a John Williams score and Zhang Ziyi’s Snow Dance. The film earned six Oscar nominations, with Beebe winning one. 

“Both Rob and I felt [Geisha] should be told widescreen and I felt it important to shoot the full negative,” Beebe says. “I knew we were going to be using a foreground layering effect and that anamorphic 35 would allow focus to fall off to give us beautiful texture. There’s a lot of trust between us. In many ways we grew up together making movies.” 

Beebe is now in post following extensive “additional photography” on Michael, the Michael Jackson story, for Lionsgate and Antoine Fuqua. “We integrate a lot of music into the story but this is a little more formatted as a biopic [than a musical]. Everyone knew Michael as a genius musician and stage performer but Michael off stage is less known. He was a very complicated human being. His music permeates everything we do.” 

Selecting projects for creative reasons alone is a luxury that few cinematographers can afford but Beebe feels strongly that if he needs to connect with the story. “We’re trying to make a living, trying to build our portfolios or just trying to get experience by shooting but when I read a script it has to reach me in some way. If I can’t see the meaning behind a story then it’s harder for me to come on board. 

“Your career is going to be as much about the movies you choose to do as the movies you choose not to do,” he insists. “Whatever project you do it will be challenging. There will be things that don’t work. But that project will be associated with you for the rest of your career. You always have a choice.” 

DOUBLE VISION 

When working on 2019 sci-fi action Gemini Man, starring Will Smith, Beebe was given the responsibility by Skydance and Ang Lee to not only shoot native stereo 3D but in ultra-high frame rates.

“In one of our first meetings Ang said we are not ready for this format. Technologically we were premature perhaps but it’s the audience’s perception and response to HFR imagery that’s still trapped in 24 frames.   

“When I sat with Ang and watched the super bright laser projection in stereo running at 120 frames off material that we shot at 120 frames, it’s a different movie to one made at 24. You watch a close-up on a giant screen projected at 120 and every dilation, every twitch, every time the nostrils flare, is, I swear, a different emotional response. Seeing landscapes is like looking out of a window. For this enhanced experience we literally lift the veil on every trick in filmmaking and suddenly you’re completely exposed. The actor is exposed, the cinematographer is exposed, so is the stunt coordinator. Everything we hide behind in making movies is removed at 120 frame photography with 120 playback.” 

He laments that despite being able to shoot higher frame rates, the industry “constantly tries to emulate film. I understand that 24fps is the foundation of our sense of cinema but I firmly believe there is a place for HFR photography. We just need to figure out how to tell stories with it.” 

One only has to recall the reaction in certain quarters to using digital which Beebe experienced first-hand when he replaced Paul Cameron ASC on Michael Mann’s Collateral (2004). 
 
“From the moment I picked up a digital [Thomson Viper FilmStream] camera on Collateral a lot of people were saying this is broadcast television,” says Beebe, who won a Bafta for this work. “With digital on Collateral it was the pursuit of that night sky [interiors were shot on film]. The defining image is of palm trees silhouetted against the sodium glow of the city. It’s not something we were able to do prior to low-light digital photography. There’s an immediacy and clarity to the imagery that we associate with news or sports. Digital elicits a different response and directors like Fincher embraced that for what it is. The same idea plays into HFR photography.” 

Beebe shot Miami Vice (2006) for Mann, Iraqi war drama Rendition for Gavin Hood (2007) and Edge of Tomorrow (2014) for Doug Liman, among several action-oriented movies. Each director brings a different approach to generating the energy necessary for big stunt sequences. 

“It’s a real task when you’re operating a big unit moving at the speed of a slow-moving freight train which is very hard to change track. Michael Mann is very deliberate. He dissects action. Doug brings a level of organised chaos to set. Michael Bay is a very unique filmmaker. The ‘Bayhem’ is real.” 

For Bay, Beebe shot 13 Hours (2016) about the real life Rorke’s Drift defence of an American embassy in Libya (one of several films on which his brother Damien has operated). 

“Michael brings an enormous amount of energy and an element of chaos on set where people aren’t anticipating or not quite understanding exactly where it’s going to take us. It’s deliberate and creates a heightened level of awareness. I credit Michael for the 360-degree sunset shot, moving around characters. That, and the high-octane energy, is a signature he’s brought to commercial cinema.” 

For Beebe a certain level of discomfort in the creative process is necessary “because under that stress we’ll find unexpected solutions.” He says, “I challenge myself every time I take on a project. I’ll look for a genre that I’ve not done before just to push me to think differently otherwise there’s a danger that we repeat ourselves, we fall back on comfort zones and end up in banality.” 

Consequently, his attitude to new technology is to be ready to jump in provided there’s a creative reason to do so. “AI is the next big conversation. We need to understand what it’s capable of and how to harness it. We may have been unable to project Gemini Man at the proper rate but I could see a reason to try. So long as the idea leads the conversation, we can find the technology to assist but when technology leads the creative then we need to pause.”

BTS: F1: The Movie

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F1: The Movie give the sensation of racing at 200mph from a driver’s eye view driver thanks to two sets of new cameras custom engineered for the film.

 

If Formula 1 owners Liberty Media were to succeed in attracting more viewers to its live race broadcasts it needed to add dust and grit to glossy promo F1: The Movie. The target was to capture the experience of being in a race car at 200mph. Who better to do that than the filmmakers who had propelled Top Gun: Maverick to box office glory?

The marketing of both projects trades heavily on the authenticity of actors embedded within dangerous high-octane action. To elevate the experience above previous car race movies like Le Mans, Ford v Ferrari, Rush and Days of Thunder (whose producer Jerry Bruckheimer is a producer on F1) the filmmakers custom engineered bespoke cameras.

Director Joseph Kosinski and cinematographer Claudio Miranda used as their template the camera system they built into Super Hornets and F-35 fighter planes for Top Gun: Maverick. This was the Sony Venice used in its space saving mode which separates the body of the camera from the sensor.

Of course, on a fighter jet, you can put on 40 or 60 pounds of camera gear and it won’t affect the plane’s performance but on a Formula 1 car, every kilogram makes a difference.

As Kosinki puts it, “Putting weight on a car is to slow it down, and that works against the experience we’re trying to capture.”

He and Miranda chose to film the drama scenes of F1 on IMAX certified Venice and briefed Sony to develop a custom camera with the same colour science and 6K resolution to match whilst also being small and light enough to squeeze up to four of them into the tiny cockpit alongside a driver. The units also had to withstand the immense G-forces of F1 racing.

The new camera - which Miranda and Sony called the ‘Carmen’ - is basically “a sensor on a stick,” according to Miranda. The filmmakers had 15 camera positions on each car that they could choose from. During each run, with multiple cars racing, they could capture up to 12 unique angles at a time. No longer locked into a fixed POV the camera team had real-time control of panning, tilting and focusing. These specialised cameras are described as the smallest moveable 6K camera ever designed to take the viewer into the cockpit.

It gave Miranda the freedom to create every angle the director wanted. For example, it enabled them to film Brad Pitt driving the race car then pan to track another car as it overtakes – all in one shot.

Some shots will be familiar to F1 fans from race broadcasts, others are entirely new and cinematic. Incidentally, some of these new angles may even be coming to F1 live race broadcasts.

Capturing the footage also required wireless technology that could relay the footage across miles of track without interfering with the race broadcast signal.

 

New Apple designed on-board cam

The Sony cameras were not the only cameras used on the production. A signature angle captured during every F1 race broadcast is one from an on board camera pod that is on the side of the car. While these cameras were in the right place, they were only intended to capture footage for broadcast needs, an aesthetic that is very different than footage shot for a motion picture let alone an IMAX one.

Miranda worked with the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and Apple’s engineering team to develop a way to bring an iPhone camera system into real F1 cars.

Apple’s solution matched F1’s on-board camera pods in design and durability. The solution consisted of an Apple-designed iPhone camera sensor powered by an Apple silicon chip, running iOS and a special camera firmware.  This on-board camera system was indistinguishable from the outside, matching all of the Formula 1’s onboard team’s specifications.

During filming at Grand Prix weekends, these cameras were placed on two or three actual Formula 1 cars during real races, capturing the excitement and exhilaration of a race in a way that’s never been done onscreen.

“I think we were able to capture something you can’t even get from the broadcast of a race,” Kosinski says. “We’re able to put cameras in places the broadcast can’t. We’re shooting with film-quality cameras that give you a different perspective and experience from what you’re used to seeing on TV. When all is said and done, I hope audiences get at least a fraction of what Lewis [Hamilton] is experiencing when he’s in a Grand Prix.”

Production embedded at Grand Prix

The production embedded Pitt and the fictional APEX GP team at real F1 race weekends over the past two seasons. These included Silverstone; Hungary’s Hungaroring; Monza; Spa in Belgium; Mexico City; Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. Splinter units shot in Zandvoort in the Dutch Grand Prix and at Suzuka, Japan.

The way the film production integrated into a race is best illustrated by the 2023 British GP at Silverstone, where two black-and-gold APXGP cars lined up on the grid for the race’s formation lap behind the 20 F1 racers —"without viewers at home suspecting a thing” it’s claimed.

The cars themselves were Formula 2 race cars built and modified specifically for the film by Mercedes to look like F1 and containing multiple camera mounts for fitting recorders, batteries and RF transmitters.

Twelve cars were built (six for driving and six for crashing) designed to marry the need for speed with the rough-road realities of a film production.

Miranda chose very specific places on the car where he would place the camera sensors, and the engineers found room to install the camera bodies in the cars’ floors.

“There is a small area in the floor, in front of the radiator boxes and the intakes, and we could just about get three camera bodies in there with the batteries and all of the RF equipment to support it, and not an inch to spare,” explains action vehicles supervisor Graham Kelly.

Miranda also used the DJI Ronin 4D, gimbal-stabilised camera, to capture additional action shots.

 

Race choreography

Lewis Hamilton was consulted on the race sequences, advising when cars would be in third gear at a certain corner, what tires should be used and when to brake. He apparently did this for every turn of each race sequence. Luciano Bacheta, the 2012 Formula 2 champion who headed Pitt and Idris’s training, also served as the film’s race choreographer putting those plans together.

“If the story calls for Sonny to go through the pack and overtake, it has to be justified; he can’t just overtake for no reason and his opponents can’t just fall out of the way,” he says.

Knowing the story point in the screenplay, Bacheta would write out choreography, then drive it in a simulator and refine it, before getting to the track.  

 It’s really interesting from a racing driver's perspective to park the idea of being a racing driver and go into what we want to achieve to make the racing film,” says camera car driver Jonathan Kennard   “It's all about making sure that the camera car is in the right place at the right time. I’ll be driving to the racing line, braking at strange points where I wouldn’t normally brake, darting around to make sure I capture what we’re going for.”

Some challenging shots even involved Kennard making sure he hit a point on the circuit where the helicopter pilot came close to the track to pick up and continue a dramatic shot.

The sound of speed

Microphones on real F1 cars captured the sound of a thousand horsepower. And because a Team Red Bull car sounds different than a Ferrari car, which sounds different to a Mercedes they put a lot of effort into capturing multiple cars on the grid.

The film’s sound mixer was Gareth John, Oscar winner for his work on Dune: Part Two. “As a film crew, you’re used to working in a very controlled environment, being able to lock everything down and having a quiet place to shoot. A live F1 track is the polar opposite. It’s a hostile environment, with all the noise that’s going on and the RF interference affecting radio mics.”

Hans Zimmer and co-composer Steve Mazzaro, supplied the score that melded orchestra and synths.  “For me, the orchestra was always the human that sits inside that machine, and the electronics is the machine. Having spent a lot of time talking to Lewis about what it's like to actually be in inside the machine, that really influenced how I wanted the orchestra to sound, how the tunes were written, and the grace and the beauty and the power of those incredible cars.”