This is the first race that Ken is pictured driving in. It shows his amazing ability as a drives, as well as his ability to be a hotheaded person.
This is a snip from the same first race (Willow Springs Raceway, California), and I thought this was an important screenshot to establish a color palette, as well as some fonts and a mood setting.
This is again from the first race, and it shows the intensity between the 2 cars and their drivers. It also shows how fast they are going because of the blur, and it continues to set up scenery in the background.
This was a very important scene because it was right after Ferrari rejected Fords deal so that they could make a better deal with another company. It is also the scene where Mr. Ford decides to go all in on racing because he wants to be beat Ferrari.
This is a scene where Ken tests one of the first Ford race car prototypes, and it is also a scene with a decent color palette.
This scene is another one that I mostly put in as a color palette and mood setter. It shows the speed at which the car is moving, and it shows the skill that Ken has because of HOW he moves and controls the car.
This is from the scene where Ken is racing the Daytona 500. It is the opening scene to the first time that Ken is racing with a Ford sport car.
This scene is right before Ken beats the person in the lead at the Daytona 500. It is shows amazing contrasting colors, and also sets a tense and energizing mood.
This snip is from the first few minutes that Ken is racing at Le Mans. It shows the intensity and the speed that the race brings. Also, it is a very good and interesting angle.
This is the image right before Ken beats the final and best Ferrari car. It is a wonderful image because it shows 2 very different colors, each competing for attention on the screen. It is also seconds away from the goal scene of the whole movie, and so it is very suspensful.
This is the scene where Ken has an epiphany and decides that he is going to be a "team player" and please Mr. Ford. It is right after he beats his own lap record and drives through the "perfect" lap. He is content with his own small personal victory here.
This is one of the last 3 scenes in the movie. It portrays the car that Ken and Shelby are testing after their win at Le Mans. I thought it was a cool image and a very amazing color contrast.
The movie Ford vs. Ferrari is a very intense and high-speed movie. It is about 2 men that are contracted by the Ford Motor Company to try to build the fastest racecar in the world. To do so, they must face many physical and emotional obstacles, from getting set on fire in a car accident, to going through lying bureaucrats. Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby get hired by Ford Motor Company to build the fastest racecar in the world and beat Ferrari in the Le Mans race in France.
The movie begins by showing off Shelbys racing skills. He had won the Le Mans race, but due to health issues was forced to retire. Now he sells cars and trains other racers. We meet Ken, he is a mechanic in his own shop fighting an unsatisfied customer. It is a hint that he is going to be a hotheaded character. Cut to yet another scene, Lee Iacocca (the man in Mr. Fords company that brings them all together), enters the Ford Motor Factory for a big company meeting. In this meeting, Mr. Ford announces that if someone does not come to him with the next groundbreaking idea, the company will be shut down. All of the characters that are central to the plot have now been introduced, and we continue to their main story.
Shelby is at Willow Springs Raceway, California with Ken, and they are about to go through their first race where Kens driving skills are shown off. Kens hotheaded temper is once again put on display as he tries to fight with the rule enforcement officer and with Shelby. Once Ken starts racing, the scene gets extremely intense. The only sounds become the sounds of the car engine. Ken gets to second place, and then at the last second beats the lead car and gets first place!
While Ken was driving, his wife received some unfortunate news about the garage that they own. They have lot the property due to unpaid debt, so Ken decides to (temporarily) quit racing. At the same time, Lee Iacocca gives a presentation to Mr. Ford on why he thinks they should start racing Ford cars. At first Mr. Ford is hesitant, but Lee pitches the idea to try to team up with Ferrari.
Ferrari – Home of the luxury cars, and fancy Italian everything. Lee pitches his idea to Mr. Ferrari about joining Ford and Ferrari together. Mr. Ferrari is hesitant but decides to read through the paperwork. It later turns out that the only reason Mr. Ferrari heard Lee out, is because it helped him increase the cost of his company to other buyers that will make better contracts with him. Lee goes back to Mr. Ford and tells him what happened and Mr. Ford does not like what he hears. He decides to go all in on developing the first Ford racecar.
Lee approaches Shelby about racing at Le Mans, and in turn, Shelby approaches Ken about it. At first Ken thinks it’s a joke, but Shelby invites him to a Mustang reveal party where Shelby will be giving a speech and announcing that Ford will be racing in Le Mans. Ken is still hesitant, so Shelby has him test drive the potential Ford racecar. Ken loves it, and after talking to his wife, he takes the job. They test the car to try and get ready for the first race, not the Le Mans, but a local one. Unfortunately due to the evil Vice-Chairman (Leo Beebe), Ken does not get to participate in this race. Ford looses badly.
Mr. Ford wants to talk to Shelby, and ask him about what happened at the race. This is where Shelby asks Mr. Ford to not let anyone get in the way of his work, and Mr. Ford surprisingly agrees. They continue to test the racecar, and at some point, Mr. Ford comes out to see it, which is when Shelby takes him out for a ride. Mr. Ford ends up crying and Shelby tells him that a professional such as Ken knows how to control such a powerful machine. Mr. Ford agrees to let Ken race in the next race. Jump to the Daytona 500 race. Ken is driving, and because Shelby promised Mr. Ford that he would win, Shelby lets Ken push the car to the limit and Ken wins.
Now everyone is in France, preparing for the Le Mans 24 hour race. The scenes during the race are very intense and very high-speed. Ken starts out the race by setting a new lap record. They continue to various scenes throughout the race, some of which include Mr. Ferrari making fun of Ford, or Ken resting between shift trades, or just general high-intense race scenes. This continues until Ken finally beats Ferrari and all of the Ferrari cars have broken down. The Le Mans race is not only about the fastest car, but it is also about the most durable one, which is why the Le Mans is a 24 hour race.
Towards the end of the movie, the evil VP decides that he thinks a photo of all 3 Ford cars crossing the finish line together would be the best idea. So Mr. Ford insists on it, and Shelby refuses but ends up leaving the decision to Ken. Ken decides that he wants to break his own lap record and he does, by driving the “perfect” lap. All 3 Fords cross the finish line together, but Ken is cheated out of his first place win by a technicality.
Cut to the end of the movie, Ken is driving a newer version of the Ford racecar. He takes it out for a test lap, but it ends up blowing up. It is unclear about what happens until in the next scene, Shelby gets in a fight with one of his fellow crew members and he tells Shelby “It has been 6 months Shelby, 6 months. Sometimes they don’t get out of the car”, implying that Ken had died in that accident on the test track. Shelby ends up trying to go see Kens widow and runs into Kens son instead. He gives him a wrench that Ken had thrown at Shelby in the beginning of the movie. It was his “good luck” wrench.
Some general notes about the movie are that for most of it, the colors were Red, Blue, Yellow, and Green, with a vary spectrum of Black/Grey/White. But none of the colors really contrasted each other, probably because they were the same shade. Another note is that although the film did have a lot of racing scenes, and a lot of energizing scenes, it also had some calm scenes in between that just showed Kens daily life, or something about how Shelby spends his free time. But overall, the movie was very powerful.
5 words: Intense, Emotional, Fast, Energizing, Powerful
Thesis statement: Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby get hired by Ford Motor Company to build the fastest racecar in the world and beat Ferrari in the Le Mans race in France.
Song: Polk Salad Annie by James Burton, David Sardy
Exploration1 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Exploration2 from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.
Duda_FordvFerrari_FINAL from UIC DESIGN on Vimeo.