In many ways The Dark Knight is a groundbreaking film. For one, Christopher Nolan’s Batman
trilogy popularised an entire genre of comic book movies as dark, large scale, epic, character
studies with elements of realism.
The cinematography in the film by Wally Phister is equally groundbreaking. Through its innovative
use of technical gear and grounded, naturalistic visual style, The Dark Knight became both
a box office smash and a cult classic simultaneously.
In this first edition of Cinematography Breakdown I’ll be providing in depth analysis on how
the cinematography of The Dark Knight informs the overall story. I’ll look at specific
shots and scenes from the movie as well as behind the scenes images and breakdown exactly
how they were achieved from a technical standpoint: looking at cameras, lighting and grips.
I think what really set Nolan’s series of Batman films apart from previous notions of
what a comic book films is, is due to the tone he creates. Rather than a more literal
and stylized interpretation of a comic book story, like having the Joker getting his appearance
from falling into a vat of chemicals, Nolan sets The Dark Knight in a more realistic world,
that’s more identifiable, with a tone of filmic realism.
The film is of course not trying to represent the real world, but it is trying to represent
its own realistic world. A world based on cinematic principles that are derived from
real life experiences and characters.
To achieve this look Nolan enlisted Wally Phister, his regular Director of Photography.
“His style of photography is very naturalistic and very subtle; he’s very good at making
things feel real with an unforced and natural beauty, and that’s what we were really after
on this film.”
So Phister was briefed to create visuals which were naturalistic and subtle, but which were
also captivating and epic.
To achieve this look they shot the film in 2 different formats: Imax and 35mm anamorphic.
Nolan remarked, “I’ve always been fascinated by large-format photography’s immersive
quality, the impact it has on the huge screen “and I’d never seen a fiction film or
a Hollywood movie that employed that degree of immersion on the visual side.”
So, in a landmark decision they decided to shoot a large proportion of the film in the
more costly Imax format for specific scenes that required enhanced moments of immersion,
becoming the 1st feature length narrative film to use Imax on this scale.
It could be argued that this helped reignite a renaissance in shooting large format. With
future films increasingly utilising Imax, Ultra Panavision 70 and now the Arri Mini
LF.
So, what is Imax?
To understand Imax, first we need to understand a traditional 35mm camera. With a 35mm film
camera, there is a specific area behind the lens that allows light to hit the film. When
light hits the film it exposes and captures a negative image which can be seen once it’s
developed. The area where this exposure happens is called the film plane.
We can think of this as being the same as a digital sensor on modern cameras. Whatever
light hits the digital sensor or film plane is recorded. Traditionally the light hits
the film plane 24 times a second.
On a 35mm film camera the film travels and passes the film plane vertically. On an Imax
camera however the film passes the film plane horizontally. The size of a film negative
is measured in perfs or perforations. 35mm film can be shot in 2, 3 or 4 perf. Imax film
is shot at an astounding 15 perfs.
35mm film is so called because the total width of the film measures 35mm across. Imax uses
70mm film, which measures 70mm across. This means that the image that is recorded in Imax
is 9 times larger than that of 35mm, which results in unparalleled resolution, even by
today’s digital standards.
Let’s break down the Imax camera setup used on The Dark Knight. Here’s a photo of the
camera on set. It’s taken from the right hand side of the camera, which we call the
dumb side. It’s jokingly called this because all the technical information like the lens
markings are found on the left side of the camera. So this side has less info, hence
the dumb side.
I’ll start at the front of the camera. To protect excess light from flaring the lens
and to hold filters in place we have a studio mattebox. This looks like it could be an Arri
MB-18. There are 2 kinds of matteboxes: clip on matteboxes, which clamp onto the front
of the lens. They are lightweight and often used for handheld or steadicam steups where
a lighter camera build is required.
The other type of mattebox, like we see here, is a production or studio matteboxe. This
is mounted on rods or bars rather than being clipped onto the lens and is often used for
larger lenses, like zooms, or when the camera is in studio mode such as on a tripod or dolly
where having a larger built camera doesn’t matter as much.
Above the mattebox is a cinetape. This is a large, older version. A cinetape sends out
a sonar frequency like a bat in a cave. It receives the sonar signal back and gets an
accurate distance measurement to whatever it’s pointing at. (33:47) The focus puller
or 1st AC will get this distance measurement readout and use it to pull focus to the correct
distance. For example if an actor is standing 6 feet away from the camera the cinetape will
measure this and the focus puller will pull the focus to 6’ on the lens so that the
actor is in focus.
Through the mattebox rods is the lens. It’s a hasselblad lens, originally made for large
or medium format photography, which has been converted for cinema use. It’s used for
Imax cinematography because the lens elements are large enough to cover the full Imax negative
without vignetting the image.
Next to the lens is a focus motor. This is a Preston wireless follow focus. The focus
puller will attach this motor to the gears on a lens. Then using their handset they can
move the motor, which changes the focus, seeing what distance the lens is on as the motor
moves.
On top of the camera we have a 5” monitor, which displays a video feed of what the camera
is seeing. The operator can use this to operate the camera or to line up a shot. With film
cameras though the operator traditionally looks through the viewfinder or eyepiece as
it provides a clearer image and connects the operator to the camera more.
If they use the motor it’s possible to get distracted by something happening behind the
monitor for instance, but when looking through the eyepiece, all that you see is a direct
feed of what the camera is capturing.
This is the body of the camera. The film plane would be inside the body. And at the back
is the mag or magazine. This is where the 70mm film is stored in a totally light free
mag so that the film isn’t exposed to any excess light which would ruin the negative.
So the other camera that they used on this film to capture the majority of the 35mm anamorphic
footage is the Panaflex Millennium XL, operated by the masked cinematographer here who is
having a look at the frame through the eyepiece.
This is a camera from Panavision who rent their equipment for films and commercials.
It’s a 35mm film camera as opposed to large format Imax. Here you can see the magazine
above the camera instead of at the back. Usually the mags on cameras are at the back like on
the Imax camera and Arri cameras, but with certain Panavision cameras they are on top.
This is a 1000’ mag, meaning that it carries 1000 feet of 35mm film inside it, which equates
to about 11 minutes of footage.
There are 2 standard mag sizes for 35mm, 400’ and 1000’ so this is the larger option which
means you can run more takes before the mag finishes and you have to reload or change
magazines.
They shot the Dark Knight on 2 Kodak Vision 2 film stocks: 500T (which goes by the name
5218) and 250D (or 5205).
Phister likes to simplify things by only shooting 2 film stocks. “I’m not a guy who changes
film stocks to create a different look,” “I like to have a simple set of tools and
change the look with lighting and exposure. 5205 has a very solid grain structure, and
I usually use it all day long with ND filters during the brightest parts of the day.”
For interior or night scenes he will then change to 500T for its increased sensitivity
to light.
On the front is a mattebox that we discussed before. And a little box that says 4 foot
11 inches, which is coming from the cinetape, meaning that the cinetape is reading a distance
of 4’11” from the camera to whatever is in front of the lens.
They shot the Dark Knight on Panavision anamorphic lenses: the older C-series and the more modern
E-series. This appears to be a 50mm E-Series lens on the camera.
And next to the lens is a traditional follow focus setup. It looks like an Arri FF-3. In
this setup the focus puller will stand on the left side of the camera next to the operator
and pull focus by turning the knob.
At the top we can see there is a monitor mounted. This is positioned for the focus puller as
a reference. So when they are pulling focus they will be looking at 4 things.
First, the position of what they are pulling focus to, for example an actor moving towards
the camera. They will look at the cinetape readout which shows this distance. They will
look at the distance markings on the lens. And they will look at the monitor as a reference
to check that they are in focus.
Let’s take a look at the famous opening scene in the movie. This scene was mainly
shot on Imax to give an immersive quality to this action sequence. A lot of the camera
movement here is smooth and cinematic, moving the camera a lot provides a dynamism and a
tension to the sequence.
This slow dolly track in on the Joker and his mask sets him up as an ominous character.
Like how in Jaws we don’t immediately see the shark, we just see the fin, here we don’t
immediately see the Joker, we just see his mask. Choosing what information we decide
to reveal to the audience through shot choice is key in directing and cinematography.
In this opening sequence we also establish the lighting style which is employed throughout
the film. The film relies on naturalistic lighting, motivated by the locations and practicals.
Here we see beams of light coming through the windows leading down the hall. This light
provides a beautiful, natural looking depth to the shot, it gives us an idea that the
bank’s layout is large.
Although this light may seem like natural light, it’s not. In this location the lighting
crew rigged a dozen 7K xenon lamps outside the windows using condors. This is a strong
light source which creates distinctive light beams with hard shadows. It also means that
there aren’t lights inside the building on set. This gives the actors and camera more
room to move around.
This scene is supplemented by touches from real, practical light sources, something that
Phister employs throughout the film.
This sequence employs constant camera movement. Mostly on steadicam. The movement of the camera
is motivated by the movement of the characters on screen. This provides us with an ‘on
the ground perspective’. It makes us feel like we are there and a part of the action.
Again the shaft of light approach is employed. To me this makes the space seem large and
empty which creates an air of vulnerability when the shooting starts, like all the characters
are out in the open.
We can also see here that even with wider lenses the depth of field is incredibly narrow.
This is an effect of shooting with a larger Imax negative. The larger the film plane the
less depth of field there is. This means that characters can be isolated, even in wider
shots, so that the filmmakers can clearly guide the audience’s eye to what they want
them to see.
The sequence ends with a classic jib up on a crane or technocrane to reveal the master
plan as the bus drives off. This visual approach to revealing the plan of the Joker mimics
how the audience will be exposed to his plans throughout the movie.
An iconic location from The Dark Knight is Bruce Wayne’s secret underground bunker,
where scenes with him and Alfred take place. The approach to lighting here was motivated
by an almost counter intuitive approach.
Nolan describes this idea. “Early on, I suggested to Wally that because the film is
called The Dark Knight and is about, metaphorically, extremely dark subjects, it would be interesting
to play against that for much of the film and make things as bright as possible, even
as the material gets darker,”
I think The Dark Knight is a film about binary connections. It’s about the relationship
between good and evil, about chaos vs order, Batman vs The Joker, about dark and light.
Lighting in extreme ways, by having some scenes with lots of light, and some scenes in pervading
darkness emphasises this idea of duality.
In this scene they achieved this bright underground look by lighting from the ceiling above. The
lighting team placed 300 space lights, with 6 800watt bulbs surrounded by a silk diffusion
and skirting, above the ceiling. Then with the production design chose a perspex material
which would let the light through while remaining opaque so that the lights above are invisible
in the scene.
In sections the lighting crew hung 20x20 white sheets to contain and smooth out the light.
The lights were all rigged to dimmers so that, when the characters leave, they are able to
turn off the overhead film lights. So that Bruce Wayne and Alfred are seen leaving the
light behind for darkness.
In order to preserve a sense of naturalism, Nolan prefers shooting in real location as
opposed to in a studio. As such, this scene was shot in a real hotel. Like in the underground
bunker, most of the light comes from above.
Phister’s team put up 4 8K space lights again to create a soft ambience. The room
was littered with small practical sources to break up the background.
The backgrounds of the city that we see in this scene were actually done with a green
screen plate. They lined the windows on set with greenscreen material and backlit it with
40 2k tungsten lights. Green screens have to be evenly lit to be better keyed out which
is why they used so many sources to provide an even light over a large surface area.
We can see this scene was shot on anamorphic lenses due to the oval bokeh, as opposed to
the regular round bokeh you get from spherical lenses.
The Joker is an unpredictable character. To increase this idea visually a lot of the shots
of him here are shot handheld. This makes the camera shake more and appear less controlled,
smooth and disciplined. Mimicking his chaotic persona.
Phister likes to use eyelights for characters, where you use a small source underneath an
actor to create a ping of light in the eyes. In this scene he used an LED Lightpanel in
a softbox which was handheld by his gaffer to move alongside the camera and provide a
sparkle in the eyes of the Joker.
So to sum up the visual style of The Dark Knight: Wally Phister and Christopher Nolan
were able to create a naturalistic, subtle, filmic realism. Phister’s lighting in the
film is always motivated and he makes regular use of practical lights and lighting built
into the sets. To create a sense of immersion and provide scale he used large-format Imax
for action sequences from a consciously moving camera, whose perspective and movement was
always motivated by the story on screen.
This style resulted in a film not overly stylised that has so far stood the test of time. A
film where the actors and story take centre stage, creating a commentary on the duality
of life. A battle between the light and the dark.
Thanks very much for watching this breakdown of The Dark Knight. If you enjoyed this format
of breaking down classic films and the gear used to shoot them please give the video a
like and subscribe. If you have suggestions for other films you’d like me to breakdown
please let me know in the comments. Until next time, thanks for watching and goodbye.