American Cinematographer - July 2008 - (Page 31) 35mm prints,” recalls Pfister — and they subsequently “stuck a toe in the water” by shooting an Imax visualeffects plate for The Prestige (AC Nov. ’06); at the time, Nolan told Pfister the shot was also serving as a test of the format’s viability in a feature film. After Nolan suggested combining Imax with the 35mm anamorphic format on The Dark Knight, he and Pfister shot a series of Imax tests in Nolan’s backyard, then put the camera in the back of a pickup truck and shot a night test on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood using only existing light. “We wanted to find out what we could put on the negative with this bigger camera and its slower lenses in a variety of conditions,” recalls the cinematographer. “We also wanted to push the film to see how that looked. Chris subsequently did a range of scanning tests at 4K and 6K with varying degrees of DMR processing. We also did exposure and density tests. “The results were very successful and encouraging,” he continues. “Chris spent some time figuring out what the post path would be [see sidebar on page 36], and I came up with a realistic breakdown of the costs, which were roughly four times the cost of shooting only 35mm. Chris then set about convincing Warner Bros. to try something that had never been done before. I don’t think that was easy, but among his many other skills, Chris is a very smart marketing person!” Nolan notes, “I think the fact that it was unprecedented was a big selling point for the studio. They probably didn’t truly get what we wanted to do until they saw the first test reel, which blew them away.” The filmmakers received permission to shoot a number of action sequences in Imax; these would include the opening sequence, which depicts a huge bank heist, and the climactic closing scenes. By the time production Opposite page: Batman (Christian Bale) comes down hard on crime in Gotham City. This page: The Caped Crusader faces a formidable new foe in the ghoulish Joker (Heath Ledger). Photos and film frames courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. American Cinematographer 31
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - July 2008 American Cinematographer - July 2008 Contents Editor's Note Global Village: Torn from the Flag Short Takes: On a Tuesday Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E Batman Looms Larger A Not-So-Super Hero Spy vs. Spy Laugh Factory Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index In Memoriam: Burton "Bud" Stone, Honorary ASC Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor American Cinematographer - July 2008 American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page Cover1) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page Cover2) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page 1) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - American Cinematographer - July 2008 (Page 2) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 3) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 4) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 5) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 6) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Contents (Page 7) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Editor's Note (Page 8) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Editor's Note (Page 9) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 10) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 11) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 12) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Global Village: Torn from the Flag (Page 13) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 14) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 15) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 16) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Short Takes: On a Tuesday (Page 17) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 18) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 19) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 20) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 21) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 22) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 23) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 24) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 25) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 26) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 27) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 28) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Production Slate: Before the Rains WALL-E (Page 29) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 30) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 31) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 32) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 33) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 34) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 35) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 36) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 37) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 38) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 39) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 40) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 41) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 42) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 43) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 44) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Batman Looms Larger (Page 45) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 46) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 47) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 48) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 49) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 50) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 51) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 52) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - A Not-So-Super Hero (Page 53) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 54) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 55) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 56) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 57) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 58) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 59) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 60) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 61) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 62) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Spy vs. Spy (Page 63) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 64) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 65) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 66) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Laugh Factory (Page 67) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 68) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 69) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 70) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 71) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 72) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Post Focus: CineSynce Streamlines Dark Knight Effects (Page 73) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 74) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 75) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 76) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - New Products & Services (Page 77) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - International Marketplace (Page 78) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Classified Ads (Page 79) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Ad Index (Page 80) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Ad Index (Page 81) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - In Memoriam: Burton "Bud" Stone, Honorary ASC (Page 82) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - In Memoriam: Burton "Bud" Stone, Honorary ASC (Page 83) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 84) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 85) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 86) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - Clubhouse News (Page 87) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor (Page 88) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor (Page Cover3) American Cinematographer - July 2008 - ASC Close-Up: Bill Taylor (Page Cover4)
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