The Dark Knight Rises Art design & cinematography - The Look of THE DARK KNIGHT RISES

[-JKR-]

One of the first things I noticed when watching The Dark Knight, was that Nolan chose a different feel and look for the locations of the sequel.

Gone was the heavy rain, smoke and stylized and overall dirty look of Batman Begins' Gotham City: esp. in the scenes involving the Narrows.

The look of The Dark Knight was as gritty as it could get, resembling The French Connection and Heat rather than Blade Runner (which was one of the prime insipirations for the look of Batman Begins).

Seeing as Christopher Nolan and his crew chose to reinvent themselves the last time around, what do you think will be the direction of the production design and cinematography The Dark Knight Rises will take? Will the director once again "reinvent himself" slightly, or do you think the look of The Dark Knight is pretty much his ultimate vision and what we're going to get in part three?

 

[EliteF50]

How was TDK gritty? It just looked like a normal city...

He better go back to the dirty brown city Gotham was in BB. It looked a lot better. As for cinematography, I doubt that'll change if they keep the same director of photography.

 

[-JKR-]

It was gritty in the sense that it was raw. It wasn't stylized, as Batman Begins was.

And even the cinematography changed a lot from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight. The latter made more use of handheld camera, and even Pfister said that they wanted to open up to much more colors, rather than stick to one or a few more color tones, like Batman Begins did.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Will the movie be sepia or blue?

 

[Sith Scotti]

Personally I like that both films had a different look. I hope TDKR has a different look as well.

 

[-JKR-]

Not what I asked, as neither BB nor TDK were just... sepia or blue...

Personally I like that both films had a different look. I hope TDKR has a different look as well.

Same here.

 

[Sith Scotti]

Red seems like a popular choice this time around . I personally hope they go for a noirish look

 

[obin_gam]

I'm guessing its not going to get any bigger thats for sure, Nolan said he wont blow up the baloon to a bigger size than it already but rather keep it concise and tie it together --> so I think Pfister will work with the framing of the film the same way ei. not going any grander scale than TDK but rather keeping it somewhere in the middle.

 

[TheFuture]

I expect a completely different look, but the fanboy in me wants a return to the look of BB. Basically, I'll take any kind of dire look.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

How was TDK gritty? It just looked like a normal city...

Adjective

gritty (comparative grittier, superlative grittiest)

-(film, literature) Intense and starkly realistic, especially if violent.

 

[Bat-Mite]

It will have a yellow tint to symbolize the looming menace of Egghead.

Or maybe white to represent the egg shell. The egg is a symbol of birth, which is another form of rising.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES 2012!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

 

[hatebox]

I want rain. Lots of rain.

 

[Mister H.]

It was gritty in the sense that it was raw. It wasn't stylized, as Batman Begins was.

And even the cinematography changed a lot from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight. The latter made more use of handheld camera, and even Pfister said that they wanted to open up to much more colors, rather than stick to one or a few more color tones, like Batman Begins did.

Good point. Not only that, but even the approach to composition and proximity to the camera changed a bit. TDK featured more medium shots, fewer close-ups. As Hithcock said, the closer you get to the eyes, the more emotional the shot. I think this is a big reason why TDK has a more detached, Kubrickian-feel, and why BB was a more visceral experience.

I'd like to see a more claustrophobic project. Bring the camera in closer to the actors, and make the sets more ominous. Instead of these long shots of basically empty streets (which makes TDK seem a bit odd to me, considering Gotham always seems empty) I'd like to see more POV camerawork, especially as Batman spies on his prey.

 

[lililatigresse]

I want rain. Lots of rain.

That's what I'm hoping too.

 

[Mister H.]

That's what I'm hoping too.

Rain would be great.

 

[metalhead_dave]

I want to go for snow, but that's been kind of done with Returns.

 

[DCRanger]

Either use red tones... and give it a Noir look (like Sith Scotti suggested)...or...


Have the film take place at the tail end of Winter... thus when The Dark Knight actually "rises"... Spring arrives and hope springs eternal.

I'm not sure how this would look on film... but kind of cold and dark throughout most of the movie... thus Batman rising at the end and the feeling of hope and a new day upon Gotham.

No Easter bunny or eggs... or birds chirping, at the end though.

 

[-JKR-]

Good point. Not only that, but even the approach to composition and proximity to the camera changed a bit. TDK featured more medium shots, fewer close-ups. As Hithcock said, the closer you get to the eyes, the more emotional the shot. I think this is a big reason why TDK has a more detached, Kubrickian-feel, and why BB was a more visceral experience.

Yep, exactly. I think TDK had a more detached feel, as Bruce Wayne himself was more detached from his role. He wanted to get away from it, so you also have the movie kind of trying to get away from Batman. Nolan tried to open up and widen the story. Also, I think most of the daylight scenes are because of Harvey Dent. Lots of scenes in offices. In courtroom. Etc. Harvey was the glimmer of hope in The Dark Knight, but the end of the movie tears everything down and once again it's all on Batman's shoulders, so I think it's not unlikely for the third movie to be more "creature of the night"-ish in style, and also in its cinematrogaphy.

 

[Gianakin_]

I want snow.

 

[The Navigator]

Snow plz.

 

[Gianakin_]

 

[Boom]

I want snow, or a ****-ton of fog.

 

[Mister H.]

Rain should be possible. If they shoot in Chicago in May, there will be some rain. Whether they get it on film is another story. I think I read once that Nolan said he doesn't plan for that kind of thing, that he wants to shoot when he can, and the elements will be what they are. I don't know if that's true or not.

If memory serves, the scenes in BB that involve rain all took place in the Narrows, which was a huge set. This is one way to get rain whenever you want. I doubt we'll see snow, as the exteriors will be shot in Chicago in the summer, so it wouldn't make any sense to have snow falling on the soundstages in England (presuming they are used again).

 

[obin_gam]

white and bright I wants it. fog and/or snow and then bats contrasts this with his black presence -> perfectamundo!

 

[Conebone69]

How was TDK gritty? It just looked like a normal city...

He better go back to the dirty brown city Gotham was in BB. It looked a lot better. As for cinematography, I doubt that'll change if they keep the same director of photography.

Totally agree. Gotham in TDK just looked like any old city but in BB it looked very gloomy and gritty.

I think TDKR should get back to what gotham looked like BB. And snow would be pretty tight! Change up the weather!