A recently released The Batman behind-the-scenes video showcases the technology used to realize the Dark Knight's hometown of Gotham City. The DC superhero reboot focused on the detective aspect of the Dark Knight as he investigated a series of crimes against the city's corrupt officials and crime bosses. The Batman proved a massive success scoring over $764 million at the box office making it the highest-grossing film of 2022 so far.
The Batman was presented as a neo-noir and drew direct inspiration from films such as Zodiac and especially Se7en. Both The Batman and Se7en follow a pair of the detectives as they track a serial killer who commit their crimes based on their twisted ideology. But the similarities stretch beyond the narrative and also into the visual aesthetic of Gotham itself. Se7en was set in a distorted rain-soaked city, frequently masked in shadows giving the metropolis a claustrophobic feel. The Batman borrows heavily from this style with nearly every scene set in darkness and almost every night a rainy one.
HBO Max recently released a behind-the-scenes video on YouTube detailing the use of LED volume to create Gotham City. Director Matt Reeves explains that instead of relying on computer-generated imagery and green screen for most scenes, he used recent technological advancements to have as much real in-camera imagery as possible. Producer Dylan Clark views Gotham as a character of the film, and to fully realize the city while avoiding bad visual effects shot, the film crew used the LED volume to display shots of Gotham while the actors performed. This allowed for more realistic scenes against a CG-generated backdrop as compared to the green screen technique. Check out the behind-the-scenes video below.
Click here to view the video on YouTube.
LED volume is a type of studio production which uses arrays of LED panels to display customizable backgrounds and sets. This allows for realistic real-time lighting from the displays instead of visual effects artists attempting to match lighting and shadows while using green and blue screen methods. The Mandalorian famously utilized this technology to create backgrounds for a diverse set of alien worlds. The Batman's effects team used to the LED volume to update the background on-the-fly with shots of Gotham, manipulating the scene when necessary to get the perfect shot. Visual effects supervisor Dan Lemmon adds, "That's one of the big advantages of using an LED stage is you can essentially freeze time. You can put up a golden hour sunset...and you can have that sunset last as long as you need while you're doing the photography." Shooting at on-location sets limits the filmmakers to a time-table set by the sun.
While The Batman received endless praise for its actor's performances and the film's twisted narrative, Gotham City stood out as a richly-detailed setting that perfectly complemented the dark story. As technology continues to evolve, fantastical environments that were only once possible in post-production can now be present on set, allowing actors to give a more natural performance instead of being stuck acting against a flat mono-chromatic green screen. With The Batman sequel officially announced, Reeves and his visual effects team will once again be given a chance to push the envelope with film-making technology.
Source: HBO Max
