Christoper Nolan on 3D, Digital vs. Film, CGI and why he always wears vests

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jett

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Recently the DGA conducted an interview with him, which I think any fan of his and film will find very interesting.

http://www.dga.org/Craft/DGAQ/All-Articles/1202-Spring-2012/DGA-Interview-Christopher-Nolan.aspx

On shooting on film:

Q: You and your cameraman, Wally Pfister, are—along with Steven Spielberg—among the last holdouts who shoot on film in an industry that’s moved to digital. What’s your attraction to the older medium?

A: For the last 10 years, I've felt increasing pressure to stop shooting film and start shooting video, but I've never understood why. It's cheaper to work on film, it's far better looking, it’s the technology that's been known and understood for a hundred years, and it's extremely reliable. I think, truthfully, it boils down to the economic interest of manufacturers and [a production] industry that makes more money through change rather than through maintaining the status quo. We save a lot of money shooting on film and projecting film and not doing digital intermediates. In fact, I've never done a digital intermediate. Photochemically, you can time film with a good timer in three or four passes, which takes about 12 to 14 hours as opposed to seven or eight weeks in a DI suite. That’s the way everyone was doing it 10 years ago, and I've just carried on making films in the way that works best and waiting until there’s a good reason to change. But I haven't seen that reason yet.
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On 3D:

Q: Speaking of technical changes, was there any pressure to do The Dark Knight Rises in 3-D?

A: Warner Bros. would have been very happy, but I said to the guys there that I wanted it to be stylistically consistent with the first two films and we were really going to push the IMAX thing to create a very high-quality image. I find stereoscopic imaging too small scale and intimate in its effect. 3-D is a misnomer. Films are 3-D. The whole point of photography is that it’s three-dimensional. The thing with stereoscopic imaging is it gives each audience member an individual perspective. It’s well suited to video games and other immersive technologies, but if you're looking for an audience experience, stereoscopic is hard to embrace. I prefer the big canvas, looking up at an enormous screen and at an image that feels larger than life. When you treat that stereoscopically, and we've tried a lot of tests, you shrink the size so the image becomes a much smaller window in front of you. So the effect of it, and the relationship of the image to the audience, has to be very carefully considered. And I feel that in the initial wave to embrace it, that wasn’t considered in the slightest.
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On CGI:

Q: Because of the kind of films you make, people might assume you use lots of computer-generated imagery, but you actually prefer models, mattes, and in-camera effects. When do you like to use CGI?

A: The thing with computer-generated imagery is that it’s an incredibly powerful tool for making better visual effects. But I believe in an absolute difference between animation and photography. However sophisticated your computer-generated imagery is, if it’s been created from no physical elements and you haven’t shot anything, it’s going to feel like animation. There are usually two different goals in a visual effects movie. One is to fool the audience into seeing something seamless, and that’s how I try to use it. The other is to impress the audience with the amount of money spent on the spectacle of the visual effect, and that, I have no interest in. We try to enhance our stunt work and floor effects with extraordinary CGI tools like wire and rig removals. If you put a lot of time and effort into matching your original film elements, the kind of enhancements you can put into the frames can really trick the eye, offering results far beyond what was possible 20 years ago. The problem for me is if you don’t first shoot something with the camera on which to base the shot, the visual effect is going to stick out if the film you’re making has a realistic style or patina. I prefer films that feel more like real life, so any CGI has to be very carefully handled to fit into that.
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And finally, his biggest secret revealed:

Q: One last thing: I’ve noticed that while many of your peers wear casual clothing and baseball caps to work, it’s not unusual for you to sport a dark suit or a white linen jacket on the set. Why get so dressed up?

A: [laughs] I went to a boarding school where we had to wear a uniform, and I got used to using all the pockets in my jacket. It’s just what I’m comfortable in. I don’t like to think about what to wear, so I just wear the same thing every day. When I first started shooting with a crew on Memento I remember trying to pick up a sandbag and everyone was shouting at me that I wasn’t allowed to do that because there were specific people for that job. As much as I’d like to be able to get my hands dirty, I don’t usually get to do so. So I dress the way I would for a day at the office. It’s just easier that way.
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It's not just clothes, it's his work uniform.

chris-nolan.jpg


"'sup"
 
IMAX > 3D. Yes I know there is also IMAX 3D.

I really will be surprised if a lot of 3D movies are being made in 10 years. I don't know anyone who likes them and everyone complains about the ticket prices for them.
 
Cheebo said:
IMAX > 3D. Yes I know there is also IMAX 3D.

I really will be surprised if a lot of 3D movies are being made in 10 years. I don't know anyone who likes them and everyone complains about the ticket prices for them.
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It would be dead were it not for studios being convinced it boosts cinema attendance in emerging international markets.
 
Cheebo said:
IMAX > 3D. Yes I know there is also IMAX 3D.

I really will be surprised if a lot of 3D movies are being made in 10 years. I don't know anyone who likes them and everyone complains about the ticket prices for them.
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They're going to raise 2D prices. Problem solved! Lol.
 
Krev said:
It would be dead were it not for studios being convinced it boosts cinema attendance in emerging international markets.
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In Canada 3D has seen amazing uptake. I attended a talk by their CEO and basically the numbers prove people like it... A lot. And are willing to pay for it.

We are the vocal minority; it's not going anywhere (at least in Canada). The U.S. is a different story because of how fragmented their theatre system is. Some places charge $3, some charge $5. Confused the shit out of their customers.

We don't have that problem up north.
 
His view on Film being cheaper is interesting when I've heard much to the contrary. Is it only really cheaper with small-budget films? It's refreshing to see a director of large-scale films saying what he's saying about CGI and 3D, though.
 
Sheppard said:
As always first post nails it.

Noob film question: Speaking of 1080p blurays and what not, is there some type of conversion that needs to be done if it is done on film rather then it being done digitally?
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You'd have to transfer the film which is analog to 1080p which is digital. I'm pretty sure they have a guy who converts it to a high res master . Some film is equal to 4k res or greater and from there they work on cleaning up the film and then after its complete they work to down sample it to 1080 p
 
Sheppard said:
As always first post nails it.

Noob film question: Speaking of 1080p blurays and what not, is there some type of conversion that needs to be done if it is done on film rather then it being done digitally?
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All films today get an immediate conversion to digital after they are completed. I think the digital masters are done at 4K resolution.
 
His approach to film making seems to be a very intimate one. Nolan just shot up there into my favorite directors list.
 
What res do digital camcorders run at today? I know the third star wars prequel is forever stuck at 1080p due to the shittiness of digital cams back then.
 
His stances on 3d and all that bullshit is why I'll see any Nolan movie despite having zero interest in the subject matter oftentimes (like batman).

Best action movie director of 2000s
 
Wow, I've become a bit bored with his style/schtick, but what great answers. I always respect someone who is principled.
 
jett said:
Fuck noes, I loved the extended ratio on the TDK BD. Looked glorious.
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Sadly the film to digital transfers of the rest of his movies don't fare so great on blu-ray. BB, TDK, Inception - all lackluster transfers compared to the best. Blame is probably Warner Bros, though. Doesn't seem Nolan works as closely with the studio like say Fincher or Spielberg on his home video transfers.
 
Thanks for posting this Jett. Also, this part caught my attention.

Q: Have you ever thought about communicating your feelings to the industry and other directors?
A: I’ve kept my mouth shut about this for a long time and it’s fine that everyone has a choice, but for me the choice is in real danger of disappearing. So right before Christmas I brought some filmmakers together and showed them the prologue for The Dark Knight Rises that we shot on IMAX film, then cut from the original negative and printed. I wanted to give them a chance to see the potential, because I think IMAX is the best film format that was ever invented.
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Does anyone know who the filmmakers were?
 
The problem with 3D is that it on the whole, makes the film look worse. Until every cinema has a giant 3DS screen I don't think it's worth it.
 
Nolan said:
The problem for me is if you don’t first shoot something with the camera on which to base the shot, the visual effect is going to stick out if the film you’re making has a realistic style or patina. I prefer films that feel more like real life, so any CGI has to be very carefully handled to fit into that.
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Not sure how sensitive people are to spoilers, so with regards to this shot:

http://www.stuffwelike.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/darkknighrrises.jpg

I know technically there was a physical foundation for it, but stylistically it isn't unlike the "showy" use of CGI he's apparently careful to avoid. I admire his relatively subtle use of CGI to enhance practical effects in the previous films, but I remember this "man runs towards screen while things explode behind him" sequence feeling very un-Nolan when I first saw it.
 
There are usually two different goals in a visual effects movie. One is to fool the audience into seeing something seamless, and that’s how I try to use it. The other is to impress the audience with the amount of money spent on the spectacle of the visual effect, and that, I have no interest in.
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I like this guy.
 
Really like this quote which I think gets at the heart of why the world of Blade Runner is so engrossing:

Q: You’ve often said that your favorite film is Blade Runner. What special significance does it hold for you?

A: As a kid watching films, you go through a gradual realization of what’s behind them. You start off like everyone else, thinking that actors make up the words and create the film themselves. So when I was young and looking at Alien and Blade Runner, I was going, OK, they’re different stories, different settings, really different actors, everything’s different—but there’s a very strong connection between those two films, and that is the director, Ridley Scott. I remember being struck by that, and thinking that’s the job I want.

The atmosphere of Blade Runner was also important, that feeling that there was this whole world outside the frame of the scene. You really felt there were things going on outside of those rooms where you’ve seen the film take place. That’s something I’ve always tried to carry with me. Every film should have its own world, a logic and feel to it that expands beyond the exact image that the audience is seeing.

Q: In your early films you wrote, shot, edited, even designed sets—the only thing you didn’t do was act. What process do you use working with actors?
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Wait, wire removal is considered extraordinary CGI now?

And what he's describing about "needing to shoot something first" is still the case for the vast majority of shots for even the heaviest CG films. He can state his preferences for minimal CG and wire-work and practical effects, but that particular reasoning shouldn't be a major justification for not wanting to use CG - live plates are for the most part absolutely essential for most CG work.
 
The wire-work in Inception was incredible. When i watched it in theatres the first time and you see JGL navigating the corridor during the zero-G fight scene, i was actually kinda floored. The fluidity of his movements was amazing, i had no idea how it was done (i recently saw a video which shows the corridor was vertical and JGL hangs inside it) because it looked like he was underwater. I can appreciated the man-hours going into a project like Avatar but i will always know how it was done. Inception actually stumped me.
 
However sophisticated your computer-generated imagery is, if it’s been created from no physical elements and you haven’t shot anything, it’s going to feel like animation.
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Related to that, on the Dark Knight extras he mentioned that although he used CGI elements in the helicopter crash, he made a point of ending the sequence with a practical shot of the helicopter wreckage sliding down the street toward the camera shooting off sparks. He said that if you end the sequence with a real shot, then on a gut level the audience takes away from it that the entire sequence was real. I thought that was pretty cool.
 
jett said:
There's virtually zero shaky cam use in his movies, if that's what you're getting at.
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Oh come on, the bootleg cam recording of the trailer was super shaky. And worse, there was dialogue that had nothing to do with the movie playing. :p
 
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