Chapter 850: A Passion for IMAX Cameras

"The battle for The Dark Knight Rises begins! Unveiling the set and behind-the-scenes secrets!"

Just as October began, news like this flooded the internet, reminding moviegoers that Duke's new film had entered the production phase.

Sites like Yahoo Entertainment and Instant Sharing also received plenty of inside information deliberately leaked by Warner Brothers.

"Duke Rosenberg's production team is currently in Los Angeles for a two-week shoot. The paparazzi in the City of Angels are already out in full force, and fans can expect a massive influx of news to hit their screens every day."

The next day, the Los Angeles Times revealed, "According to the latest insider information, a major supporting character in The Dark Knight Rises will die, sending the film's plot in a completely unpredictable direction."

Soon after, Yahoo Entertainment published photos of Cillian Murphy entering the Hughes Aircraft Plant, accompanied by the headline "The Scarecrow Returns."

"Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow appeared in Duke's first two Batman films, and he is back again! In The Dark Knight Rises, his public identity is the new judge of Gotham City! Upon taking office, he sentences the wealthy and the social elite to death or exile, which might be exactly what throws Gotham into chaos."

The production crew deliberately released all of this information. It avoided major spoilers while successfully drumming up public interest.

Meanwhile, the Hughes Aircraft Plant, where Duke had already kicked off filming, was strictly off-limits to the press. The entire crew was busy shooting intense and complex action sequences, leaving them no time to entertain reporters.

Duke started by shooting the film's mid-air action sequence, where Bane orchestrated and executed a deadly hijacking and kidnapping that sparked a massive riot.

Most of this sequence was filmed on sets built inside a massive hangar at the Hughes Aircraft Plant. Anna Printz had already led a second unit to shoot location footage so the green screens could be replaced with real environments via CGI during post-production.

Inside the soundstage, massive models of a C-130 Hercules transport plane and a small business jet had already been constructed. Supported by more than a dozen cranes, they achieved mid-air "flight."

Suspended by wires, the stuntmen completed the hijacking leap from one plane to the other in front of green screens. Though it looked thrilling, the stunt was completely safe.

Sitting behind the monitors, Duke focused entirely on the live feed.

Supported by cranes, the massive C-130 Hercules model approached the hijacked plane from above. Four stuntmen playing terrorists dropped from the cargo bay on tethers, landing on the wings of the CIA jet before unleashing a fierce barrage of gunfire into the windows.

Afterward, they tethered the completely out-of-control jet to the Hercules transport.

Duke's directing style meant that if a scene could be done in post-production, he would never risk shooting it on location. Thus, the majority of this opening spectacle was filmed in front of green screens on a soundstage.

Even so, the action sequence remained incredibly difficult and dangerous. From start to finish, it relied entirely on a high degree of coordination among the various departments, which had to execute with precise timing and accuracy to keep everything running smoothly.

To safely and smoothly shoot this high-altitude opening sequence, the crew had begun preparations several months in advance. They did things that broke new ground and even defied traditional practices, but Duke remained extremely cautious during filming. He firmly believed that every single safety measure was absolutely necessary.

Before shooting began, the visual effects team from Industrial Light and Magic created an animatic—a low-resolution computer animation with sound—to give every department a preview of the sequence so they could spot potential issues ahead of time.

Through this previs animation, the stunt, special effects, and visual effects teams knew exactly when and where their roles came into play during the actual shoot, greatly helping everyone execute their respective jobs.

Before shooting the sequence where the hijackers leaped from the C-130 Hercules to the CIA jet, stunt coordinator Jimmy Carter made extensive preparations to guarantee the maximum safety of the aerial stuntmen.

It might have looked like just four men grabbing four ropes, flying out of the tail of one plane, and landing on another, but coordinating this with the film crew was no easy task. Safety, in particular, was a paramount concern for the production.

Before putting live actors in the air, Duke had Jimmy Carter run countless simulations using dummies and various equipment. They prepared extensive emergency measures, including quick-release ropes and double-secured wire harnesses.

Fortunately, by the grace of God, none of these fail-safes had been needed so far.

Because the script dictated that the fuselage of the CIA jet would ultimately plummet, the crew couldn't afford to be sloppy with the ground preparations. Before shooting, the entire soundstage was thoroughly cleared. Even though it was just a model, the sheer force of a plane crashing down from the top of the soundstage was not something anyone could ignore.

When everything was ready, Duke and cinematographer John Schwartzman rode an open aerial lift to capture all the shots from above. Their ample preparation and extreme professionalism resulted in high efficiency and precision. This aerial spectacle, originally scheduled for a nine-day shoot, was completed in just two.

For the desperate life-and-death struggle inside the cabin, Duke moved the production to the blimp hangar at the Hughes Aircraft Plant. Hannah Serena and her team had built a fuselage section on a gimbal that could freely flip vertically and horizontally, as well as tilt rapidly, thoroughly testing the balance of everyone in the cast and crew.

"I don't know why, but on a set directed by Duke, actors always end up having to do somersaults or get flipped upside down," cinematographer John Schwartzman said, clearly still remembering the experience of shooting Gravity. "Obviously, shooting like this is exhausting and difficult, but the effect on the big screen will definitely be outstanding."

His words offered Dwayne Johnson and the others a small measure of comfort while they were being flipped around until they were dizzy.

This massive opening action sequence was shot entirely on IMAX cameras. Beyond that, the IMAX camera would naturally take center stage throughout the entire production, capturing the vast majority of the action scenes.

Regarding their collaboration with the IMAX Company, Duke also spoke to the media while entering and leaving the Hughes Aircraft Plant.

"I have a particular passion for shooting with IMAX cameras."

Speaking into the reporters' voice recorders, Duke emphasized, "That's because they expand and widen the frame, pushing the scale to its absolute limit. I already witnessed their extraordinary power in The Dark Knight and other films. Through continuous study and research, our technology has matured, and aspects like exposure indexing can better serve the film. Constant technical updates allow our cinematography standards to keep improving."

Nowadays, shooting a film extensively with IMAX cameras was already a major selling point in itself, so Duke's words were also meant for promotion.

John Schwartzman, who was interviewed alongside Duke, completely agreed with his statement.

"In terms of visuals and sound, IMAX provides an immersive viewing experience," he said. "The vast, lifelike sensation that the format and resolution present to the human eye, coupled with high-fidelity surround sound, makes it hard not to get completely swept away. We spent three months working with Panasonic and the IMAX Company to rebuild the viewfinders on the cameras and improve the lenses. This way, even in dimly lit environments, we can shoot extremely high-quality footage. All of these improvements have allowed us to realize many details that were impossible in our previous two films."

However, during filming, the cumbersome cameras brought plenty of trouble to John Schwartzman and his crew. Just mounting these massive devices onto the aerial lifts was an ordeal. The crew had to make new cuts and welds on the lifts to secure the heavy machines more firmly.

When shooting ground scenes, the crew placed thick aluminum plates on miniature dolly tracks to build a level working platform for the cameras.

For all scenes shot with IMAX cameras, Duke demanded a two-camera setup. Out of the three technicians assigned to the crew by the IMAX Company, at least one had to be on set at all times to assist John Schwartzman's camera team with highly difficult shooting tasks and perform temporary repairs, ensuring the production ran smoothly.

Overall, in terms of film loading, feeding, and operability, these cameras were no different from any others. However, many unexpected issues could arise during film changes, leading to film jams. If a jam was too severe, the camera had to be temporarily retired from work and hauled to the IMAX Company's branch workshop in Los Angeles for professional disassembly and repair.

To a certain extent, these bulky giants were much more fragile than ordinary cameras. Furthermore, the total number of IMAX cameras in the entire world was extremely limited. If all three cameras broke down, Duke would have no choice but to halt filming or switch to standard digital cameras.

In Duke's hands, the IMAX cameras were primarily used to capture action, panoramic vistas, and highly impactful shots. The rest of the standard scenes were mainly filmed using ordinary digital cameras.

Even now, the cost of using IMAX cameras remained sky-high. Shooting the entire film with IMAX cameras was not only inconvenient but also far too extravagant.

As the third installment in the series, the production's expenditure on cast and crew salaries alone was approaching 100 million dollars. Duke also had to guarantee the budget for post-production. Though the estimated production budget reached as high as 250 million dollars, the actual funds allocated directly to filming were not exceptionally large.

After finishing the opening sequence, Duke led the crew back to Warner Studios. The highly mysterious Margot Robbie also appeared on set, as the production prepared to shoot her scenes.