Christopher Nolan, the director, explains Oppenheimer’s groundbreaking technological achievement. Since Tenet in 2020, Nolan has only released Oppenheimer. Due to pandemic restrictions, Tenet has underperformed at the box office. Nolan is hoping that Oppenheimer will change his luck. The epic biographical movie follows J. Robert Oppenheimer, a scientist who invented the atomic bomb. Along with a stellar supporting cast that includes Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Florence Pugh, Rami Malek, Gary Oldman, and Casey Affleck, Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy in the title role.
In a recent interview, Nolan described the technology that gave Oppenheimer its unique style. Games Radar reports that Nolan and his team asked Kodak Photochem specifically to shoot some Oppenheimer scenes in black-and-white IMAX. Oppenheimer would be the first movie to ever use both formats simultaneously if the tests were successful. Nolan explains his request for this method of filmmaking and his response to their initial experiments with it.
“So we challenged the people at Kodak photochem to make this work for us. And they stepped up. For the first time ever, we were able to shoot IMAX film in black-and-white. And the results were thrilling and extraordinary. As soon as Hoyte [van Hoytema, Nolan cinematographer since Interstellar] and I saw the first tests come in, we just knew that this was a format that we were immediately in love with.”
Christopher Nolan’s Technology Decisions Over Time
For years, Nolan has been recognized as an IMAX director. However, Nolan did not always favor IMAX cameras as his tool of choice. His breakthrough success, Memento, was produced using a 35mm camera and anamorphic lens. After using an IMAX camera to film portions of The Dark Knight, Nolan changed his approach and started using that format exclusively for his massive sci-fi action movies.
Nolan will now break another film record by fusing IMAX with black-and-white, as if his ground-breaking IMAX movies weren’t already groundbreaking enough. In addition to breaking records behind the scenes, Nolan has the chance to create a unique visual effect on screen that is unlike any of its predecessors by utilizing the black-and-white color scheme, which defined cinema from the time period in which J. Robert Oppenheimer himself was alive. Being a return to Nolan’s roots, the black-and-white filmmaking was also used for his very first feature, Following, which was made in 1998.
What Percentage of Oppenheimer Is in Black and White?
However, according to the most recent Oppenheimer trailer, Nolan is not committing to black-and-white for the entire movie. Oppenheimer’s teaser trailer was mostly in black and white, with the exception of the on-screen explosive fire. While some of the new trailer’s scenes are in black and white, the majority of it is in color. It remains to be seen how much these moments in black and white will be utilized. Nevertheless, Nolan will make history with Oppenheimer and enable himself to more naturally switch between the color and black-and-white sequences by using the IMAX camera.
Source: Games Radar