Why THE BATMAN Is So Beautiful | A Cinematography Video Essay

#thebatman #film #videoessay

Director Matt Reeves and cinematographer Greig Fraser have created an immersive world draped in darkness and mystery that makes most modern blockbusters look like amateur student films, and it’s an answer to a trend that’s cursed the entire filmmaking industry which is to make every shot look clean. But what makes The Batman dirty then? What’s so unique about how The Batman was shot that makes it so… beautiful? In this video we’re going to dive into the approach Matt Reeves and Greg Fraser took to bring their Batman to life, the lenses they used, their cinematic references, the lighting, color grading, and an interesting new approach to digital cinema with 35mm film. We also do a recreation of The Batman using an anamorphic lens and the Sony A7iv to show how you can apply the principles from The Batman to your own work.

This is The Cinematography of The Batman.

Chat with me about this video on Twitter: twitter.com/impatrickt

Check out Dolby's Full Conversation with the filmmaking team of The Batman:
https://youtu.be/S2GkwC6neiU

00:00 - Intro
00:54 - Intro & Context
01:54 - Cinematic References
02:12 - The Lenses
02:34 - Make The Frame Dirty
02:53 - Angles & Framing
03:30 - SE7EN
04:09 - I Am The Shadows
04:40 - Color
04:53 - Gotham City
05:45 - Why So Real?
06:15 - VFX
06:37 - Color Grading
07:36 - Thesis
10:16 - The Batman Recreation
11:49 - Free Pizza



Camera: SONY A7iv: https://geni.us/ptsonya7iv (affiliate link)
35mm F1.8 Lens: https://geni.us/pt35mmsony (affiliate link)
Voiceover Mic: https://geni.us/ptvideomicII (affiliate link)
Dialogue Mic: https://geni.us/ptvideomicntg (affiliate link)




The Batman is an upcoming American superhero film based on DC Comics featuring the character Batman. Produced by DC Films and 6th & Idaho, and set for distribution by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is intended to be a reboot of the Batman film franchise. The film is being directed by Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay with Peter Craig, and stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne / Batman, alongside Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Barry Keoghan, Jayme Lawson, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell. Set in his second year of fighting crime, the film sees Batman uncover corruption in Gotham City while facing a serial killer known as The Riddler.