Back in 2020, it was announced that The Batman would utilize The Volume, the groundbreaking virtual stage created by ILM’s StageCraft using Epic Games’ Unreal Engine. This technology was developed for The Mandalorian in order to make convincing alien worlds through massive LED walls. When shot through the camera, it looks like a real set. Now, HBO Max has released a new behind-the-scenes featurette that explains how The Volume brought The Batman‘s Gotham City to life.
Casual viewers may not have realized just how many of the film’s backgrounds were done through The Volume. It also appears that director Matt Reeves and his team pushed the technology even further than before by making their Gotham City appear to be a real place. Additionally, VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon explained why The Volume allows the crew to avoid the dilemma of shooting at dawn or dusk on location.
“One of the big advantages with the LED stage is you can essentially freeze time,” explained Lemmon. “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. When you’re shooting out on location, you’ll shoot a bunch of stuff one direction at sunrise, [then] you shoot a bunch of stuff the other direction at sunset just so that the lighting is better on the actors’ face depending on which direction they’re facing. With the LED setup, you can essentially spin the world, you can spin the sky, hold the world stationary.”
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Selina Kyle/Catwoman actress Zoë Kravitz also raved about the benefits of performing in The Volume opposite her Batman, Robert Pattinson.
“Me and Rob had this emotional scene on the roof,” recalled Kravitz. “And to really have the cityscape was a game-changer. It was incredible what they were able to do.”
Presumably The Volume will also be used for The Batman‘s recently announced sequel. And if the technology has come this far since The Mandalorian season 1, it’s exciting to picture the possibilities of what the next Batman movie will look like.
The Batman is now streaming on HBO Max. Warner Bros. will release the film on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday, May 24.
Recommended Reading: The Art of The Batman
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