Christopher Nolan knows that his dialogue is difficult to hear onscreen. From Christian Bale’s Batman growl in “The Dark Knight” trilogy to Robert Pattinson delivering his lines through his teeth in “Tenet” (which received unparalleled sound design backlash), Nolan films are infamously difficult to hear according to some audiences.
That’s been a criticism of his atomic bomb epic “Oppenheimer.” The writer-director told Insider that the reason his movies may be tough to aurally decipher is because he refuses to re-record actors’ dialogue in post-production through ADR, or automated dialogue replacement employed after production has finished to fine-tune any hard-to-hear lines.
“I like to use the performance that was given in the moment rather than the actor re-voice it later,” Nolan said, “which is an artistic choice that some people disagree with, and that’s their right.”
Therefore, whatever audio the sound equipment and IMAX cameras pick up during a take is what is used in the final cut, per Nolan’s filmmaking style. The director noted that despite IMAX cameras being known as loud, new technology has lessened the noise on set.
“There are certain mechanical improvements, and actually, IMAX is building new cameras right now which are going to be even quieter,” Nolan said. “But the real breakthrough is in software technology that allows you to filter out the camera noise. That has improved massively in the 15 or so years that I’ve been using these cameras. Which opens up for you to do more intimate scenes that you would not have been able to do in the past.”
“Oppenheimer” used brand new 65mm Kodak film stock in addition to IMAX footage to craft the period piece. Nolan has additionally been vocal about being particularly averse to smartphones, which he says ruin his scriptwriting process, as well as the role of artificial intelligence in cinema.
“My kids would probably say I’m a complete Luddite,” Nolan told The Hollywood Reporter earlier this year. “I would actually resist that description. I think technology and what it can provide is amazing. My personal choice is about how involved I get. It’s about the level of distraction. If I’m generating my material and writing my own scripts, being on a smartphone all day wouldn’t be very useful for me.”
