Is there any CGI used in Dunkirk?

Is there any CGI used in Dunkirk? - Purple and Pink Diamond on Blue Background

Given what I know about Christopher Nolan as a filmmaker, I would expect a heavier emphasis on practical effects. However, even with movies like Fury Road, where practical effects were used heavily, CGI still played an important role in the final film.

I know that Dunkirk was shot on 70mm film; which makes it fundamentally different from most modern films. Even so, I would expect that essentially every big-budget film today used at least some CGI. However, my wife pointed out that CGI may not be possible given that it was filmed with actual film and not digital.

So a 2-part question: was any CGI used? And if so, how is it possible to use CGI on actual film?



Best Answer

Yes, there is some CGI, as Nolan explains to Business Insider:

Guerrasio: I couldn't tell what was visual effects and what was practical in this movie, particularly the sinking destroyers and dogfights. How much visual effects were used?

Nolan: I'm very proud with the visual effects being as seamless as they are. I worked very closely with my visual effects supervisor, who was there shooting with me on set. He basically was doing himself out of a job because he was able to help me achieve things in-camera that would have actually been visual effects and then didn't need to be. So, there's really nothing in the film that isn't in some way based in some kind of practical reality that we put in front of the camera. We didn't want anything to go fully CG and I'm very proud to be able to say that of my films this is the first time when we've been able to make a film that I actually can't remember which of the shots are visual effects and which aren't in some of the sequences. We've never been able to get to that point before.

This video talks about Nolan's use of CGI in Dunkirk and his other movies:


WRT the practical side: the film will be scanned -- this can be done even at 10k precision -- for editing in post, and there CGI will be added. The end result can then be distributed digitally or transferred back to 70mm film.




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How many VFX shots are in Dunkirk?

What is your VFX shot count? 429.

What did they shoot Dunkirk on?

The movie Dunkirk, released in 2017 and directed by Christopher Nolan, was shot on film using Imax MSM 9802 Camera, Panavision Panaflex 65mm HR Spinning Mirror Reflex - 65HSSM Camera, Panavision Panaflex System 65 Studio Camera - 65SPFX Camera and Hasselblad Lenses, Panavision 65mm Prime Lenses with Hoyte Van Hoytema ...

Is Dunkirk movie realistic?

The story of Dunkirk is extraordinarily well-documented, and Nolan seemed determined to tell that story as accurately as possible. That makes Dunkirk the film an honest portrayal of Dunkirk the event, and one of the most precise World War II movies ever.

Was Dunkirk really filmed in Dunkirk?

Filming in Dunkirk took place at the location of the real evacuation, while the street scenes were shot in nearby Malo-les-Bains because most of the buildings in Dunkirk were destroyed in the war.



Dunkirk - The Art Of Fear




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