Mis-en-Scene

The Dark Knight-The Hospital Scene

Wally Pfister, Director of Photography 

Filmography:

• The Dark Knight Rises
• Batman Begins 
• Inception
• The Prestige
• Moneyball
• The Italian Job

Pfister has been Christopher Nolan's go-to guy for many years, and the two have collaborated on multiple projects. Both have a dark, almost gothic style of filmmaking, and they have used it to bring blockbuster movies to the big screen. 

For the hospital scene in "The Dark Knight", Pfister implemented the use of multiple IMAX cameras, including one on a crane, which tracked Heath Ledger as he walked out of the hospital and into a bus before the camera zoomed out to a wider angle to include the image of the hospital exploding. That part of the scene only took one shot. The use of IMAX cameras caused a more dramatic effect on the audience.  Both Nolan and Pfister said they wanted the audience to feel a sense of insecurity, like anything could happen and nothing was impossible with the Joker.  

Link to Behind-the-Scenes

Update: The scene was originally not going to include the image of the hospital exploding and collapsing, but Nolan, Pfister and Co. decided they needed it in order to have the desired effect on the audience.