<P> Nolan made the film from three perspectives--land, sea, and air . He structured the story from the point of view of the characters, with the intention that it would be told visually rather than through dialogue and backstory . The film was made to encompass the snowball effect that Nolan had only used in the third acts of previous films . He approached research as though it were for a documentary . Nolan was attracted to the project because of its inversion of the "Hollywood formula", as the Battle of Dunkirk was not a victory and did not involve America, but nevertheless demanded a large - scale production to be put on screen . </P> <P> Nolan postponed Dunkirk until he had acquired sufficient experience directing large - scale action films . To convey the perspective of soldiers on the beach, for whom contact with the enemy was "extremely limited and intermittent", he did not show Germans on screen . He omitted scenes with Winston Churchill and the generals in war rooms, as he did not want to get "bogged down in the politics of the situation". He showed key members of the crew eleven films that had inspired him: All Quiet on the Western Front, The Wages of Fear, Alien, Speed, Unstoppable, Greed, Sunrise, Ryan's Daughter, The Battle of Algiers, Chariots of Fire, and Foreign Correspondent--only two of which are war films . The historical consultant was author Joshua Levine, who also wrote the book adaptation, Dunkirk: The History Behind the Major Motion Picture . Levine accompanied Nolan while interviewing veterans . During these interviews, Nolan was told a story of soldiers seen walking into the sea in desperation, which he incorporated into the screenplay . </P> <P> The production team and scouting locations were chosen before Nolan and Thomas solicited Warner Bros. Pictures to make the film . Nolan and his production designer Nathan Crowley toured the beach of Dunkirk while location scouting, and decided to film there despite the logistical challenges, discarding Suffolk as an alternative . Crowley set up a makeshift art department in Nolan's garage, and colourised black - and - white photographs to better understand the visual representation . The design aesthetic was made to look as contemporary as possible . Hoyte van Hoytema, who had previously collaborated with Nolan on Interstellar, was chosen as the director of photography . The Hollywood Reporter stated that Nolan made a deal with Warner Bros. to receive a $20 million salary plus 20% of the box office gross; however, Vanity Fair reported that Nolan agreed to receive a low upfront salary in exchange for a large backend percentage . </P> <P> Pre-production began in January 2016 . For the uniforms, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland aimed to balance historical accuracy with aesthetics that would favour the film stock . As the original heavy wool fabric had not been produced since 1940, it was made from scratch, tailored for the main cast and over a thousand extras . Uniforms were made in a factory in Pakistan and the boots by a shoemaker in Mexico . The costume department then spent three weeks ageing them at Longcross Studios . Each garment was made to look distinct in regiment and personality: Tommy wears a large greatcoat, while Alex dons the Highlander cut . Kurland found references at the British Museum, RAF Museum and Imperial War Museum, in contemporary magazines, photo archives and books . The mole was rebuilt over four months in accordance with the original blueprints . Sand was brought from Dunkirk to create make - up consistent with the environment . Oil and tar were specially made, and prosthetics were water and fire resistant . </P>

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