"And the Other Way is Wrong" - David Fincher

Over on Vimeo and YouTube, a film educator named Tony Zhou has been creating a short web series called Every Frame a Painting, where in every episode he breaks down the visual approach of a popular director to examine what elevates that director's work. Last week, in anticipation of David Fincher's new film Gone Girl (which I'd strongly recommend),  Zhou released a new video breaking down Fincher's style, from his breakout film Se7en up through his work on House of Cards and Gone Girl, with a particular interest on Fincher's use of blocking and framing. This video, particularly the bit about featuring the police station scenes from Se7en, emphasized to me just how important framing can be in creating power dynamics between characters in a scene. As evidenced by the video, great directors can bring a cinematic style to something as simple as two characters spouting exposition, which can elevate a film from good to great. The restrictions that Fincher puts on his own shot choices, which all seem to have evolved from his deep understanding of the grammer of film, allow him to tell a story in the best possible way. Another article I read this week about Fincher and Gone Girl noted that Fincher's specialty is in adapting narrative material (the origins of Facebook, a pulpy detective story, etc.) and introducing a cinematic element to these stories that heightens the drama and deepens the audience's understanding of the characters.


David Fincher - And the Other Way is Wrong from Tony Zhou on Vimeo.

The Master Craft of David Fincher

In honor of David Fincher's new film Gone Girl, lets take a look into the sense of style in his direction that has put him into the forefront of Hollywood. After working a couple years with Industrial Light and Magic Fincher left to direct music videos and commercials. It wasn't until 1992 when he made his first feature Alien 3 that we got a glimpse into his talent. It's an odd film to go back and look at after knowing all the films he has made now but it's still great to check out. The crazy thing about David Fincher is that you can see him grow throughout each film he has made, either toning his style or tweaking his sense of direction.

That green and blue.

From there Fincher would make two amazing films Se7en and Fight Club, and these two films would turn him into one of the biggest directors today. You can see in Se7en the way he directs just two or three people talking and then turns just that into something cinematic and intense. Fincher is known to not really use handheld shots and always keep the camera locked onto a tripod or a track. He knows when to cut and which shot to use to build up tension until it all falls. You can clearly see this throughout Zodiac and the anxiety you get from watching the film. Throughout the film Fincher uses some beautiful insert shots of detectives scrambling through notes and puzzles left behind by the killer. And you can see how that carried over to Netflix's House of Cards and in an odd way there's also a serial killer in that show too.

As time passed Fincher further toned his style but this time through his production design and the colors used in his films. Starting with Panic Room in 2002, Fincher's films started to get this green and blue tint. This was only expanded when he made The Social Network, The Girl With the Dragon tattoo, and now Gone Girl. Fincher combines these elements and just from watching his films you know exactly what he wants, and no matter how many takes it takes, he will get it.