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.

News broadcasting in the fast lane

What happens in a newsroom? Does anyone besides those who work inside the concrete walls of a news broadcasting station really know? Probably not. The Newsroom, created by Aaron Sorkin, dives into this topic. Scratch that. He slams face first into this topic.

The show doesn't begin like most others. Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels, starts off running right from the start. If you've ever watched some of Sorkin's most recent work (The Social Network, Moneyball, etc.), it's not hard to predict that The Newsroom is a fast-paced, quick-witted show with endless amount of dialogue. Viewers are not eased into what they are about to see. No, they are forced to decide right then and there whether or not this show is for them. Just watch and see. What do you think?

This isn't the one time throughout the show's first two seasons where this kind of thing happens. The entire show is actually based off of this kind of behavior. You see, Will McAvoy isn't the average news anchor. He actually cares what he's reporting about. So does his crew. Unlike the large majority of network stations you see today--whether in television shows or in real life--McAvoy and his team really fight for the truth and nothing but the truth, no matter how damaging it is to the station's or their own reputation.

The most amazing thing about this show is that pretty much every single story ACN (the fictional network stations known as Atlantis Cable News) reports, is a story that has actually occurred in the recent past. Stories span from the attack on the Twin Towers to the 2012 Presidential Election. Occupy Wall Street and the killing of Osama Bin Laden are also covered in this revolutionary show.

There's really not a whole lot this post can do for any of you. Simply go and watch an episode of The Newsroom. It's the only piece of advice I can give you.

The Social Network

So I just watched the Social Network. First time I had seen it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kept me engaged, really engaged. Great acting I thought as well. Just a good movie all around. I wonder what Mark Zuckerberg thought about the film. I thought the actor who portrayed him played a great role but I would be interested to know if that's what he was actually like. Anyways, seeing as it is 2am I'm gonna go to bed now.