Do you recognize a filmmakers work from a single frame?
[Gunshot sounds]
What makes this shot, so iconic?
Today, we're going to look at the formal techniques and directing style of
David Fincher movies.
My philosophy is shot seven takes.
Okay. Now let's start.
It takes, titanium and aluminum and steel and glass
that you do one thing,
impart feeling to everyone in the audience at the exact same time,
and that's the magic of cinema.
And how those techniques used in combination,
creates such memorable and striking films.
[Intro Music: "David Fincher Movies"]
Before we get started,
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Let's get into it.
David Fincher movies deal with dark subject matter
and this video contains examples of graphic content.
You've been warned.
Fincher goes out of his way to provide an immersive experience,
and he builds his worlds one detail at a time.
We're going to show you seven key areas of focus,
so that you can see,
how every little decision makes up the entire picture.
Let's break down Fincher's cinematic language.
"The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club."
First, let's talk about — Story.
Fincher`s power is deception.
But how deep does this deception go?
And what effect does this have on the audience?
Our narrator in Fight Club is so successful at deception,
he's deceived himself completely.
-Say it.
-Because we're the same person.
-That's right.
In House of Cards,
are we objective spectators to Frank Underwood rise to power,
or are we also susceptible to his manipulation?
I chose money over power.
In this town a mistake nearly everyone makes.
Money is the McMansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years.
Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries.
I can not respect someone who doesn't see the difference.
Gone Girl is the ultimate example of "he said she said."
The ocean of lies and deception is impossible to navigate.
For Fincher, there is absolutely a dark side to humanity
and sometimes that darkness wins.
"If you kill him.
He will win."
Next, let's talk about Production Design.
Production design is all about the look of a film
and there are few better-looking films than Fincher`s.
[Music]
The locations, wardrobe, props,
his attention to detail is rumored to border on obsessive.
For example,
Fight Club tells the story of a man unsatisfied with the life he's living.
And the seduction of a very different life
where rules and expectations disappear.
Fincher presents these contrasting world views within the sets.
Witness the lifeless monotony of the narrator's home
and his workspace.
Then our hero meets...
-Tyler Durden
-the antidote to his misery.
Tyler has transcended the prison of conformity
and embraced pure personal freedom.
-Fuck off with you.
Sophie units and string green stripe patterns.
I say, stop being perfect.
And this lawlessness is embodied in Tyler's decrepit
and discarded house on Paper Street.
It's a rotting place,
with walls shedding their skins
and leaking ceilings gripping rusty water.
This is the furthest thing
from the Ikea model home that narrator thought he wanted.
And it is the perfect birthplace for the new man he will become.
Remember, that a character is defined by their environment.
Fincher and his art department are meticulous about it.
Next — Color.
David Fincher is not a colorful director.
Locations are typically color graded to a uniform shade,
either Green,
Blue
or Red.
But without question,
Fincher`s favorite color is yellow.
There are dozens of instances
when he tints an interior nighttime scene
with yellow light.
This is so consistent, in fact,
that when Fincher does include a contrasting color,
it stands out that much more.
It means something.
Let`s look at this scene from "Gone Girl."
-Because you know, my wife disappeared
from our home on the morning of July 5th.
-Notice, how color can draw our eyes and our attention.
All eyes are on Nick.
Amy's parents are both in brown a neutral tones
as is the background.
Amy's parents represent a united front,
dedicated fighting their daughter.
Nick's blue shirt stands out like a sore thumb,
and the suspicion around him is instant.
-If anyone out there has any information,
please come forward.
Thank you.
-Nick is not visually connected to them or their cause.
He is alone,
and remains the primary suspect.
If you're interested in applying color theory,
like Fincher does to your own projects,
check the description for a free ebook
that provides film color palettes from some of your favorite films.
Let's move on.
Cinematography.
[Music]
Fincher accomplishes a lot of storytelling with his camera.
A rack focus to capture a character's realisation.
-Mark!
-He turns to live-action play out in wide frames,
cutting to inserts and close-ups, only when necessary.
Fincher doesn't move the camera very often,
but when he does there is always a purpose.
A tiny pan here,
and ever so slight tilt there.
It is all about identifying with the character.
If they move, we move.
What is mastery of the camera goes a step further.
How does Fincher move the camera to suggest a character's mental state?
In "Panic Room", we have two shots
that illustrate a very specific mental state - claustrophobia.
In these early scenes,
Meg is taking a tour of a new house.
-We like to call it a "town stone" built-in 1879.
-When the realtor shows Meg the Panic Room.
-It's called a Panic Room.
-And closes the door.
It is here that we learn about Meg`s fear of compact spaces.
The camera pans around her while zooming in, compressing space.
You could feel the air being sucked out of the room.
-Oh my god. Old Sydney didn`t miss a trick, did he?
-Open it,please.
-And with kids like he's apparently got, no wonder he wanted a place to hide.
-Please open the door.
-That is highly inappropriate.
-Open the door, please.
-We get a reversal of this shot at the very end of the film.
Now that Megan had daughter have survived
their harrowing home invasion.
They are free of the Panic Room, and the house altogether.
The camera executes a dolly zoom
by pushing forward while zooming out.
The character stay the same size,
but the world around them opens up.
All of the tension and claustrophobia is now released.
It breathes.
The effect is subtle, but meaningful.
Fincher often uses camera movements to align us
with his characters internal states.
His camera movements tend to be a subtle,
or as grand as his characters behavior.
Next, let's talk about Editing.
Fincher edits with the audience in mind.
If the character notices something,
we see what they see.
When a character makes connections in their head,
we are able to follow their train of thought
through purposeful shot composition and editing.
Here is a great example of how to construct a scene
using a combination of framing, blocking and editing.
Arthur Leу Allen is suspected to be the Zodiac Killer
when he is brought to a room to answer questions.
This scene is all about the detective's suspicions of Allen.
He is the focus.
We begin with a POV shot
of what Alan sees walking into the room.
-Mr.Allen,
I'm inspector Bill Armstrong, it`s inspector Dave Toski
and Sergeant Jack Mulanax.
We're investigating the Zodiac murders in San Francisco in Vallejo.
-When the men sit,
they are positioned purposefully
creating two opposing sides here
and here.
-Have you ever read or heard anything about the Zodiac?
-When it was first in paper,
but I didn't follow that to those first reports.
-The scene is edited through various perspectives.
-I told all this to the other officer.
-Which other officer?
-Depending on who is talking
and who is listening.
-I told him that I'd gone to Salt Point that weekend.
-When Allen crosses his legs,
we cut to a low angle shot
in the same frame
we can see detective Mulanax notice the boot.
We know what kind of boots the Zodiac wears
and when he notices the boot,
we notice the boot.
A similar moment happens when detective Taski notices
Allen's zodiac watch.
We have a close-up of Task`s attention being drawn to Alan's wrist.
Followed immediately by a POV insert of the watch.
Again, we see these moments
through the eyes of a detective.
It engages our imagination
and we become the detectives.
-I guess, I was there around that time.
I used to go down there a lot.
-We are given a quickly paced series of shots.
This creates a controlled logical momentum
that keeps the audience engaged
and propels the story forward.
We've created a breakdown,
shot-by-shot,
spec by spec.
The link is in the description.
Moving on.
Sound.
This is an area where David Fincher typically has a light touch.
Beyond the necessary sounds, like a door closing or someone walking.
David Fincher chooses more expressive sound design moments carefully.
A great example,
is this scene from "Panic Room."
-Go.
-As Make makes a daring attempt
to retrieve her cell phone while the intruders are distracted,
the entire moment is tensely drawn out
with abstract and delayed droning sounds.
[Abstract sounds]
In "Fight Club," when the narrator first encounters Marla Singer,
a presence in his world is disruptive.
As he tries to listen to the group,
the narrator hears a loud click.
When her lighter catches flame,
we hear an exaggerated sound effect,
almost like a flamethrower.
Marla has become a threat to the narrator's world.
She is an invader.
And we hear this through the sound design.
Perhaps Fincher's best and most expressive use of sound design
can be found in "Gone Girl."
When Amy and Desi are making love,
make sure the young ones are out of the room
because the scene gets messy.
We begin to hear a slow rhythmic pulse.
The sound and image combination mimics this experience.
Each parts like a bleeding heart.
And when the bleeding slows,
the sound slows with it.
Fincher uses sound to creatively align
with a character's experience.
If you want to use sound design like David Fincher,
keep these strategies in mind.
Our final stop.
Let us take a listen to David Fincher`s Music.
Music is yet another element that Fincher uses with great purpose.
Their inclusion is either thematic or ironic.
For irony, we have the haunting subversion of Donovan's
"Hurdy Gurdy Man" in "Zodiac."
-Man, you really creeped us out.
[Donovan - Hurdy Gurdy Man]
Or Enya`s peaceful and innocent "Orinoco Flow"
during a torture scene.
[Enya - Orinoco Flow]
But he also likes to select songs with lyrics
that echo the themes of his films.
[Pixies - Where is My Mind?]
But let's look at a scene
that uses music to suggest character setting and theme.
The Henley Royal Regatta in "The Social Network."
This sequence stands out in Fincher`s work
because it is crafted completely around the music.
In this case,
we have a rendition of "In the Hall of the Mountain King"
by Edvard Grieg.
The music is a classical piece written in 1875,
and matches the rich tradition of the regatta itself,
which has been running since 1839.
But this scene takes place in the mid-2000s,
and our story involves the tech world.
The composer's - Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
took the classical,
and recreated it with a mix of acoustic and electronic instruments.
[Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross - In the Hall of the Mountain King]
It is a clash of old and new,
classical and modern.
The purpose is to convey the Winklevoss twins
upper-class pedigree,
and their competitive personalities.
But the Winklevoss twins lose their race.
Just like they are losing their battle with Zuckerberg.
[Music]
David Fincher is in complete command of his medium.
"Cut it. Moving on..."
-He understands how techniques, like a moving camera and editing
can engage an audience
on an emotional and intellectual level.
There are many lessons to learn from Fincher,
and what we've touched upon here in this video
is just the beginning.
Are you inspired by David Fincher movies?
Do you want to continue your exploration of his techniques?
The studio behind a blog, offers numerous articles
and videos about filmmaking,
and voters like Fincher.
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Which filmmaker should we cover next?
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It's important to take your filmmaking seriously,
just don't take it as far as John Doe.
"What I've done is going to be puzzled over,
and studied
and followed
forever."
"Yeah.
Delusions of grandeur."
"You should be thanking me."
"Why is that, John?"
"Because you're going to be remembered after this."