why is david fincher in my head I was
thinking about this a lot while watching
his new Netflix series mind hunter I'd
watch an episode or two go to the
kitchen to get a drink and everything
would look Fincher esque like my eyes
were mimicking his camera movement
somehow first I was creeped out then I
was impressed and then it was curious
what about his filmmaking causes this
effect because there are plenty of other
amazing stylistic directors whose visual
styles don't hijack your senses like
Fincher does and it's the same with all
his movies and TV shows I checked I went
back through all of them to see if I
could locate the source of this quality
and I think I found it
here did you see that it's a very small
thing and it's easy to miss but the more
I watch Fincher's work the more it
stands out as a key element of his
visual language what is it exactly well
it's a camera move in this case a tilt
in this case a pan in this case a
tracking shop and in this case all three
these things are the most common tools
in the filmmakers toolbox you can find
them in pretty much any film you watch
but Fincher has a very specific way of
using them which falls in line with his
reputation as a perfectionist
essentially what he tries to do is have
the camera exactly match the velocity
and direction of the moving character in
the frame when the character stops the
camera stops - and starts again when the
person starts to move again the matching
movement here isn't just close it's
perfect so perfect in fact that it must
involve some kind of time to her cyl
with the actors which I learned when I
tried to do it myself earlier this is no
doubt a part of the reason why Fincher
is known for doing so many takes it
takes patience and a good camera
operator to get these moves exactly
right and they're happening all the time
everywhere in little shots in-between
shots shots you notice and shots you
don't and whether they register or not
the effect starts to accumulate in your
mind all the sudden Fincher's reality is
your reality now I think there's a very
good reason why this happens and it's a
bit counterintuitive when you consider
that Fincher's camerawork is often
regarded as impersonal or cold
Nishan even by fincher himself I think
that's somewhat disingenuous because
what these shots do is effectively lock
you in to the behavior of the characters
you really feel it when someone moves
around the space that they're in even
small gestures like a shrug or deflated
shoulders even the slightest change in
posture is registered by this camera in
this way I think Pinterest intimate
ography is a lot more personal than even
he makes out it might happen just below
the level of consciousness but a much
more in sync with this character than I
am with for example this character it's
funny Fincher's actors have to move in
these very deliberate lines at steady
speeds probably ironed out by rehearsal
but the result at least for me is a
greater connection to the character than
something that is more freeform less
exact and it's no surprise that Fincher
would pay attention to details like this
listen to the advice he gave Robin right
when she directed her first episode of
house of cards every scene you direct
every scene you act in it's the same
thing what's that he said behavior over
time it's a fraction so behavior is the
most important thing of every piece of
material that you read that you perform
in and you direct look at the behavior
David Fincher is obsessed with behavior
he knows that the way a person moves is
a key part of who they are and what they
won he knows that if a person is running
and the camera follows that running
exactly then it's like the audience is
running too he knows that the truth of
exasperation is in the speed someone
lurches forward
he knows that fear can express itself in
exactly how slow someone stands up or
that when a person floats back in
astonishment the camera should float
with them it's not a coincidence that
emotion has the word motion in it
emotions express themselves physically
what Fincher does is put his camera in
lockstep with the body to capture that
physicality and as a result we developed
this almost unconscious connection with
his characters but the trick works
almost too well you start to notice
behavior and movement in the real world
but in the way that Fincher stages them
deliberate steady and precise for a
little while at least david fincher
hijacks your eyes hey everybody thank
you so much for watching my video on
Fincher if you want to learn more about
him I definitely recommend watching my
friend Tony's video on what he doesn't
do in his movies which is super
interesting also Captain Christian did
something on the invisible digital
effects inventor films I'll link both of
those below definitely watch those this
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I'll see you next time