David Fincher
Masters@Work
Celebrated American film director and music video director
David Andrew Leo Fincher was born August 28, 1962.
Known for his dark and stylish thrillers, such as Seven
(1995), The Game (1997), Fight Club (1999), Panic Room
(2002), and Zodiac (2007), Fincher received Academy
Award nominations for Best Director for his 2008 film The
Curious Case of Benjamin Button and his 2010 film The
Social Network, which also won him the Golden Globe and
the BAFTA for best director.
When Fincher was two years old, the family moved to
California. Inspired by Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,
he began making movies at the age of eight with an 8 mm
camera.
And that is how his iconic career began.
5 Clues You’re Watching
a David Fincher Film
and stimulating style. You’ll notice it most particularly in
the chilling thriller SE7EN. Many of his opening scenes
will remind you of master filmmaker Alfred Hitchchock,
who pioneered the idea of opening credits as part of the
storytelling and not just an arbitrary device to let the
audience know who did what.
• The Characters
Quite a few of Fincher’s thrillers are based on the premise
of an investigation. They are either detectives (Se7en,
Zodiac) or take on the role of investigators during the
course of the story (Gone Girl, The Girl With the Dragon
Tattoo). These characters act as the cornerstone of the
script around which the whole of the movie revolves
• Camera Movement
Fincher moves the camera - either by tilting, panning,
or tracking - along with characters’ emotions and
movements. For instance, if a character sits back in his
chair, the camera will move with the character, no matter
how small the movement may be.
• Opening Credits
Fincher uses the opening credits of his features to set
the mood and the tone of his story in a highly creative
PVR MOVIES FIRST
• Visual Effects
Here is another area where Fincher stands out as a
director. He is notorious for using visual effects to
achieve exactly what he wants in every shot, even if it’s
small things in the background or details in an actor’s
appearance.
• Close Ups
Unlike most directors, Fincher has an aversion to close
ups. According to him, a close up tells the audience that
the moment is important, and can give away a lot of the
suspense. So unless really necessary, you won’t see too
many close ups in his films.
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