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You may remember Tony Zhou and EveryFrameAPainting (I hate that name) from some of his previous visual essays, such as Edgar Wright’s Mastery of Visual Comedy. This week, Zhou’s back with a breakdown of Gone Girl director David Fincher, who’s one of the most popular directors around, but has a style not nearly so easily parodied as, say, Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino. So, what is it that makes Fincher Fincher? According to Zhou:
In his world, drama happens when a character learns a new piece of information. How does it fit with everything they already know? And how do they react to knowing a little more of the truth.
You could call this Fincher’s take on the Spielberg Face. It’s similar, but updated, sort of like Roosevelt’s take on the Monroe Doctrine. Whereas Spielberg’s is more about awe, Fincher’s is more about sudden clarity.
Fincher’s style is an extension of this idea, and it’s interesting to hear him describe his process. “They know you can do anything, so the question is what don’t you do, not what do you do.”
So the question becomes, what does David Fincher not do?
Here Zhou helpfully answers his own question with a list of some things David Fincher does not do. I’ll go ahead and spoil that for those of you who can’t watch the video right this second:
-Hand held camera work.
-Create the sense of a human being operating a camera.
-Cut to a close up unless he needs to.
-Move the camera if he can help it.
Of course, there’s a lot more in the video than a few bullet points, and Zhou includes a few scene breakdowns, which are great at illustrating just how much thought went into every shot. Interesting stuff. Though I’m still waiting for the Zhou essay on Michael Bay’s process, like deciding whether a character is a slut or a clown, and where to put all the flags and cocks.