Presentation script.
Question- David Fincher uses cinematography to create mystery in his films does this make him an Autuer?
Projector: Clip from item 3 of people searching for the wife in Gone Girl.
Speaker: This clip is a part of the film which straight away, using cinematography, creates a atmosphere of mystery for the audience. The films narrative of the wife going missing doesn't make you aware of where the women has actually gone or what has happened therefore this is driving the audience forward by creating an enigma, this enigma fits in with the concept of Fincher having an atmosphere of mystery in all three of my selected films. The use of dark colours and dark lighting is also shown in this clip, a popular style of a cinematic technique Fincher uses, creating mystery as this is all done in the dark which suggests that something is being hidden, in this case it is the women ging missing but not only where is she she but what has happened to her.
Projector: Clip from item 1 where the main character, Robert Gray, is seen going through various documents of what he has collected about the case of the Zodiac killer.
Speaker: In this clip you can see the cinematography Fincher uses in his choice of shots. Through out zodiac the insert shot is used multiple of times. Fincher is famous for using this shot as it adds meaning in the narratives of his films just as it does in Zodiac "David Fincher's masterful and suspenseful thriller Zodiac makes extensive use of the insert shot, and it has a profound and meaningful impact on how the film's language interacts with and supports the characters and story"(item 5). Using the quick cut within a frame to some specific object, shows it to the audience in close-up without shifting perspective too much for the audience. Therefore this creating mystery in Fincher's Zodiac as it allows the audience to feel the same as that character does at that time of the insert cut, making the audience indulge and investigate the information being shown to them in the quick shots. Pushing them to think more whilst watching asking themselves questions of what it all means (in this case).
Projector: Clip from the item 1 where three detectives are discussing the Zodiac case with other police officers.
Speaker: Fincher's cinematic techniques are not as obvious as others which have over the years made it easy to spot a Fincher film. Some of the more subtle techniques rarely used by Fincher can have more effect without realising. 'Its not what David Fincher does but what he doesn't do" (Item 4). Close up's that Fincher rarely uses have a deeper meaning when they are actually used and are more thought out to create a specific effect or to make a audience see/understand what he wants them to. Item 6 talks about how Fincher believes there are two ways to direct a scene yet one of them is wrong, item 6 quotes "blocking=staging of characters/camera in scene" is one of the ways Fincher believes is a way to direct a scene, showing his unique style of directing making him an auteur. In the scene 'Toschi's' team and the 'Riverside team' are sown in a long wide angle shot on either sides of the room to each other displaying how each have their own takes on the the murder case and how they both have their own seperate information on the case that they have not yet shared, seperating them in their knowledge then shown through their positioning. Fincher uses techniques in this scene to unconsciously connect the audience to the sittuation and the characters, Toschis team are shown in a medium shot at the end of the table all at the same eye level facing each other so they are all surrounding their case files, this suggests that they are all on the same mental level united together to achieve the same goal, that being going to where they have to find more information to catch the killer. However when looking at the Riverside team in a medium shot they are not shown on the same eye level and their bodies are facing away from each other, opposite to the other team who are positioned united with each other. This makes these two characters seem less interested in the case than Toschis team is, this sort of technique sets Fincher apart from other directors as it is his attention to detail which makes his stand out as an auteur. This all creating mystery in the scene as by Toshcis team going all that way it questions if they are going to find any more evidence or if the other police department have any information that is not already known.
Projector: Clip from item 2 at the beginning showing characters in a work environment showing them in a busy office environment to then jumping to a flashback scene.
Speaker- In this beginning scene you are introduced to main characters who are prominent through out the film. Fincher is known for using flashback scenes in his films to tell the narrative and which already adds to the mystery being created. Myself watching the film was straight away confused by the narrative as first you are introduced to characters such as Mikael Blomkvist, who is put on the case of the missing girl. The character Lisbeth Salander who works in the detective field is also introduced. When you first see her she is shown in a tracking shot and the diegetic speech of two men talking about her as being "different" suggesting already that she is a complicated and mysterious character, keeping her identity as this point hidden. You are not shown her face until she is shown in a medium shot behind a glass window seperating her from the other characters in the room where the two men who are speaking about her are waiting. Still to this point the young women does not speak or interact at all with the two men other than awcknoledging them. These cinematic techniques all create mystery in the narrative as it creates an enigma code making the audience ask questions and want to carry on watching to know this characters story.
Projector- Clip from item 2 the narrative uses a flash back to the young girl who is missing past life.
Speaker- The flashback edit comes in of the young girl who is now missing showing her past life. However because of how the audience were previously introduced to a weird character Lisabeth, it led me to believe that Lisbeth was the missing girl and was showing you a flash back of her life before the event occurred that caused her to disappear from her life before and was the reason why she was portrayed as such a messed up individual. Therefore showing by Fincher using the cinematic technique of flash back does create great mystery for the audience because of the questions it makes you ask, who are the people in the flashback? what happened between the point of the flash back and the present point they are in now? and what is the event that causes this split?. Also in this flashback Fincher uses one of his most famous cinematic techniques, the contrast of dark low key lighting to high key lighting. In the present time things are very dark yet defined however in the flashbacks things seem to appear lighter yet less defined, as if its trying to be shown in a faint memory of what was, in these flashbacks it is a known fact in the case that a young girl goes missing but no body knows why or how, maybe this is why Fincher puts the contrast of the two different lightings.
Projector- Clip from item 1, in this scene the character known as Robert is sat in a man's house who he believes has something to do with the Zodiac case.
Speaker- Mystery being created in this scene is through the subtle cinematic techniques used by Fincher. Item 7 quotes " It is less about what he does do but more about what he does not do" this is sad because Fincher can take the smallest of details and make it stand out to have the biggest effect on the audience. In this scene the character Robert is sat down at a table in a close up shot, which is one of the techniques Fincher is known for using rarely, in the background of this shot is the other character who is suspected by Robert shown disorientated and blurry. This suggests that the character is hiding something as the image of him is unclear which therefor portrays as the information on him being unclear also. Item 7 quotes "drama happens when a character learns a new peice of information". Fincher uses the reactions of the character learning new things to create the mystery through techniques, how is that character going to react to the new information? and what does this mean for the narrative?. Fincher only moves the camera when needed which is demonstrated gain in this scene where the camera flips between long shots of the two characters, this could be so you are only shown what the character is aware of also at this point, therefore the narrative having the same effect on you as it does on the character. In this case at this point in the scene its the question of is this man the killer and what is going to happen to Robert if he does go down the basement, by only showing that straight long shot of the man standing in the door way it gives you no extra detail about him as a character therefore no incline of what he is going to do, if he is going to do anything at all.
Projector- Clip from item 3 where the character Amy (the missing girl) murders the man she has been staying with.
Speaker- In this scene Fincher uses the cinematic techniques to create mystery through his camera shots. Fincher has a distinctive style in his films of following the characters perfectly with their body movements, item 9 quotes "he has the camera match the velocity and direction of the moving character in the frame, when the character stops the camera stops too and starts again when the character moves, the action here isnt close its perfect" this displays how Fincher is not just a director but this making him an auteur, in the way he is a perfectionist. Fincher would do this technique over and over again, matching the characters movements with the camera, until it was just natural for the actor actress to do so making it seem more real and less rehearsed, even though it is over rehearsed. These shots lock you into the behaviour of the character making the audience really feel the space they are in. The way this creates mystery in this clip of the film is how the camera shot follows every one of Amy's movements, this way it builds up tension for the audience wondering what is she doing next as the camera is focused more to detail on her it makes you feel like something is going to happen and that something being a bad something through the atmosphere being created not only through this cinematic technique of the camera shot but also through the concept of , reffering back to item 7 "its not what he does do but what he doesnt do", as in this seen there is no non-diegetic music in the background where as in usual scenes as such when somebody is about to get murdered you would hear eary or gloomy music in the background. However because in this scene theres is none it concentrates more on what is happening in the scene making you watch more and hightening your senses to the scene questioning her movements as you already know she is a weird character adding to the build up of the murder.
Monday 20 November 2017
Monday 9 October 2017
la haine & City of god
Compare the attitudes to poverty conveyed in the films you have studied for this topic.
In this film through out attitudes towards poverty are conveyed in different ways through different point of views. One way in which these attitudes towards poverty are portrayed is through the separation of classes; upper class and lower class.
The film is set in France in an area which is promptly a lower class way of living. The youth live on estates and continuously are shown literally doing nothing, no sort of education is present in the way they live. The group of youths are shown just hanging around the estate surrounded by crime. Further into the film you see how the youth who live this sort of lifestyle are portrayed through the media, in the scene where a tv company comes to the estate where Vinz, Hubert and Said are shown, in a long shot where the depth of field is in focus portraying how the boys fit into their environment, sitting around pretty much doing nothing where behind them in the background the Tv van pulls up and begins to provoke the boys by asking them questions about the riots that have been happening in their area. Then going into a medium shot of Said in the middle and then Vinz and Hubert coming up behind him from each side, this portrays the idea that Hubert and Vinz are the ones who are kept together by Said, also out of the three boys Vinz is the first one who reacts after Said when he says "do we look like thugs to you?" and answers back to the reporter, reinforcing the idea that Vinz is the more aggressive out of the three and the one who enjoys the conflict as he backs up Said before Hubert does, then Hubert is the last one who talks back to the reporters saying "get out the car this isn't thiory". Making reference to a zoo, inferring how the media don't actually care about the way they live in crime and poverty but just exploiting them to look how society wants to see youths of today as bad people, the tv presenting the attitudes of todays society towards these youth who are stuck in the cycle of poverty.
Another way in which attitudes towards poverty are conveyed through out la haine is shown in the corruption of police. This is evident in the scene which shows the treatment of the two youths Said and Hubert in Paris, because of both their ethnicity and the fact they know they youths come from a background of poverty. The police's attitudes towards them is different to how it would be if they were dealing with upper class people, but because they are lower class they can treat them how they want because nobody would care and everyone has the same attitude towards the youths who live in poverty as they believe they deserve this treatment, as it is stereotyped that male youths living in poverty have no morals themselves for other people and that they only live a life of crime, being against the law. In this scene you see how the police treat the youths like animals and one of the officers make a racist comment to Hubert ".
City of god
Compare the attitudes to poverty conveyed in the films you have studied for this topic.
In the film there are many examples of how attitudes towards poverty are conveyed one of these examples being the montage of the flat where drugs are produced. In this scene you see it starts off as a women called "Dona Zelia" who, when she ran the flat, sold weed to the people living in the city of god just as an amateur. Then the montage develops into the time of when 'big boy' took over using the kids of the neighbourhood to deliver the drugs, this shows the beginning of the cycle of poverty which goes round in the favelas starting at such a young age, just as big boy started off at the bottom going up to dealers, to managers to now running the flat and gaining the power, as big boys close friend 'Carrot' did when he worked his way up to manager. The montage showing to generations of different people having control of the flat portrays the idea of how people living in poverty depended on this type of lifestyle to be able to survive. As if you lived in these favelas you would not be able to get a real job as it was unlikely employers would give them a chance, therefore displaying what attitudes in the city were towards people living in poverty being untrustworthy. As the montage continues the lighting in the flat begins to become much darker lighting and gloomy, just as the drugs that are being sold in the flat become more aggressive from selling weed to harder drugs like cocaine. This suggesting how poverty was worsening in the favelas becoming a more run down, dangerous place for people to live.
In this film through out attitudes towards poverty are conveyed in different ways through different point of views. One way in which these attitudes towards poverty are portrayed is through the separation of classes; upper class and lower class.
The film is set in France in an area which is promptly a lower class way of living. The youth live on estates and continuously are shown literally doing nothing, no sort of education is present in the way they live. The group of youths are shown just hanging around the estate surrounded by crime. Further into the film you see how the youth who live this sort of lifestyle are portrayed through the media, in the scene where a tv company comes to the estate where Vinz, Hubert and Said are shown, in a long shot where the depth of field is in focus portraying how the boys fit into their environment, sitting around pretty much doing nothing where behind them in the background the Tv van pulls up and begins to provoke the boys by asking them questions about the riots that have been happening in their area. Then going into a medium shot of Said in the middle and then Vinz and Hubert coming up behind him from each side, this portrays the idea that Hubert and Vinz are the ones who are kept together by Said, also out of the three boys Vinz is the first one who reacts after Said when he says "do we look like thugs to you?" and answers back to the reporter, reinforcing the idea that Vinz is the more aggressive out of the three and the one who enjoys the conflict as he backs up Said before Hubert does, then Hubert is the last one who talks back to the reporters saying "get out the car this isn't thiory". Making reference to a zoo, inferring how the media don't actually care about the way they live in crime and poverty but just exploiting them to look how society wants to see youths of today as bad people, the tv presenting the attitudes of todays society towards these youth who are stuck in the cycle of poverty.
Another way in which attitudes towards poverty are conveyed through out la haine is shown in the corruption of police. This is evident in the scene which shows the treatment of the two youths Said and Hubert in Paris, because of both their ethnicity and the fact they know they youths come from a background of poverty. The police's attitudes towards them is different to how it would be if they were dealing with upper class people, but because they are lower class they can treat them how they want because nobody would care and everyone has the same attitude towards the youths who live in poverty as they believe they deserve this treatment, as it is stereotyped that male youths living in poverty have no morals themselves for other people and that they only live a life of crime, being against the law. In this scene you see how the police treat the youths like animals and one of the officers make a racist comment to Hubert ".
City of god
Compare the attitudes to poverty conveyed in the films you have studied for this topic.
In the film there are many examples of how attitudes towards poverty are conveyed one of these examples being the montage of the flat where drugs are produced. In this scene you see it starts off as a women called "Dona Zelia" who, when she ran the flat, sold weed to the people living in the city of god just as an amateur. Then the montage develops into the time of when 'big boy' took over using the kids of the neighbourhood to deliver the drugs, this shows the beginning of the cycle of poverty which goes round in the favelas starting at such a young age, just as big boy started off at the bottom going up to dealers, to managers to now running the flat and gaining the power, as big boys close friend 'Carrot' did when he worked his way up to manager. The montage showing to generations of different people having control of the flat portrays the idea of how people living in poverty depended on this type of lifestyle to be able to survive. As if you lived in these favelas you would not be able to get a real job as it was unlikely employers would give them a chance, therefore displaying what attitudes in the city were towards people living in poverty being untrustworthy. As the montage continues the lighting in the flat begins to become much darker lighting and gloomy, just as the drugs that are being sold in the flat become more aggressive from selling weed to harder drugs like cocaine. This suggesting how poverty was worsening in the favelas becoming a more run down, dangerous place for people to live.
Monday 2 October 2017
David Fincher
David Fincher
Question- David Fincher uses cinematography to create mystery in his films does this make him an Autuer?
Films-
Film 1- Zodiac (2007)
Film 2- The girl with the dragon tattoo (2011)
Film 3- Gone girl (2014)
Item 1- Zodiac: I picked this film because it displays the cinematography techniques that David Fincher is famous for which creates the chilling atmosphere through the use of dark lighting and dark colours thoroughly. Also the whole story line of the film is a mystery, by a whole crime that is a mystery that is trying to be cracked, even though it never is as the killer is never found. Which is the case in most of Davids films.
Item 2- The girl: with the dragon tattoo- I picked this film because the genre of the film is mystery/crime therefor directly links to the question. The film continues the portraying of how David Fincher directs his films in such a way which makes him stand out to others making him an Auteur. The film portrays mystery in many different ways to covey mystery through cinematography such as, the performance of the actors who's characters lives are some way or another are kept a secret aspect about them, which is most cases comes out in the end ending the mystery of that character, which allows a lot of discussion in my question for how David Fincher does this so well.
Item 3- Gone girl: I picked this film because it also presents many cinematic techniques that are famous of David Fincher. Also the genre of the film is drama/mystery which again links directly the question being asked just as item 2 does. Gone girl is also one of David Fincher's most popular films as it was a great success and a recent piece of work from David which allows me to see how his style has/hasnt developed up to this recent film. A technique that David uses in this film, which is also present in item 1 and 2, is a flip shot between the past and present, showing you events that had taken place prior where the characters are in their lives at that present time. This creates mystery as when you are shown the past and know where the characters are at the time you are shown, creates mystery for the audience as it makes you wonder what happened in between those two points.
Websites:
Item 4- http://filmmakermagazine.com/87750-watch-breaking-down-david-finchers-directorial-techniques/#.WdYoezOZOi4 - This website item will be useful for me to use as it goes through different techniques that are unique of David Fincher's style of directing and how/why he uses them, which therefor allows me to link this to the films i have chosen for how he uses this technique to create the mystery through out the film and apply that technique to the scene.
Item 5- http://nofilmschool.com/2014/06/zodiac-finchers-use-of-insert-shot - Item 5 will be used in my catalogue as it directly links to item 1, therefor will be helpful to let me go into deep discussion about eh cinematography used in the film and linking it to my question.
Videos
Item 6- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGKH5ok4U9w - How to direct like David Fincher. This video will be used in my catalogue as it is very useful in the way it discusses techniques David uses to involve the audience with the film more directly "the way David stages scenes is to tell you how to feel or how the characters are feeling", by knowing how to do this it would be easy for David to create the atmosphere of mystery not only in the film but going further also allowing the audience to feel this as well. The video through out goes on to talk about what David's opinions are on how to create a certain style or how a certain shot should be taken, therefor shows what is different about David which makes him an auteur.
Item 7- https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/381105/the-genius-of-david-fincher-explained/ - I will be using this video as part of my catalogue as it is very detailed in the way it discusses signature ways of how David Fincher directs and what makes him different from any ordinary actor, on how his style stands out, "more about what he does not do". In the video there is talk about how he creates his unique style through the use of cinematography by how the actors perform in the film, "drama happens when a character learns a new piece of information.. and how do they react to learning a little bit more of the truth".This view links to my question as because of the mystery created in the films its all about the information that is discovered and how every new piece of information carries on the mystery.
Item 8- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE09maZX4Y0 - This video will be useful in my catalogue as it is a very detailed video that goes into depth of the cinematography used by David Fincher in the creating of item 2. Also this is useful as they cinematography discussed can be linked to the other films i have chosen. Techniques that David uses presented in this video link to my question as it talks about how David thinks about little details that create such a feeling for the audience which would allow the audeince to recognise this as a mystery and how this goes deeper.
Item 9- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfqD5WqChUY&t=52s - I will be using this video in my catalouge as it points out a cinematic technique that Fincher uses which makes him different to other films and how this small technique has such a big effect on the audience's interaction with the characters. The video points out the visual language through different camera movements such as a tilt, pan and tracking shot, or even all three at once, all of these techniques used in item 1,2 and 3 which allows discussion of how this technique is used by Fincher to create mystery in his films making him an auteur.
Books
Item 10- David Fincher Films that scare. Mark Browning. - I have chosen this book to be part of my catalogue because there are specific contents within the book which relate directly to my question and item 1, "To catch a Killer: Seven and Zodiac" this would allow the discussion of how David creates mystery as it already suggests a hint of mystery as in the film Zodiac you already know there has been a murder. And the elements he thinks about which you need to do so. Also in the book there is contents of "A sense of an Ending-No "Happily Ever After"?" this is already another way of how David Fincher creates mystery in his films right from the outset til the very end where the mystery continues as you never either know what happens or why?, how the evil in the films are never caught, this is evident in all item 1,2 and 3 the films never end in the right goodness or no closure.
Auteur theory
Item 11 - (Book)- Auteur theories, Andre Butler.
- The book quotes,"Sarris isolates three areas of competence – technique, personal style and inner meaning", this links to Fincher as Andrew Butler refers to an auteur having these specific qualities which Fincher links in to all three and is evident of displaying all three; technique, personal style and inner meaning. Fincher is known for having a personal style of using dark lighting in his films to create a certain atmosphere making things look cold to match his dark storylines. This makes it easy to spot a Fincher film as this is both a technique and personal style. Furthermore he also displays his personal style through out his films within his storylines in most, if not all, his films end in an unhappy ending where the protagonists and antagonists neither get what they deserve, justice and punishment. This can be seen in Fincher's film Zodiac where the mystery is never solved the murderer is never found and the victims never get their justice. Lastly inner meaning can be seen in Fincher's films through both his techniques and narrative of the film, Fincher uses certain techniques to make the audience think about it more why has he done that? how does that effect the character? what does this mean for the character?.
Item 12 - (Book)- The art of watching films.
- I will be using this book to discuss the idea of Fincher being an auteur through his cinematic techniques as the book talks about one of the specific techniques Fincher uses which makes him tand out to other directors. The camera movement which follows the character through ever little thing they do to express their emotion or to just follow them through a tracking shot, the book quotes "Camera movement reveals a director's style, as well. The posibilities range from favoring the static camera, which moves as little as possible, to favoring the fixed camera, which creates a sense of movement through panning and tilting", giving an example of the technique used.
Rejected-
Films- Alien 3:
I chose to reject this film to not be part of my catalogue as it does not link as directly to my question compared to items 1,2 and 3. This films focus is more concentrated on science fiction, even though it is similar to item 1 in the way they both involve thriller but is not suited to the question, instead of the film revolving around a mystery like the three i have chosen do. The narrative of the film is very different to that of items 1,2 and 3. Alien 3 is also not as popular or successful compared to item 1,2 and 3, in fact the film is known for being a disaster as David was not allowed the ability to direct as he wished too by fox company.
Videos-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgjgAzAjtEY -David Fincher on cinematography decisions. - I chose to reject this item from my catalogue as it does mention techniques that David Fincher uses. There are other items that have more information on those techniques and how/ why he uses them going into more depth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChWIFi8fOY - David Fincher invisible details. I will not be using this video as although it does talk about cinematography that David is famously known for using, the focus is more on shots etc not the way he makes the audience feel or how he sets a scene that would create a certain style, such as in my question how he creates mystery in his films.. Therefor would not relate to my question as well as other items i have chosen would.
Interviews-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12RiBOJMc5s - Interview with Robin Wright on David Fincher's directing. - I chose this item to be rejected in my catalogue as there is no discussion at all about David Fincher's famous techniques that he uses in his films which make him special to other directors. The interview focuses more on Robin Wright's experience of working with David and her thoughts on him as a director not how he is seen as an auteur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_GS8JX2l7o - Gone Girl: David Fincher - Rosamund Pike PURE Interview. This item is not useful to be part of my catalogue as the interview focuses more on how David works with his actors, and not about what David is famous for with cinematography which makes people view him as an auteur. Through the whole video there is no direct questions to David asking how he creates certain feelings or atmospheres by using those techniques such as shots or the colours. Therefor it would not be useful at all and there are much better sources which offer discussion on those subjects.
Question- David Fincher uses cinematography to create mystery in his films does this make him an Autuer?
Films-
Film 1- Zodiac (2007)
Film 2- The girl with the dragon tattoo (2011)
Film 3- Gone girl (2014)
Item 1- Zodiac: I picked this film because it displays the cinematography techniques that David Fincher is famous for which creates the chilling atmosphere through the use of dark lighting and dark colours thoroughly. Also the whole story line of the film is a mystery, by a whole crime that is a mystery that is trying to be cracked, even though it never is as the killer is never found. Which is the case in most of Davids films.
Item 2- The girl: with the dragon tattoo- I picked this film because the genre of the film is mystery/crime therefor directly links to the question. The film continues the portraying of how David Fincher directs his films in such a way which makes him stand out to others making him an Auteur. The film portrays mystery in many different ways to covey mystery through cinematography such as, the performance of the actors who's characters lives are some way or another are kept a secret aspect about them, which is most cases comes out in the end ending the mystery of that character, which allows a lot of discussion in my question for how David Fincher does this so well.
Item 3- Gone girl: I picked this film because it also presents many cinematic techniques that are famous of David Fincher. Also the genre of the film is drama/mystery which again links directly the question being asked just as item 2 does. Gone girl is also one of David Fincher's most popular films as it was a great success and a recent piece of work from David which allows me to see how his style has/hasnt developed up to this recent film. A technique that David uses in this film, which is also present in item 1 and 2, is a flip shot between the past and present, showing you events that had taken place prior where the characters are in their lives at that present time. This creates mystery as when you are shown the past and know where the characters are at the time you are shown, creates mystery for the audience as it makes you wonder what happened in between those two points.
Websites:
Item 4- http://filmmakermagazine.com/87750-watch-breaking-down-david-finchers-directorial-techniques/#.WdYoezOZOi4 - This website item will be useful for me to use as it goes through different techniques that are unique of David Fincher's style of directing and how/why he uses them, which therefor allows me to link this to the films i have chosen for how he uses this technique to create the mystery through out the film and apply that technique to the scene.
Item 5- http://nofilmschool.com/2014/06/zodiac-finchers-use-of-insert-shot - Item 5 will be used in my catalogue as it directly links to item 1, therefor will be helpful to let me go into deep discussion about eh cinematography used in the film and linking it to my question.
Videos
Item 6- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGKH5ok4U9w - How to direct like David Fincher. This video will be used in my catalogue as it is very useful in the way it discusses techniques David uses to involve the audience with the film more directly "the way David stages scenes is to tell you how to feel or how the characters are feeling", by knowing how to do this it would be easy for David to create the atmosphere of mystery not only in the film but going further also allowing the audience to feel this as well. The video through out goes on to talk about what David's opinions are on how to create a certain style or how a certain shot should be taken, therefor shows what is different about David which makes him an auteur.
Item 7- https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/381105/the-genius-of-david-fincher-explained/ - I will be using this video as part of my catalogue as it is very detailed in the way it discusses signature ways of how David Fincher directs and what makes him different from any ordinary actor, on how his style stands out, "more about what he does not do". In the video there is talk about how he creates his unique style through the use of cinematography by how the actors perform in the film, "drama happens when a character learns a new piece of information.. and how do they react to learning a little bit more of the truth".This view links to my question as because of the mystery created in the films its all about the information that is discovered and how every new piece of information carries on the mystery.
Item 8- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE09maZX4Y0 - This video will be useful in my catalogue as it is a very detailed video that goes into depth of the cinematography used by David Fincher in the creating of item 2. Also this is useful as they cinematography discussed can be linked to the other films i have chosen. Techniques that David uses presented in this video link to my question as it talks about how David thinks about little details that create such a feeling for the audience which would allow the audeince to recognise this as a mystery and how this goes deeper.
Item 9- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfqD5WqChUY&t=52s - I will be using this video in my catalouge as it points out a cinematic technique that Fincher uses which makes him different to other films and how this small technique has such a big effect on the audience's interaction with the characters. The video points out the visual language through different camera movements such as a tilt, pan and tracking shot, or even all three at once, all of these techniques used in item 1,2 and 3 which allows discussion of how this technique is used by Fincher to create mystery in his films making him an auteur.
Books
Item 10- David Fincher Films that scare. Mark Browning. - I have chosen this book to be part of my catalogue because there are specific contents within the book which relate directly to my question and item 1, "To catch a Killer: Seven and Zodiac" this would allow the discussion of how David creates mystery as it already suggests a hint of mystery as in the film Zodiac you already know there has been a murder. And the elements he thinks about which you need to do so. Also in the book there is contents of "A sense of an Ending-No "Happily Ever After"?" this is already another way of how David Fincher creates mystery in his films right from the outset til the very end where the mystery continues as you never either know what happens or why?, how the evil in the films are never caught, this is evident in all item 1,2 and 3 the films never end in the right goodness or no closure.
Auteur theory
Item 11 - (Book)- Auteur theories, Andre Butler.
- The book quotes,"Sarris isolates three areas of competence – technique, personal style and inner meaning", this links to Fincher as Andrew Butler refers to an auteur having these specific qualities which Fincher links in to all three and is evident of displaying all three; technique, personal style and inner meaning. Fincher is known for having a personal style of using dark lighting in his films to create a certain atmosphere making things look cold to match his dark storylines. This makes it easy to spot a Fincher film as this is both a technique and personal style. Furthermore he also displays his personal style through out his films within his storylines in most, if not all, his films end in an unhappy ending where the protagonists and antagonists neither get what they deserve, justice and punishment. This can be seen in Fincher's film Zodiac where the mystery is never solved the murderer is never found and the victims never get their justice. Lastly inner meaning can be seen in Fincher's films through both his techniques and narrative of the film, Fincher uses certain techniques to make the audience think about it more why has he done that? how does that effect the character? what does this mean for the character?.
Item 12 - (Book)- The art of watching films.
- I will be using this book to discuss the idea of Fincher being an auteur through his cinematic techniques as the book talks about one of the specific techniques Fincher uses which makes him tand out to other directors. The camera movement which follows the character through ever little thing they do to express their emotion or to just follow them through a tracking shot, the book quotes "Camera movement reveals a director's style, as well. The posibilities range from favoring the static camera, which moves as little as possible, to favoring the fixed camera, which creates a sense of movement through panning and tilting", giving an example of the technique used.
Rejected-
Films- Alien 3:
I chose to reject this film to not be part of my catalogue as it does not link as directly to my question compared to items 1,2 and 3. This films focus is more concentrated on science fiction, even though it is similar to item 1 in the way they both involve thriller but is not suited to the question, instead of the film revolving around a mystery like the three i have chosen do. The narrative of the film is very different to that of items 1,2 and 3. Alien 3 is also not as popular or successful compared to item 1,2 and 3, in fact the film is known for being a disaster as David was not allowed the ability to direct as he wished too by fox company.
Videos-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgjgAzAjtEY -David Fincher on cinematography decisions. - I chose to reject this item from my catalogue as it does mention techniques that David Fincher uses. There are other items that have more information on those techniques and how/ why he uses them going into more depth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QChWIFi8fOY - David Fincher invisible details. I will not be using this video as although it does talk about cinematography that David is famously known for using, the focus is more on shots etc not the way he makes the audience feel or how he sets a scene that would create a certain style, such as in my question how he creates mystery in his films.. Therefor would not relate to my question as well as other items i have chosen would.
Interviews-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12RiBOJMc5s - Interview with Robin Wright on David Fincher's directing. - I chose this item to be rejected in my catalogue as there is no discussion at all about David Fincher's famous techniques that he uses in his films which make him special to other directors. The interview focuses more on Robin Wright's experience of working with David and her thoughts on him as a director not how he is seen as an auteur.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_GS8JX2l7o - Gone Girl: David Fincher - Rosamund Pike PURE Interview. This item is not useful to be part of my catalogue as the interview focuses more on how David works with his actors, and not about what David is famous for with cinematography which makes people view him as an auteur. Through the whole video there is no direct questions to David asking how he creates certain feelings or atmospheres by using those techniques such as shots or the colours. Therefor it would not be useful at all and there are much better sources which offer discussion on those subjects.
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