Five Filmmaking Tips from David Fincher
Perfectionist. Demanding. Hard to work with. David Fincher is a man who hates his own brand but is secure in his own reputation. Of course, itās a little bit easy when that reputation includes stunning movies and a mind that can operate at an auteur speed in the high-occupancy Hollywood studio lane.
Heās a (mostly) accessibly genius, which is rare and which means that we as fans and filmmakers can learn a lot from him. Fortunately, heās as free with his advice as he is with his nightmarish visions.
Hereās a bit of free film school from a living legend.
āWhat you learn from that first ā and I donāt call it ātrial by fireā; I call it ābaptism by fireā ā is that you are going to have to take all of the responsibility, because basically when it gets right down to it, you are going to get all of the blame, so you might as well have made all of the decisions that led to people either liking it or disliking it. Thereās nothing worse than hearing somebody say, āOh, you made that movie? I thought that movie sucked,ā and you have to agree with them, you know?ā
Fincher said this to Quint in regards to his experience making Alien 3 and the beginning belief that the people around him would know the best people to work with. That full interview is worth perusing because it feels like the evolution of a strong-willed director realizing he should never pocket his opinions in the service of the studio.
The key here is that after growing in his craft with a solid team he knew, Fincher accepted that the studio would be even better at securing talented DPs, gaffers and technicians. That wasnāt necessarily the case ā or, at least, Fincher didnāt gel with them as he could have with a trusted group, and the result was lacking.
Give Everything You Have and Know It Wonāt Be Enough
āI never fall in love with anything. I really donāt, I am not joking. āDo the best you can, try to live it down,ā thatās my motto. Just literally give it everything you got, and then know that itās never going to turn out the way you want it to, and let it go, and hope that it doesnāt return. Because you want it to be better than it can ever turn out. Absolutely, 1000 percent, I believe this: Whenever a director friend of mine says, āMan, the dailies look amazing!ā ā¦ I actually believe that anybody, who thinks that their dailies look amazing doesnāt understand the power of cinema; doesnāt understand what cinema is capable of.ā
False modesty? Maybe, but it doesnāt seem likely. Of course, Fincher appears to be as broody as his films, but this feels more like Zen wisdom than anything else.
That Zen wisdom can go a long way. Making a āperfect movieā is impossible even before considering the subjective loopholes. As an art form with thousands of people crafting individual pieces that lock into place, one person will never have the power to make exactly what he or she wants, but will always have the power to give their best, hardest, smartest work.
Look at Everything Through Two Different Eyes
In the commentary track for Se7en, Fincher explains that when he was working at ILM, he was taught that a director should look at each sceneās set up with each eye individually. Left eye for composition (because itās connected to the creative right side of the brain). Right eye for focus and technical specs (because itās connected to the mathematical left side of the brain).
Thereās no telling whether this is spot-on or absolute bunk. If it is bunk, itās bunk from David Fincher and ILM, so itās probably still worth something.
Know the Difference Between Films and Movies
āA movie is made for an audience and a film is made for both the audience and the filmmakers. I think that The Game is a movie and I think Fight Clubās a film. I think that Fight Club is more than the sum of its parts, whereas Panic Room is the sum of its parts. I didnāt look at Panic Room and think: Wow, this is gonna set the world on fire. These are footnote movies, guilty pleasure movies. Thrillers. Woman-trapped-in-a-house movies. Theyāre not particularly important.ā
Another lesson here? Donāt be so pretentious that you think everything you make is āimportant.ā Thereās room in this world for popcorn fiction and movies that are exactly the sum of their parts.
Have No Fear and Eat the Whale
āYou canāt take everything on. Thatās why when people ask how does this film fit into my oeuvre. I say āI donāt know. I donāt think in those termsā. If I did, I might become incapacitated by fear ā¦ How do you eat a whale? One bite at a time. How do you shoot a 150-day movie? You shoot it one day at a time.ā
Fincher has spoken on multiple occasions about his ābrandā and his dislike for being branded. His solution is not acknowledging it when it comes to attaching himself to projects or making creative decisions. He hates it when marketing departments put āFrom director David Fincherā on posters, but who would have thought the guy who made an obese man eat himself to death would want to follow an Ivy League computer nerd?
Sack up, and take a bite of the whale.
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