Month: July 2020

Light The Fuse: Liz Hannah Interview (Writer of ‘The Post’, ‘Long Shot’, and ‘Mindhunter’)

Charles Hood & Drew Taylor
July 20, 2020
Light The Fuse – A Mission: Impossible Podcast

For this very special episode we are joined by screenwriter Liz Hannah (“The Post,” “Long Shot,” “Mindhunter”). We find out why she loves the franchise (especially “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”), her appreciation for Rebecca Ferguson’s Ilsa and what she wants out of the two new movies. She also talks about working with David Fincher. And we also get Liz – and her husband – to rank Tom Cruise’s hairstyles!

Listen to the podcast on:

Apple Podcasts
Stitcher
SoundCloud
Spotify
Google Play
YouTube

Or listen here on our website!

Portbox: How Jeff Cronenweth Builds Iconic Images That You Can’t Forget

Madhav Goyal
July 12, 2020
Invisible Storytelling (Portbox)

Academy Award-nominated Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth (Fight Club, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl) breaks down the visual decisions behind some of the most studied films of the past three decades, and what it actually takes to build imagery that lasts.

Cronenweth explains how he and David Fincher approached the unreliable narrator problem in Fight Club, why the opening scene of The Social Network was shot with crossing cameras instead of traditional coverage, and how shallow depth of field became the primary tool for conveying isolation in Tales from the Loop. He also gets into why fear is essential to staying sharp, and why fighting for every single shot matters more than most cinematographers realize.

If you have ever wondered how great cinematographers make technical decisions in service of emotion rather than spectacle, this conversation gets into the specifics.

Read the episode notes:

How Jeff Cronenweth Builds Iconic Images That You Can’t Forget

Listen to the podcast on:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon Music

The Mindhunter Art Department (2)


July 11, 2020
Mindhunter Art Department (Instagram)

Production Designer: Steve Arnold

Art Director: Oana Bogdan Miller

Set Decorator: Andrew Baseman

Graphic Designer: Carly Sertic

Photos by Nikolai Loveikis

Netflix FYC: Mindhunter. Scene Stealers with Damon Herriman and Kazu Hiro

Jenelle Riley
Editor – Variety
July 2020
Netflix

Actor Damon Herriman talks about tackling the role of Charles Manson (again) in Netflix‘s Emmy®-nominated series Mindhunter. Oscar®-winning makeup designer Kazu Hiro, meanwhile, details the actor’s physical transformation from mild-mannered Aussie to iconic cult leader.

For Your Emmy® Awards Consideration

Netflix FYC: Mindhunter. Maker’s Marque with Carl Franklin and Erik Messerschmidt


July 2020
Netflix

Director Carl Franklin and cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt expound on the visual language of a scene from season two of Netflix‘s acclaimed drama series Mindhunter. They give insights into perspective considerations, the choice of handheld camera over Steadicam and the general stylistic shift employed for the sequence.

For Your Emmy® Awards Consideration

Prosthetic designer Kazu Hiro breaks down his process

July 2, 2020
Vanity Fair

Kazu Hiro breaks down his process of using special effects to transform actors physical appearances. Kazu demonstrates the techniques he used to turn ‘Bombshell‘ cast Charlize Theron into Megyn Kelly, Nicole Kidman into Gretchen Carlson, and John Lithgow into Roger Ailes, ‘Darkest Hour‘ cast Gary Oldman into Winston Churchill, and ‘Mindhunter‘ cast Damon Herriman into Charles Manson, and Olive Cooper into David Berkowitz.

Watch the transcripted video on Vanity Fair

Streaming: Netflix’s Mindhunter

Marc Loftus
July 2, 2020
Post Magazine

Netflix’s Mindhunter series is inspired by true events. Directed by David Fincher, the show focuses on FBI agents Holden Ford and Bill Tench, who try to understand the psyches of notorious serial killers. Mindhunter’s first season debuted in 2017, and the second season returned in the summer of 2019. 

Season 2 stars Jonathan Groff, Holt McCallany, Anna Torv, Joe Tuttle, Albert Jones, Stacey Roca, Michael Cerveris, Lauren Glazier and Sierra McClain. While Fincher was the series’ primary director, Andrew Dominik and Carl Franklin also directed episodes.

SHOOTING

Cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, ASC, had worked with Fincher in the past. He was a gaffer on the filmmaker’s Gone Girl, and was excited to receive a call, inviting him to come onboard to reshoot part of the pilot and second episode back in 2017. The show was already shooting with a Red camera for Season 1, and upgraded to the newer Hellium 8K sensor for Season 2.

EDITING

Kirk Baxter of Santa Monica’s Exile also has a long-standing relationship with David Fincher. He’s cut The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), The Social Network (2010) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) — all of which won the Oscar for Best Editing, a credit he shared with Angus Wall. He also cut 2014’s Gone Girl (2014), and is currently working on an upcoming Netflix feature with the director titled Mank.

Read the full profile

SoundWorks Collection: The Sound of MindHunter

Glenn Kiser, Director of the Dolby Institute
July 2, 2020
SoundWorks Collection / The Dolby Institute

Cinema director David Fincher created one of the first original streaming series with House of Cards, and his innovative spirit infuses the Netflix original series Mindhunter, now in its second season.

In this podcast episode, the sound team discuss Fincher’s unique approach to the sound of serial killer interrogation scenes, a hallmark of this fascinating, dark series. The team discuss setting the acoustic tone of the series, including the oppression of the FBI agents’ basement office (and a very special door), why it was important to Fincher to always hear trainee agents at Quantico at target practice, and the joy of receiving Fincher’s incredibly detailed mix notes.

Steve Bissinger – Sound Effects Editor
Scott Lewis – Re-Recording Mixer
Stephen Urata – Re-Recording Mixer

Listen to the SoundWorks Collection podcast on:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher

‘Mindhunter’: How Kazu Hiro Transformed Damon Herriman Into an Uncanny Charles Manson

The multiple Oscar-winning special effects makeup wiz is the Emmy favorite for helping Damon Herriman with his spot-on, riveting Manson.

Bill Desowitz
July 1, 2020
IndieWire

Last year, Australian actor Damon Herriman did his spot-on performance of Charles Manson not once, but twice: the teasing cameo in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” and the riveting interview with FBI agents Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Tench (Holt McCallany) in Season 2 of David Fincher’s “Mindhunter.” Although they were shot within weeks of each other, the more demanding portrayal in the Netflix crime drama came first.

And, thanks to the deft physical transformation applied by the multiple Oscar-winning special effects makeup wiz Kazu Hiro (“Bombshell,” “Darkest Hour”) — who first worked with Fincher on “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” — Herriman gave the definitive Manson portrayal for the streamer. But we’ve come to expect nothing less from Hiro, the master at reconstructing iconic historical figures. It’s all the more impressive when there’s no physical resemblance, which was the case here with Herriman nearly five inches taller than the diminutive Manson and possessing different facial traits.

Read the full profile

Charles Manson sculpture over a Damon Herriman life cast