2010. The Social Network – The Fincher Analyst

Color Timer Podcast: 15 Minutes with Colorist Eric Weidt

Desert island movies, David Fincher, and the poetry of color.

Vincent Taylor, Senior Colorist
May 19, 2023
MixingLight.com

Eric Weidt has worked as a Colorist on impressive projects such as Mindhunter and Mank. He spent 15 years in Paris working with fashion photographers and filmmakers (developing look-up tables) and has a BA in theatre arts.

Eric has worked exclusively with director David Fincher since 2015. We delve into his relationship with the famous director and explore his process for his incredible Black & White work in the motion picture ‘Mank’. We even talk about the one film he would watch if he only had one choice (stuck on a desert island with electricity).

Eric Weidt: “I’m remastering some of his old classics right now. Like, I remastered The Social Network [in 4K], I’m in the process of remastering Panic Room, and I’m also just starting on Seven“.

Listen to the podcast:

MixingLight.com
Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Amazon Music

Producer: Kayla Uribe
Executive Producer: MixingLight.com
Supporting Sponsor: FilmLight

Clique X: Interview with David Fincher

Mouloud Achour
March 8, 2023
Clique TV (Canal+)

The immense director David Fincher granted us a 90-minute exclusive interview with Mouloud Achour. This new Clique X is a masterclass from the American genius about the secrets of his filmography that has become so emblematic over the years: Seven, Fight Club, Zodiac, The Social Network…

In English with subtitles in French.

Watch the interview on Canal+

Glasgow Film Theater – Cinemasters: David Fincher

Glasgow Film
February 15, 2023

After making his name creating iconic music videos for some of the biggest pop stars of the 20th Century, including George Michael, Madonna, and Michael Jackson, David Fincher made his feature film debut to mixed results, directing the third installment in the Alien series in 1992. Our celebration of this exacting filmmaker’s work begins with the film that came next, Se7en (1995), an unforgettable serial killer horror whose influence in style and tone is still felt across film and TV today.

Fincher’s subsequent films have made him one of the most sought-after and critically acclaimed (and occasionally divisive) directors working today. With his new film The Killer, starring Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton, scheduled for release in late 2023, we are delighted to offer audiences a chance to dive into Fincher’s dark world on the big screen through March and April at GFT. The season includes several screenings on 35mm, our first chance to screen Fincher’s Oscar-winning Covid-era release Mank, and a special discussion around one of his most enduringly beloved and controversial films entitled ‘Yes, We Are Going to Talk About Fight Club’.

Films in this Season

Se7en: 15 – 19 March
Fight Club: 21 March – 26 March + panel discussion
Panic Room: 5 April
Zodiac: 29 March – 2 April
The Curious Benjamin Button: 9 – 10 April
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 23 April
The Social Network: 16 – 19 April
Gone Girl: 26 April
Mank: 30 April – 3 May

CineMasters: David Fincher Ticket deal

Buy tickets to 6 or more different titles in the season and get one of those tickets free. Add all tickets in one transaction and the discount will be automatically applied to your basket at checkout.

Buy tickets

The Fincher Analyst Reporter-at-Large, Joe Frady, will attend and cover the whole season.

RED Stage 4 Sessions: Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, and Steven Meizler

Jarred Land and Naida Albright
January 13, 2023
RED Digital Cinema

Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, and Steven Meizler, two cinematography legends, sit down with RED‘s Jarred Land and Naida Albright. They discuss the challenges and triumphs of shooting projects like Che and The Social Network during the early years of RED and how those experiences and their continued relationship with the brand have forged a symbiotic relationship that has helped their art and more importantly, helped to push RED’s technology forward to meet their high standards.

Two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, is known for his role as the director of photography on Fight Club, The Social Network, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and Gone Girl.

Emmy-award winner Steven Meizler‘s films include Che, The Minority Report, The Queen’s Gambit, The OA, Godless, and the upcoming American political drama series The White House Plumbers.

Connect with RED Digital Cinema: website, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

How Technology Made David Fincher a Better Director

Has there ever been a movie director who has taken more advantage of new technology than David Fincher? We look back on how digital production benefitted his movies so much.

Julian Mitchell
November 28, 2022
The Beat (Premium Beat)

When digital cinematography was in its infancy, around 2005, it was like the Wild West; new cameras were appearing seemingly every week, whether from University’ concept’ programs or start-ups with a movie making a revolution on their minds.

In this white heat of technology, director David Fincher started to craft his movie-making skills. He was a risk taker with new technology but driven by the promise it gave him. As much as Fincher and his crew were proud of the films they made, they were also proud of how they made them.

Zodiac’s Digital Gamble

Fincher had already used digital cinematography for his commercials and decided to commit early to this technology for his movies. But his long-time producer Ceán Chaffin brought some hard business sense to brace against his pioneering creative decisions.

Ceán had been involved more in costing this digital workflow out and had looked at introducing digital for a feature before Zodiac but found that it wasn’t cost-efficient at that time; Zodiac was different. “At the moment of Zodiac, storage was so cheap that we could push it; it was also about the savings at that point. The sticking point was really about storage for us up to Zodiac.”

Read the full article

Pixel Perfection

Jarred Land / RED Digital Cinema

Adrian Pennington
April 2022
British Cinematographer

Jarred Land has spent his career in close collaboration and connection with filmmakers, supporting the execution of their vision with powerful and ground-breaking tools.

Jarred Land runs RED Digital Cinema, the company whose 4K camera went from scepticism to admiration on a run of prestige movies like David Fincher’s Oscar-winning Mank and series like The Queen’s Gambit. Since 2013, Land has led a team focused on precedent-setting technology for filmmakers.

Land didn’t found RED but joined Jim Jannard before the launch of the first camera and during the hardcore, technology banging sleepless nights part of the story, where a small group failed, learned, succeeded. From the first conversation Land had with Jannard and still today, the focus is on providing a more complete tool for filmmakers.

Born in Edmonton, Canada, Land’s father ran gas stations and shopping malls, imbuing in him an entrepreneurial spirit. The teenage Land’s passion was mountain biking which he segued into his own bike courier company in Vancouver.

A chance encounter with a client inspired him to take up videography using the Panasonic tape camcorder DVX100. “I couldn’t go to film school because I was running my company and biking 100km a day, so I set up a bulletin board for help,” he says.

Read the full profile

Frame & Reference Podcast: “Being the Ricardos” DP Jeff Cronenweth, ASC

Kenny McMillan (Twitter, Instagram)
April 7, 2022
ProVideo Coalition, Frame & Reference (Twitter, Instagram)

Frame & Reference is a conversation between Cinematographers hosted by Kenny McMillan of OWL BOT. Each episode dives into the respective DP’s current and past work, as well as what influences and inspires them. These discussions are an entertaining and informative look into the world of making films through the lens of the people who shoot them.

In this episode, Kenny talks with legendary cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC about the Oscar Nominated film “Being the Ricardos.” You likely know Jeff from his work on films such as “Fight Club“, “Gone Girl“, “The Social Network” & “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

Frame & Reference is supported by:

Filmtools, the West Coast’s leading supplier of film equipment. From cameras and lights to grip and expendables, Filmtools has you covered for all your film gear needs.

ProVideo Coalition, a top news and reviews site focusing on all things production and post coming out of the industry.

Listen to the podcast:

Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
YouTube

Red Carpet Rookies: Jeff Cronenweth. Cinematographer

Mike Battle
January 31, 2022
Red Carpet Rookies

In this episode, we’re joined by one of the world’s greatest Cinematographers, Jeff Cronenweth. Born into the film business, he grafted his way through the rungs of the camera department and music video scene of the 1990s, until he got the call from David Fincher to take the reins of Fight Club. From there it’s been a run of legendary movies including, One Hour Photo and Gone Girl, as well as The Social Network and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo both of which he picked up Oscar nominations.

What you’ll learn from Jeff:

Jeff’s opinion on whether film school is still necessary
Whether music videos are still useful starting grounds for DPs
How Jeff get imposter syndrome on Fight Club
What it’s like to work with Aaron Sorkin
How does the DP Director relationship work
Jeff’s opinion on the film fanboys that constantly copy the ‘Fincher/Cronwneth aesthetic!’
Whether Jeff has taught David Fincher anything
What a day of prep is like for Fincher and Jeff

And of course in our quick-fire: Jeff’s no 1 piece of advice, favourite film, book to read, person to work with, and more.

Listen to the podcast:

Red Carpet Rookies (with a transcript)
Apple Podcast
Spotify
Google Podcasts

Follow Red Carpet Rookies: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter

Follow Mike: Instagram, Twitter