The Fincher Analyst

The David Fincher Process: 1st Assistant Editor’s POV

Sven Pape, ACE
June 11, 2022
This Guy Edits

The editing and post-production of David Fincher‘s Mank.

Netflix’s Mank was leading 2021 Oscars nominations with 10 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. First assistant editor Ben Insler opens up the editing timeline of the film and shares insights on the editing and workflow process.

Grab my Secret Editing Hacks for FREE.

This Guy Edits on Patreon, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook.

‘Love, Death + Robots’ Season 3: David Fincher Gets Animated for the First Time on ‘Bad Travelling’

The animators tell IndieWire what it was like collaborating with Fincher on the mo-cap character animation and giant, slimy crab.

Bill Desowitz
June 9, 2022
IndieWire

It’s easy to see why David Fincher chose “Bad Travelling” as his first foray into directing animation. He made his feature debut with the ill-fated “Alien 3,” after all, and the premise of this third-season episode of “Love, Death + Robots” is a bit like setting the plight of the Nostromo on the high seas: A giant, slimy crab devours the crew of a shark-hunting vessel, with only the cunning navigator surviving to battle the beast. (It also makes up for Fincher’s aborted take on “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” at Disney.)

Fincher also likens “Bad Travelling” to “Ten Little Indians” meets “Deadliest Catch,” with the ship’s navigator, Torrin (Troy Baker), contending with mutiny, betrayal, and a starving Thanapod crustacean that bizarrely communicates through ventriloquism.

“You don’t necessarily want to see them come to unnatural ends,” Fincher said about the crew in the production notes. “The idea was not to make them despicable, but self-serving. That’s the thing I always loved about Harry Dean Stanton and Yaphet Kotto in ‘Alien’….”

Read the full profile

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

Soundstage Access: Gwen Yates Whittle, Supervising Sound Editor

Brando Benetton
June 6, 2022
Soundstage Access

For this masterclass on the Art of Sound in film and TV, we welcome on the show Gwen Yates Whittle, a 2-time Oscar-nominated sound professional whose credits include this summer’s Jurassic World: Dominion, Saving Private Ryan, Top Gun: Maverick and the upcoming Avatar: The Way of the Water.

In today’s conversation, the Skywalker Sound member and I break down some of Hollywood’s biggest sound moments. We discuss Gwen’s beginning in the industry and why the prospect of sound editing intrigued her in ways that sound mixing never did; her relationship with detail-oriented directors like Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, and David Fincher (Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac, Benjamin Button, Gone Girl); the process of layering animal sounds to create the dinosaur voices in the Jurassic World franchise—as well as how the pandemic suddenly impacted Gwen’s work. All of this… and much more!

Gwen’s newest movies Jurassic World: Dominion and Top Gun: Maverick are now in theaters across the world, with Avatar: The Way of the Water opening in December 2022.

Listen to the podcast on:

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
Soundcloud
Google Podcasts
Stitcher

Soundstage Access on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Conversations with Sound Artists: Dialogue Editing and ADR with Gwen Whittle

Glenn Kiser, Director of the Dolby Institute
September 21, 2015
SoundWorks Collection / The Dolby Institute

Editing dialog and working with the original recordings from the set is one of the most under-appreciated arts in cinema sound. In this episode of “Conversations with Sound Artists,” two-time Academy Award nominee Gwen Yates Whittle talks with the Dolby Institute’s Glenn Kiser about why George Lucas thinks dialog editing is one of the most important parts of the process, why she loves working on low-budget independent films (“They talk more,”), and why David Fincher and Meryl Streep love doing ADR.

Siren vs. Soldier

Emmy and Oscar award-winner Alberto Mielgo’s animated short “Jibaro” thrills in Season 3 of Tim Miller and David Fincher’s groundbreaking anthology series Love, Death + Robots.

Ryan G. Smith
June 1, 2022
Netflix Queue

When Oscar and Emmy winner Alberto Mielgo was invited to pitch a story for the latest volume of the 11-time Emmy-winning series Love, Death + Robots, the Spanish director, artist, and animator decided to use a folkloric lens to examine the lengths to which some people will go to obtain what they cannot have. The resulting short, “Jibaro,” centers the battle of a deaf knight desperate to slay a golden siren and claim her as a trophy. The mythic creature grows increasingly frustrated, failing to understand why her opponent is immune to the powers of her song.

“It was inspired by those videos on National Geographic where there is an alligator fighting a jaguar for food,” Mielgo says. “It’s a crazy, toxic relationship between two characters, two predators, who both want and need each other.”

The unconventional and breathtaking episode is among nine new shorts included in the third volume of Love, Death + Robots. When executive producers Tim Miller and David Fincher first dreamed up the concept for Love, Death + Robots, they had a clear creative objective: “Let’s make a sandbox where anything’s possible,” explains Fincher, the Oscar-nominated director best known for live-action films like Mank, as well as the TV series MINDHUNTER. Fincher makes his animated directorial debut with the Volume 3 short “Bad Travelling,” a motion-capture masterpiece following a crew of degenerate sailors contending with a giant crustacean who boards their ship with an appetite for destruction. “We’re just telling stories. I think that the best of it works on a childlike level — and a naughty teenager level. As an adult looking at it, I appreciate that.”

Read the full profile

The Most Criminally Underrated Home Invasion Thriller

Ryan Hollinger
May 30, 2022
Ryan Hollinger (YouTube)

This show celebrates Ryan’s love for film, games, art and entertainment through personal retrospective analysis that aims to explore what made them so good.

Time stamps:

00:00: The Story & Characters
04:20: The Intense Filmmaking
08:37: The Panic Room Explained
12:27: Ending Spoilers

Sources:

“Home(land) Invasion: Poe, Panic Rooms, and 9/11”

John Kitterman
May 1, 2003
Wiley

Follow Ryan: Twitter, Instagram, Patreon/Discord

TIME 100 Most Influential People of 2022: Amanda Seyfried by David Fincher

Amanda Seyfried by Molly Matalon (The New York Times/Redux)

100 Most Influential People of 2022

David Fincher
May 23, 2022
TIME

When I lured Amanda Seyfried into Mank, her ability to be simultaneously knowing and warm opened that role to a (much) larger conversation than the script might have otherwise intimated. People may have thought of her as a rom-com-edienne, but she’s got a lot more going on under the hood. Including the rare ability to make one reassess one’s own imaginative shortcomings.

Read the full note on Amanda Seyfried by David Fincher

Love, Death, Robots + Books

Love, Death + Robots: The Official Anthology. Volume One

The sixteen stories and two screenplays that make up Volume One of the Emmy® award-winning Netflix Original series Love, Death & Robots.
Featuring best-selling authors and screenwriters from all over the globe, curated by filmmakers Tim Miller and David Fincher.

Stories and screenplays by: Alastair Reynolds, Alberto Mielgo, Claudine Griggs, David W. Amendola, Joe Lansdale, John Scalzi, Ken Liu, Kirsten Cross, Marko Kloos, Michael Swanwick, Peter F. Hamilton, Steven Lewis, and Vitaliy Shushko.

Imprint: Cohesion Press
Publication Date: May 14, 2021

PAPERBACK
ISBN-10: ‎ 1925623386
ISBN-13: 978-1925623383
Page Count: 310
Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches (13.97 x 21.59 x 1.78 cm)
Weight: ‎ 13.7 ounces (388 g)
Price: $14.95, £9.95

EBOOK
ASIN‏: ‎ B0923HJQ5G
Page Count: 312
Price: $6.97 / £5.49 (Kindle)

Love, Death + Robots: The Official Anthology. Volumes Two & Three

The seventeen stories and screenplays that make up Volumes Two and Three of the Emmy® award-winning Netflix Original series Love, Death & Robots.
Featuring best-selling authors and screenwriters from all over the globe, curated by filmmakers Tim Miller and David Fincher.

Stories and screenplays by: Neal Asher, Paolo Bacigalupi, J. G. Ballard, Alan Baxter, Justin Coates, Harlan Ellison, Joachim Heijndermans, Joe Lansdale, Richard Larson, Alberto Mielgo, Jeff Fowler & Tim Miller, John Scalzi, Bruce Sterling, and Michael Swanwick.

Imprint: Cohesion Press
Publication Date: May 20, 2022

PAPERBACK
Coming Soon…

EBOOK
ASIN‏: ‎ B09XKRQ6NJ
Page Count: 318
Price: $6.97 / £5.49 (Kindle)

The Art of Love, Death + Robots

By Ramin Zahed

Love Death + Robots is a Netflix series like no other—a breath-taking journey of mature, high-concept tales told with seductive characters, astounding plots, and explosive action. With each episode crafted by different animation teams across the globe, the thought-provoking anthology covers a vast range of animation styles from edgy 2D to stop-motion to anime to hyper-realistic 3D CG.

In this luxury book, discover the wealth of artwork and stories behind the creation of the series’ first three volumes. Includes interviews with key artists and creatives such as series creators Tim Miller and David Fincher, and is full to the brim with everything from beautiful concept art, character studies, costume sketches, paintings, vehicle designs, storyboards, and early vision decks, through to finished frames. Perfect for any fan of animation.

Imprint: Titan Books
Publication Date: July 26, 2022

HARDCOVER
ISBN-10: ‎ 1789098645
ISBN-13: 978-1789098648
Page Count: 256
Dimensions: 9.06 x 11.63 inches (23 x 29.5 cm)
Weight: ‎ 1.25 pounds (0.57 Kg)
Price: $40.50, £34.99

EBOOK
ASIN‏: ‎ B09VX91VQX
ISBN-13: 978-1803360812
Page Count: 256
Price: $20.06 / £14.58 (Kindle), $22.99 (NOOK Book)

clubhouse: Watch Love, Death & Robots Vol. 3 with directors David Fincher, Tim Miller, and Alberto Mielgo

Moderated by Mohit Arora
May 24, 2022
clubhouse / Netflix

Install the app and listen to:

LOVE DEATH + RO3BOTS Watchalong with Director’s Commentary and Q&A

Bad Travelling, Directed by David Fincher
Swarm, Directed by Tim Miller
Jibaro, Directed by Alberto Mielgo
1 hr 18 min

Watch LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS on Netflix

LOVE DEATH + ROBOTS. Volume 3: Interviews. Tim Miller, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, and Alberto Mielgo

Directors Jerome Chen, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Tim Miller, Executive Producer Jennifer Miller, Alberto Mielgo, and Emily Dean.

The AFA Podcast Interview: Tim Miller, Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alberto Mielgo

AFA: Animation For Adults
June 3, 2022

Executive Producer Tim Miller And Supervising Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson On Netflix LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS

Paul Salfen
May 17, 2022
AMFM Magazine

Sophisticated Sci-Fi Is Back in ‘Love, Death + Robots’ Vol. 3

Ramin Zahed
May 20, 2022
Animation Magazine

Tim Miller And Jennifer Yuh Nelson Unleash “Love, Death + Robots” Vol. 3

Jackson Murphy
May 20, 2022
Animation Scoop

Alberto Mielgo Tells a Toxic Tale of Sensuality in ‘Love, Death + Robots’ Volume 3

Victoria Davis
May 20, 2022
Animation World Network

Tim Miller and Jennifer Yuh Nelson Talk ‘Love, Death + Robots’ Volume 3

Dan Sarto and Jon Hofferman
May 26, 2022
Animation World Network

Director Emily Dean Talks Animation Style of ‘The Very Pulse Machine’ in Netflix’s ‘Love Death + Robots’

Ben Morris
June 24, 2022
Awards Daily

Alberto Mielgo on His Animated Short “Jibaro” in Netflix’s ‘Love Death + Robots’

Ben Morris
June 26, 2022
Awards Daily

Emmy-Winners Jennifer Yuh Nelson, Tim Miller Share their Passion, Creativity for ‘Love Death + Robots’

Ben Morris
August 19, 2022
Awards Daily

Talking ‘Love, Death & Robots’ with Tim Miller and Jennifer Yuh Nelson

Joey Magidson
August 19, 2022
Awards Radar

So, how exactly does someone pitch an episode of ‘Love, Death + Robots’?

With Vol. 3 now out, creator/EP Tim Miller and supervising director Jennifer Yuh Nelson explain how it works.

Ian Failes
May 23, 2022
befores & afters

Love, Death + Robots’ Tim Miller Dives Into Animation’s Endless Possibilities

Caitlin Chappell
May 20, 2022
CBR.com

Emily Dean Directs a Love Letter to Moebius in Love, Death + Robots

Caitlin Chappell
May 20, 2022
CBR.com

Love, Death + Robots Director Alberto Mielgo Explains the Name ‘Jibaro’

E.L. Meszaros
May 26, 2022
CBR.com

Love, Death + Robots Volume 3: Tim Miller & Jennifer Yuh Nelson Break Down the Making of the Series

Steve Weintraub
June 4, 2022
Collider

Love, Death + Robots: Alberto Mielgo Talks Returning for Volume 3, New Challenges and More

Nick Valdez
May 22, 2022
comicbook.com

Alberto Mielgo On Creating A “Toxic Relationship” Between Two Predators In “Jibaro”

Ryan Fleming
June 6, 2022
Deadline

Engadget Podcast: A chat with the folks behind Netflix’s Love, Death and Robots

Devindra Hardawar
May 20, 2022
Engadget

Alberto Mielgo Talks About His Love, Death + Robots Volume 3 Episode ‘Jibaro’, Creating Short Episodes, And Production Pushbacks

Raven Brunner
May 21, 2022
GameRant

Alberto Mielgo (‘Love, Death + Robots’) on the toxic relationship at the center of ‘Jibaro’

GoldDerby / Gold Derby
June 18, 2022

Tim Miller and Jennifer Yuh Nelson (‘Love, Death + Robots’) on how hard it is to choose stories

GoldDerby / Gold Derby
August 8, 2022

‘Love, Death + Robots’ Season 3: Getting Animated About the Dark, Medieval Fable ‘Jibaro’

Oscar and Emmy winner Alberto Mielgo tells IndieWire about returning to the anthology with an animated original about a golden siren and an armored knight.

Bill Desowitz
May 23, 2022
IndieWire