The Netflix original series Mindhunter is, by far, one of the best new shows currently running. The true story-based, 1977-set drama chronicles the early days of criminal psychology and criminal profiling primarily through the eyes of three people at the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit: eager newcomer Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff), somewhat jaded veteran Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), and brilliant psychology professor Wendy Carr (Anna Torv). That this show is immaculately crafted from top to bottom will come as no surprise to those aware that it’s the brainchild of David Fincher, who serves as executive producer and directed nearly half of the series’ first season.
This is without doubt one of the best looking pieces of entertainment released in 2017, regardless of medium, with classical framing, motivated camera movement, and a tremendous palette that gives a mere peek into the darkness inside the minds of the criminals and serial killers who are the subject of the Behavioral Science Unit’s interviews.
So when I got the chance to speak with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt about his work on the series, I was thrilled. Messerschmidt shot eight of the first season’s 10 episodes, including the Fincher-directed closing installments, and as he revealed during our interview, this was essentially his first major gig as a cinematographer. Messerschmidt had worked previously as a gaffer on shows like Mad Men and Bones, and then later the feature film Gone Girl where he first came into contact with Fincher. Based on their work together on that film, Fincher called Messerschmidt up when they were looking for a new DP for Mindhunter after the show’s original cinematographer exited over creative differences.
This promotion from gaffer to DP is a familiar refrain with Fincher’s cinematographers, as he did the same with his The Game and Fight Club gaffer Claudio Miranda, who was brought on as DP for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and went on to win the Oscar for Best Cinematography for his work on Life of Pi.
Messerschmidt’s rise to the primary cinematographer of Fincher’s brand new TV show elicits similarly spectacular results, as the DP’s work on Mindhunter is elegantly classical and incredibly motivated by character and theme. During the course of our conversation, Messerschmidt talked about the road that led to him becoming the cinematographer on Mindhunter, the specifics of his working relationship with Fincher, what it’s like to serve as a DP in the world of episodic television, how the work of production designers and costumes designers goes under-appreciated, and trying to maintain a consistent aesthetic with multiple directors. He also teased a bit about Mindhunter Season 2, including revealing their extensive shooting schedule.
–Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories (1958) by Dr. Seuss –The Code Breakers (1967) by David Kahn –Codes and Ciphers: Secret Writing Through the Ages (1964) by John Laffin –Secret Writing: The Craft of the Cryptographer (1970) by James Raymond Wolfe –The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) film directed by Eugene Lourie –Dick Tracy Lunchbox, 1967 – Animal Crackers (cookie) –The Most Dangerous Game (1932) film directed by Irving Pichel and Ernest B. Schoedsack –Hair, original musical poster, show debut in 1967 –They Laughed When I Sat Down: An Informal History of Advertising in Words and Pictures (1959) by Frank Rowsome, Jr. –McElligot’s Pool (1947) by Dr. Seuss –TIME Magazine “Race and Reform on Campus,” Volume 93 No. 16, April 18, 1969 –The Asphalt Jungle (1950) film directed by John Huston –The Wrong Man (1956) film directed by Alfred Hitchcock –The Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy, 1931-1951 (Anthology, 1970) by Chester Gould –Fox in Socks (1965) by Dr. Seuss –Curtain and The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1975) by Agatha Christie –An Artist in America (1951) by Thomas Hart Benton –Drawing: Seeing and Observation (1973) by Ian Simpson –Drawing the Female Figure (1975) by Joseph Sheppard –Mainstreams of Modern Art: David to Picasso (1961) by John Canaday –Homicide Investigation (first published 1944) by Lemoyne Snyder –Rescued in the Clouds (1927) by Franklin W. Dixon –LIFE Magazine “Confrontation in Harvard Yard,” Vol. 66 No. 16, April 25, 1969 – Slinky Toy Commercial from the 1960s – Slinky Toy –I Died A Thousand Times (1955) film directed by Stuart Heisler –Star Trek, Season 3 Episode 4 “And the Children Shall Lead” (1968) guest starring Melvin Belli, portrayed by Brian Cox in Zodiac – Aquavelva (alcoholic drink) – Reprise: The Code Breakers (1967) by David Kahn – Reprise: Codes and Ciphers (1964) by John Laffin –Richard Nixon Presidential Campaign Button, 1968 – “I Am Not Avery” button – 6 extremely rare first edition covers of Ian Fleming James Bond Novels: Dr. No (1958), For Your Eyes Only (1960), Moonraker (1955), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963), You Only Live Twice (1964), The Spy Who Loved Me (1962) –Six Crises (1962) by Richard M. Nixon –San Francisco (first published 1969) edited by Jack McDowell and Dorothy Krell –The Selling of the President, 1968 (1969) by Joe McGinniss –Rubber Life Magazine, Vol. 01, No. 01, (1972) –Dirty Harry (1971) film directed by Don Siegel –Pong (1972) video game by Atari – I Looked and Listened: Informal Recollections of Radio and TV (1970) by Ben Gross – The Crime Vaccine: How to End the Crime Epidemic (1996) by Jay B. Marcus –The FBI in Our Open Society (1969) by Harry & Bonaro Overstreet – Kidnap: The Story of the Lindbergh Case (1961) by George Waller –The Property Man (1914) film directed by Charlie Chaplin – McCall’s Sewing Book (1968) by McCall Corporation – Them! (1954) film directed by Gordon Douglas –Illegal (1955) film directed by Lewis Allen – The World Almanac – Centennial Edition (1968) – The Rink (1916) film directed by Charlie Chaplin – Conquest (1937) film directed by Clarence Brown and Gustav Marchaty –Key Largo (1948) film directed by John Huston – Zodiac: The Shocking True Story of the Nation’s Most Bizarre Mass Murderer (1986) by Robert Graysmith
Zodiac (2007) Credits:
Directed by David Fincher
Production Design by Donald G. Burt
Art Direction by Keith Cunningham
Set Decoration by Victor J. Zolfo
A ‘joyously nerdy’ video in which I attempt to assemble all the components to recreate the reel-to-reel title sequence from the Netflix Show Mindhunter.
Special thanks to Jason Moore (on Patreon) for the tip regarding The Professionals episode.
The music used in my recreation of the title sequence is ‘Spirit Of the Dead‘ – by Aakash Ghandi and is from the youtube audio library (Download link).
NOTE: The TDK tape leader was created specifically for the sequence with CGI to hide the original Sony one:
Comment by Kenneth Palkow (Kenney’s Custom Props) in Techmoan’s video 2020
Very nicely done, Techmoan. It’s amazing to see how many people fell in love with that recorder.
Working for David Fincher and having the opportunity to work with some very talented individuals was amazing. About 40% of the prop was recreated. We had acquired a couple machines. There was also one we found in a museum but did not get that one. In the end, I had 2 machines to work with. Some logos you noticed were not present anymore and that’s because that was a part I machined… like the head roller cover. The original had some deep gouged marks.
Since the recorder needed to look new from that time period, it was best to make a new one. I machined that part aluminum. There were other parts I needed recreate and machine. As you know, these machines are rare and it was just easy to tear the recorder down to every nut and bolt and give it a complete restoration. The hardest part was the housing and lettering. Some of it I had to recreate while other parts was just a refinish. In the end, I decided to match the original finish using ceramic based gun coatings. It was a durable finish and the color match ended up being perfect. So, the entire housing and misc parts, like the head/roller cover I totally refinished with this coating.
The next challenge was the reels themselves. David wanted a .005″ chamfer specifically on all edges of the reels. This was mainly because he was going to do plenty close ups and the details and the details had to be spot on. Again, I created a CAD model based on metal reels of that time period and machined them out of aluminum. I had to make custom fixtures to machine these parts because they are so thin. The center hubs a created a CAD model and 3D printed. I then wet polished the hubs down to 2000 grit. The hubs in the sequence were placed upside down. I did not intend or ask for my company initials to be visible…. that just happened by chance or intentional by the prop master or even possibly David was happy enough with my work that he did this for me. Either way, I was really excited to see that in the sequence.
I think The Fincher Analyst is correct about the tape having a cg overlay done. There were many other details I recreated as well…. like the rubber seal between the clear cover and housing. That part I did a cad model, printed a master, pulled a mold, and cast the recreated seals in rubber. The clear cover is also custom made. I did modify the locking knob on the cover to a magnetic one so the actor would just have to pull up vs trying to fidget with trying to get it to release… or worrying about it locking up and not release fluidly for the camera. Remember, the seen had to be very fluid.
Anyway, I hope this gives you some insight as to how much effort David wanted put into that opening sequence. Another friend of mine, Max Burman did the corpse stills you see.
Comment by Kenneth Palkow (Kenney’s Custom Props) in Adam Savage’s Tested video May 16, 2023
Hey brother, thank you for the shout out.
Yes, yes, and yes…. David Fincher 100% was extremely meticulous about detail on this reel to reel. His specifications was .005 of an inch chamfer on the reels edges alone. We had two machines at our disposal and I took one to create a superhero prop for that opening sequence alone.
Since a good portion of the recorder had damages, such as deep scratches, gouges, etc etc, I had to re-create those parts by CNC machining. The seal for the top cover I 3-D print it and even the top cover is not original. I had to make a new one from scratch. The top cover where the pick ups are that says Sony, I did not remove the logo, because that part as well I had to remake from scratch. Again, CNC machining. There were areas of machining that I was holding half a thou tolerance. Lol, I know, crazy. But, I was instructed that this would be an extreme close-up scene. The rest of the machine I tore down, refinished the side panels the back panel to take out all of the scratches gouges and then did a refinish using KG gun coatings. There was some Cerakote as well in there.
The reels were probably the most pain in the butt. Machining, thin metal like that can be problematic with vibration so I had to form a custom jig that sandwiched the reels down so I can machine the chamfers. The center hub is 3-D printed and if you look closely on the Opening sequence when he is tightening the reel knob, you will see my company initials KCP. That actually was an accident and no one was supposed to see that but someone put the reels upside down. I’m not gonna complain. Lol.
Truth be told this task of refinishing/fabricating. This reel to reel went in front of two other prop shops before it ultimately ended up in my hands. David was extremely adamant about the quality of this prop that the Prop Master took it to two shops. One of the shops tried, but could not give the quality level of work David was asking for.
That second shop gave me a call one day and said “Kenney don’t be mad at me but I’m sending somebody your way. They are being truly anal about the detail and I told them if you’re looking for someone that’s anal, you need to go to Ken shop“. Not five minutes later Prop Master called me at about 20 minutes later I was on a flight to Pittsburgh for a morning meeting the next day. I looked at the previous work done by the last shop, and thought to myself this is some pretty good work and question whether I could pull off with David wanted. Ultimately, that opening sequence is a project I’m most proud of being a part of and definitely one of the most beautifully done.
And last, I did make mention to the art department that in exchange for the hard work, David needed to bring me on for World War Z 2. Lol there was a lot more to this project but that’s pretty much the gist of it. Thanks again, brother, for the shout out.
If by any chance, you would like files to the the reel to reel or any of the other parts, let me know.
David Fincher went looking for the 1970s — and found them in Pittsburgh. but that was just the start for the esteemed producer-director and his team, who recreated the era for Mindhunter, the Netflix series about two pioneering FBI profilers.
Watching the Netflix series Mindhunter, you may shudder as convicted serial killer Ed Kemper (Cameron Britton) casually chats about his string of brutal murders, or flinch when — spoiler alert! — a bird hits the fan courtesy of mass murderer Richard Speck (Jack Erdie).
What you’re less likely to notice is the precision with which the show’s late-’70s landscape has been created. David Fincher considers that a win.
“It’s really important that it feels like two people having a conversation — and that 40 people aren’t on their iPhones simultaneously just outside of frame,” says Fincher, who is executive-producing the series with Joshua Donen, Charlize Theron and Ceán Chaffin. “The great news is, I lived through the ’70s, so I remember what that looks like.”
Created by Joe Penhall — and based loosely on FBI agent John Douglas‘s book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit — the series explores the birth of criminal profiling.
Special agent Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff, playing a fictionalized version of Douglas) and his partner, Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), work alongside psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv) to dig into what makes murderers tick. Shot in Pittsburgh, the show is a window on a time before the term serial killer had been coined, much less become the focus of TV shows and casual conversations.
While that seemingly more innocent time is reflected partly in the show’s relative lack of gore, the decade’s thornier complexities required a critical eye (or, in this case, eyes) to see past the polyester-covered clichés.
“David is the most holistic filmmaker I’ve ever met,” director of photography Erik Messerschmidt says. “The tone of every scene is important, and [so are] how the costumes and lighting and set decoration and everything play a part in creating the finished product.”
Fincher, who directed four of the first season’s 10 episodes, is famously meticulous, but he says the secret to getting it right is finding the right people.
“I don’t think you keep a project in a kind of design and aesthetic wheelhouse by being a dictatorial influence. Just stomping your feet and holding your breath is not going to make stuff work,” he says. “A lot of times, you have to empower people who are the advance troops and the follow-up troops to make decisions that are based on conversations that you have.”
In this case, one of the first decisions — where to shoot — was daunting.
“Our biggest issue,” Fincher says, “was: where do we find 1978?”
A homage to one of my favourite David Fincher films: Gone Girl! In this summary tutorial, I’ll show you how I recreated the lounge room from Gone Girl.
I loved the lighting and cool palette of Gone Girl, and wondered if there was any “secret” to making it look like this. So as a learning exercise, I recreated the lounge room entirely in Blender and rendered with Cycles.
Took about 30 hours to create in total + another 49 hours for the tutorial.
Mehruss Jon Ahi and Armen Karaoghlanian
January 19, 2018 Interiors
The television show, Mindhunter, created by Joe Penhall and executive produced and directed by David Fincher, is one of the most visually distinctive shows and for good reason. David Fincher’s filmography has become something that we aren’t used to seeing. From the Cinematography to the Production Design, Fincher has achieved a level of mastery that other films and television shows do not seem to have.
Based primarily in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the show depicts incredible locations and interior spaces, such as a variety of interrogation rooms that are both visually stunning and exceptionally detailed.
In an exclusive interview with Interiors, we spoke with Steve Arnold, who is the Production Designer for Mindhunter. The images are property of Steve Arnold and his team.
“Their positioning throughout the scene provides us with an understanding of how David Fincher uses space within the film, and in doing so, how he also maintains the architectural integrity of the film.”
Mehruss Jon Ahi and Armen Karaoghlanian
2012-01 Interiors
“The vastness of the desert around them emphasizes the fact that the handcuffed John Doe is captured; a lack of freedom despite the free space around him.”
Mehruss Jon Ahi and Armen Karaoghlanian
2013-01 Interiors
Mehruss Jon Ahi and Armen Karaoghlanian
The Fincher Analyst 