November 27, 2023
Adobe
See how award-winning editor Kirk Baxter and his team, First Assistant Editor Ben Insler, and Colorist Eric Weidt, used Adobe Premiere Pro to break the rules of traditional editing in The Killer, a neo-noir thriller directed by David Fincher.
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Graham Norton
November 24, 2023
The Graham Norton Show (BBC)
Other guests: Jennifer Saunders, Daisy Haggard, Phil Wang
Jordan Orme and Hayden Hillier-Smith
November 22, 2023
The Editing Podcast
Welcome to The Editing Podcast, where storytelling meets the art of post-production. In this riveting episode, hosts Hayden Hillier-Smith and Jordan Orme sit down with none other than the master editor behind the brilliance of David Fincher‘s cinematic wonders—Kirk Baxter.
We delve deep into Kirk’s illustrious career, spanning iconic films that have left an indelible mark on the world of cinema. From “The Social Network” to “Gone Girl” to his most recent thriller, “The Killer”, Kirk Baxter’s editorial prowess has shaped some of the most memorable moments in film history and has influenced the editing landscape forever.
In this episode, we dissect the mesmerizing opening sniper scene, a sequence that hooks audiences from the first frame. Kirk takes us behind the scenes, sharing the secrets of crafting tension and suspense that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. We also explore the intricacies of “The Killer‘s” visceral fight scene, a jaw-dropping display of editing finesse that elevates the film to a new level of intensity. Kirk Baxter’s insights into the creative decisions behind each cut and the rhythmic flow of the sequence offer a rare glimpse into the mind of a true editing maestro.
00:00: David Fincher’s Editor Kirk Baxter
01:00: Use Riverside
02:18: Why Hiding Blinks Creates Intention
05:05: The David Fincher Editing Style
09:50: Choreographing The Vicious Fight Scene in The Killer
12:29: Letting Sound & Music Guide Your Edit
13:57: Comment “Storyblocks is cool”
15:00: Hooking Your Audience In The First 5 Minutes
16:23: How To Cut With Intention
18:14: Breaking Down The Sniper Scene in The Killer
25:15: The Magic Of Vertical Sound Cutting
27:53: Breaking Down The “Cool Girl” Sequence in Gone Girl
Editor: Tyson Pellegrini and Hayden Hillier-Smith
Executive Producer: Vishnu Vallabhaneni
Thumbnail: David Altizer
Listen to the podcast:
November 24, 2023
Artemple – Hollywood
David Fincher‘s Digital Effects Finesse in The Killer.
Watch the VFX Breakdown on YouTube
Visual Effects By: Artemple – Hollywood LLC
Visual Effects Supervisor: Wei Zheng
Digital Production Manager: Alexander Beale
Lead Digital Artists: Kyle Hause, Zach Miller
Digital Artists: Greg Szafranski, Anthony Davis, Yusei Uesugi, David Sudd, Derek Bird
Atish Sharma
November 9, 2023
HomeCrux
The 1970s was influenced by conceptualism and performance arts, and Donald Graham Burt, a university student who was then transitioning from boy to manhood was drawn to the conceptual movement. He found it as a way of expressing himself and relied on the art form as a medium to communicate his heart. It’s been more than forty years since Donald graduated but his approach to work and life has remained the same. I caught up with the two-time Academy Award winner to discuss art, design, films, and life in general.
Jazz Tangcay
November 17, 2023
Variety
‘The Killer’ Cinematographer on the Opening Scene of David Fincher’s Thriller and Making Michael Fassbender’s ‘Nest’
Valerie Wu
November 18, 2023
Variety
How do you get into a killer’s head?
It starts with situating yourself within their perspective, as “The Killer” cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt says.
That perspective was firmly established in the film’s opening sequence where subjectivity was key. The Parisian opening scene features the titular character — the assassin known only as “The Killer” played by Michael Fassbender who readies himself to kill a target in the building across from him.
Messerschmidt who sat down with Variety expressed that his familiarity and previous work with “The Killer” director David Fincher shortened the process of bringing the script to life. For Messerschmidt and Fincher, the goal was to hone in on the core themes of the story, and then start delving into the details from here.
Wally Pfister, ASC
November 16, 2023
American Cinematographer
In this episode, cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt, ASC is joined by interviewer Wally Pfister, ASC to discuss his work on The Killer — the neo-noir thriller from director David Fincher that follows an assassin on the run after a botched hit job.
In The Killer, the titular antihero misses one of his intended targets for the first time in his career, and is forced to flee and survive the inevitable consequences. The film marks the second Fincher-directed feature shot by Messerschmidt, following the 2020 film Mank, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
In this interview, Messerschmidt discusses the film’s Paris-inspired color palette; how he shot scenes “loosely” or “rigidly,” based on the main character’s degrees of control over varying situations; how he approached the lighting for a complex fight scene; how he incorporated planned postproduction decisions for lighting, flares and camera destabilization into his workflow; and what he learned about what an audience sees versus what it hears.
Erik Messerschmidt, ASC first emerged as a filmmaker when he was hired by Society member and mentor Mark Doering-Powell on several features as a grip and later gaffer. After Messerschmidt served as Society member Jeff Cronenweth‘s gaffer on the David Fincher-directed Gone Girl (2014), Cronenweth encouraged Fincher to hire Messerschmidt to photograph the Netflix series Mindhunter. Messerschmidt would reunite with Fincher for their 2020 feature Mank, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Cinematography.
Wally Pfister, ASC is a filmmaker whose cinematography credits include the Christopher Nolan features Batman Begins (2005), The Prestige (2006), The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010). He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography for all of these works, winning one for Inception in 2011.
October 27, 2023
Netflix
After a fateful near miss an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn’t personal.
Netflix Presents: Michael Fassbender “THE KILLER”
Arliss Howard, Charles Parnell, Kerry O’Malley, Sala Baker
With Sophie Charlotte and Tilda Swinton
Casting: Laray Mayfield
Sound Design: Ren Klyce
Music: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Costume Designer: Cate Adams
Editor: Kirk Baxter ACE
Production Design: Donald Graham Burt
Director of Photography: Erik Messerschmidt ASC
Executive Producer: Alexandra Milchan
Producers: William Doyle, Peter Mavromates
Produced By: Ceán Chaffin p.g.a.
Based on the graphic novel series “The Killer”
Written by Alexis “Matz” Nolent
Illustrated by Luc Jacamon
Originally published in the French language by Editions Casterman
Screenplay By: Andrew Kevin Walker
Directed By: David Fincher
Release Date: In Select Theaters October 27 / On Netflix November 10
Antonia Blyth, Senior Awards Editor
October 7, 2023
Deadline
In the David Fincher-directed film, The Killer, from a screenplay by Andrew Kevin Walker, and based on a graphic novel, Michael Fassbender stars as an assassin battling his employers when a hit goes terribly wrong.
Speaking during a panel at Deadline’s Contenders London event, editor Kirk Baxter addressed a rumor that the role required Fassbender to not blink at all.
There were many times watching the dailies where he heard Fincher’s voice saying, ‘That’s terrific, but let’s see that once again without the f—ing blinking.’ Baxter added, “Not so much that Fassbender needing that direction, it’s just been a thing.”
September 3, 2023
Venice Film Festival (YouTube)
Press conference featuring Director of Photography Erik Messerschmidt ASC, Sound Designer Ren Klyce, Director David Fincher, and Editor Kirk Baxter ACE.
Red Carpet featuring Producer Peter Mavromates, Director of Photography Erik Messerschmidt ASC, Writer of the original “The Killer” (“Le tueur”) comic Alexis “Matz” Nolent, Editor Kirk Baxter ACE, Sound Designer Ren Klyce, Director David Fincher. The original stream has the ambient sound turned down to a minimum because it is too busy and noisy, and only barely intelligible in the close-ups.
The Fincher Analyst 