In 1992 David Fincher made his directorial debut with Alien 3. Fincher’s film was the third entry in the Alien franchise following the critically acclaimed films Alien and Aliens directed by Ridley Scott and James Cameron, respectively. Unfortunately, Alien 3 was poorly received by moviegoers, as well as Fincher himself. There was studio interference in the making of Alien 3, so much so that Fincher has disowned the film and to this day still does not consider it his film. David Fincher considers his true directorial debut to be Seven, released in 1995 (Mockenhaupt, "The Curious Case of David Fincher."). Seven was a vicious and chilling film that never excessively exploited its brutal themes. Fincher knew just when to show a disgustingly violent
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One of Fincher’s most recognizable traits in film is his use of long shots. His use of long shots allows the setting of his films to immerse the audience. The sets in the movie don’t seem like sets. They seem like places that exist, and because of that it makes the people feel more real which creates investment in the film even if they have a depressing tone (Schreiber, "Tiny Life: Technology and Masculinity in the Films of David Fincher."). Fincher also uses tracking shots when his characters move. The camera will move in sync with the character’s movement, and when the character stops the camera stops. Fincher understands that language is only one way to convey a character’s personality. He uses tracking shots to convey a character’s personality through body language (Schreiber, "Tiny Life: Technology and Masculinity in the Films of David Fincher."). Fincher has trademarks outside of his camerawork. He also makes use of somber tones and visuals, a good example of this is present in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The movie starts off grim, then becomes semi-uplifting, then returns to it grim tone at the end. The reason Fincher constantly uses this depressing tone for his films is because it adds to the realism of the film, even when the films plot is not the most grounded in reality (Galloway, "David Fincher: Punk. Prophet. Genius."). The more a film treats itself like it is reality and not just a story, the more relatable the film becomes to those who view
One of Fincher’s most recognizable traits in film is his use of long shots. His use of long shots allows the setting of his films to immerse the audience. The sets in the movie don’t seem like sets. They seem like places that exist, and because of that it makes the people feel more real which creates investment in the film even if they have a depressing tone (Schreiber, "Tiny Life: Technology and Masculinity in the Films of David Fincher."). Fincher also uses tracking shots when his characters move. The camera will move in sync with the character’s movement, and when the character stops the camera stops. Fincher understands that language is only one way to convey a character’s personality. He uses tracking shots to convey a character’s personality through body language (Schreiber, "Tiny Life: Technology and Masculinity in the Films of David Fincher."). Fincher has trademarks outside of his camerawork. He also makes use of somber tones and visuals, a good example of this is present in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The movie starts off grim, then becomes semi-uplifting, then returns to it grim tone at the end. The reason Fincher constantly uses this depressing tone for his films is because it adds to the realism of the film, even when the films plot is not the most grounded in reality (Galloway, "David Fincher: Punk. Prophet. Genius."). The more a film treats itself like it is reality and not just a story, the more relatable the film becomes to those who view