'The Killer' Cinematographer Breaks Down the Methodical Opening Scene of Fincher's Netflix Thriller
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- Oscar winning Director of Photography, Erik Messerschmidt, takes us behind the scenes to explain how he shot the opening of David Fincher's new hitman thriller, 'The Killer,' starring Michael Fassbinder.
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The first act in this movie is absolute perfection. The colors and lighting are beautifully composed in the Paris setting. The sequence of the killer running away is adrenaline pumping, i knew i was in for a ride.
I disagree Söze, lot of CGI which makes the whole thing bland, so so disappointing.
Yep, ugly cgi and complete disincarnation, looks like a 2012 race game
Easily Fincher's worst film. It doesn't matter how pretty it looks and how competently it was shot. We all know Fincher knows how to shoot a movie, but the actual movie itself was the most pointless, aimless, unsatisfying story I have seen in a long time
@@Jg-be7itand that’s why you make minimum wage
@@iboeshakmon3r698 irrelevant, and also not factual. You wish you could afford to live where I do.
The lens flares were all added in post?? The location was a combination of three sets?? Once again, my mind is blown by how seamless and well-disguised the visual effects are in a David Fincher film.
Really surprised that someone as meticulous as David Fincher doesn't storyboard his shots. Even more surprising that you used all of your shots in the final edit. That speaks levels to the working relationship between you two.
Yeah I get why it’s been called a “dry film” in terms of the point of it, but I really enjoyed the thriller aspect and obviously the look. The runtime went by pretty quick. If anyone is a big fan of David’s older work then I couldn’t imagine why they wouldn’t like this one. And all the music from The Smiths! Interesting, but cool choice.
Stunning cinematography, which is always a case in a movie directed by David Fincher.
You said it right there. No matter how bad this turned out, you were always going to say it looked "stunning" cuz you assumed ahead of time. Sadly, Fincher has not been Fincher for ages now. Terrible cinematography (and story) here. Everything muddy and yellow and blurry.
@@punchforpound2808 says the guy who will never make a movie in his life 🤣🤣🤣
@@JackNolan_ That's true, but it doesn't make what I said any less true either.
@@punchforpound2808sounds like u know what’s up, why don’t u become a director? Oh right u can’t
@@jackz4149 Post from your wrong alt "Jack" account this time, shill?
I assume Im talking to one of Hollywood's shills right now, so let me take the opportunity to ask, why are they doing this? Please at least give some hints. It's wrong to lie when talking to someone who is open to accepting the truth.
Some of us have had life-threatening injuries that caused permanent disabilities, and beautiful films were one of our few joys. Imagine how much brighter the world would be if every week or two a new movie of LOTR quality came out? And maybe half of them for adults can be a lot more complicated too, like LOTR mixed with Shakespeare or the Bible, with lessons to help people grow.
Hollywood has the talent and resources to do that, but instead they pour so much talent, time, and resources to do this, to do bad? Why? Why does it have to be this way? Please tell me because I really need to know.
I love the fact that David Fincher, a legendary director is chosing to work with young talented people such as Erik. Amazing breakdown and impeccable DOP skill!
eric is a gaffer then did anything david asks now he s cinematograherp.
I hate the fact that David Fincher, a legendary director is wasting his time picking scripts as dull and boring as this. I can't believe he gave up on Mindhunter to direct a crappy script like this, this movie was painfully bland and boring. If Fincher's name wasn't on it no one would be talking about it, even with his name on it no one is going to be talking about this movie years later like people talk about Fight Club or Gone Girl. This is such a dull and forgettable movie, don't get me wrong it looks great because Fincher directed it, but the script is garbage.
@@ChrisM-bn5vr For you, maybe, but this one is up there for me. This one is that film that not everyone likes but "speak" to me. I'd absolutely talk about this film in the future.
@@ChrisM-bn5vrI disagree. It may not be quite as exciting or memorable as some of his other movies, but it still was very much both of those things for me. I saw it twice in theaters, and enjoyed it both times. His direction was what made it shine.
One of the greatest fight scenes of all time in this film. Terrific entertainment and one of Fassbender's best performances. Fincher strikes again!
Interesting take. Name 5 others you find to be top tier.
@@spikespiegel323 #1 for me is Eastern Promises - the fight in the steam bath
I loved the fight scene in this movie, others I consider top tier are The Raid(basically the whole movie),Mission Impossible Fallout(Bathroom), Nobody(Bus) also some fights from John Wick definitely
@@spikespiegel323 I'd personally say almost anything with Jet Li, Jackie Chan, Tony Jaa, Iko Uwais. Bourne films etc... And that's saying something.
@@Cinementality Yeah that Mission Impossible bathroom scene is tough to beat
Between that and the aforementioned Eastern Promises shvitz tussle, I guess I prefer my fight sequences in places of healthy respite!😆
The thing about the camera going handheld whenever The Killer goes off-plan is super effective, because David Fincher films are known for having incredibly smooth, precise camera movements. Any shakiness or imperfection in the cinematography sticks out like a sore thumb
A deeply fascinating commentary. So much so, one would dearly love Mr Messerschmidt to simply continue on, talking us through the rest of this magnificent movie 🙏🏻😎
Facts
Agree! Wish he did this for every chapter.
Yes. Please try to get him to talk about the rest ...
I love the happy look he gave at the end. He put in a really good work effort and it paid off
"People say there's a hundred different ways to shoot a scene, but at the end of the day, there's really only two. And the other one is wrong."
- David Fincher
My hands were literally shaking during his escape in Act 1. Omg was it was thrilling!! One of the most innovative films I've ever seen. So happy for Michael Fassbender that The Killer is "killing" it on Netflix. He's one of my all time favorites. I rewatched Act 1 as soon as the movie was over. 10!!!
The cinematography was excellent and the movie looks beautiful. The lighting was great.
"The lighting was great." 🤣😂😅
It's literally, objectively, some of the worst lighting of the last 50 years in any movie, but you single it out for praise. Wtf.... Im living in bizarro world.
@@punchforpound2808Naw it really fit the film.
tf are you shmoking@@punchforpound2808
@@punchforpound2808it’s beautiful cinematography and lighting. So sad you don’t understand. Oh well.
@@MattSalcedoRespect your opinion, _if_ you're being honest about it..... I just totally disagree, respectfully. Peace.
I think I noticed something else when the camera breaks free ( or it's just me). The handheld camera effect is not too much accentuate like other movies. It's like the camera is trying not to shake. The camera tries to be fixed again just like The Killer which is trying to control the uncontrollable. I though it was a very nice a touch. Anyway, I love this opening sequence ( not as much as the rest of the film).
ps: I hope you understand me because I'm French :)
I noticed that too but I don't think it was a wanted result. With just simple digital camera shake, which is just randomly moving the frame in 2d plane, there would be two artifacts: No motion blur, No parallaxes. So maybe that's why you feel the camera is trying to stay still, because it actually look a little bit off.
Which is not a bad thing necessarily, especially for the fight scene, those two "artifacts" I mentioned becomes very smart execution, I'm betting they do this to make the fight/action in low light clearer (no motion blur), and replace foreground object with CGI(Adding parallaxes).
Thank you for enlightened me ! You're like a pro or whathever ? I love the utilisation of those "artifacts" in the opening sequence but I hate them in the fight action scene. I thought it look complety fake. I don't really like this movie but Fincher always use a lot of technical things to do his shot so it's always interesting to analyse @@TheDonutboy1573
@@TheDonutboy1573adding the shake in post would definitely have been for the wanted effect. C'mon, it's Fincher.
@@nlg070301 Sorry I can understand why you misunderstood, I was replying to the comment about the effect of the camera shake is "trying not to shake". I don't think Fincher would sort of half-ass things in this way. As I explained that I believe doing camera shake in post has benefits to the images so definitely intentional. The fight scene took a lot of production time as I read about in an interview of Messerschmidt.
Fincher mentioned in another interview that he shot almost everything stable and if shake is there it is added in post.
I loved this movie, I liked the pacing, the actor, his character was so coolheaded. The whole look of the movie seemed perfectly together with the character. I couldn’t believe some of the low ratings on IMBD, they missed the whole beauty of the film. I loved the ID names, my husband was the first to notice, good eyes. Thank you for all you put into it
I disagree, I think this movie was painfully dull and boring. The movie looked great because Fincher directed it, but the script was garbage, if Fincher's name wasn't on this no one would be talking about it, it would just be looked at as another mediocre Netflix release. Even with his name on it no one is going to be talking about this movie in a few years like his other great films, it's incredibly forgettable. There's nothing actually interesting that happens in the film, there's no interesting twists or turns or reasons to actually care about the characters or where the plot is going, which was really disappointing being a huge Fincher fan. You're literally just watching this stoic, soulless hitman go from killing one person to the next and cleaning up after himself, it's boring. The low IMDb ratings are strongly deserved, I can't believe Fincher stopped Mindhunter to waste his time directing a crappy script like this, I expect a lot more coming from Fincher.
@@ChrisM-bn5vr Everyone's entitled to their own opinion, of course. I do agree that this is one of Fincher's slower, minor works but not because it's lacking in quality. It's just a different kind of story. The external story is extremely simple. The internal story about the Killer and what he believes is much more complex. You have to engage with the script to see the discrepancies in his thoughts and actions. It's a meditative piece, not a plot piece for "twists and turns."
could have listened to him talk about every scene for hours, such a well made film
The The Rear Window vibe in those first minutes were just amazing. Real loved the film.
Exactly
so good. wish this movie was in more theaters.
Me too
It had a limited release but it wouldn’t have done well with a wide release. These kinds of movies rarely make the money back.
I hope there’s a sequel
Love these so much! Please continue to work with cinematographers on these videos.
I appreciate this sort of technical breakdown so much. Really fantastic work, and a fantastic video about it!
You did an phenomenal job Erik ! I really loved almost all the night sequences and the sudden transitions from day to night were so simple yet effective !
Those shots from DR were PERFECT.
How his sacred place was captured, the pace and movement of all that was happening conveyed the feeling of aggravation being felt by The Killer. It was perfection.
Need more of these Variety
Giggled with glee through this whole video. Listening to David or his crew talk about process is always a delight.
Looks beautiful . You guys really spent alot of time coloring in post too.
Very interesting interview, thanks.
Having watched this movie at home I wish I could see it at the cinema now. Fine work all around.
Just brilliant in every way. Bravo Erik! And of course my buddy Dwayne!
a really love this kind of technical breakdown
Great lighting! Kudos!
Pefection!! Well done!!
This is my favourite kind of film content! so fucking fascinating, and educative!
So much into just one scene. wowzer
we need more in depth looks at the cinematography in film. give these ppl the flowers and respect they deserve
Great job Mr Messerschmidt! Would love a break down of the fight scene against the Brute
Nice a feeling when you havent started the movie yet, but you know you're in good hands
I knew this was a fincher movie, so I was really trying to find those typical "invisible VFX" of his. I never thought of some of these here. Mind-blowing.
"everything we shot is in the film somewhere" that's very impressive
Erik, go, you're so talanted!
A beautiful work of art.
I really liked it when David Fincher put amazon logos and UI on the film - like it was a Google Case Study from the early 2000s. Classy.
The big fight sequence later in the film was fantastic, grounded, and gritty... Would love to see a featurette on that as well.
Great work mister
ACtually the best opening scenes I have seen in years. Never have I seen such a perfect marrige between Voice over and Visuals
great film. Fassbinder was fantastic. Congrats
we need more!!!!!
For one of the first times watching a movie I was mostly focused on the sound design lol. This is worth watching just to appreciate what I missed
I really loved this movie.
the first act in this movie is absolutely perfect in my opinion. and the fact that they had 9 Red to execute this scene is amazing.
hoping that Criterion Channel releases a Physical version of this movie because it needs it!
Beautiful masterpiece
was the camera shake added in post? it looked inorganic
Big Fincher fan since alien3 Im very hopeful for the 4k hdr blu ray i bet it will blow my Netflix viewing out if the park. Not to say the Netflix Dolby vision was bad it looked very good. The compression was hardly noticeable.
I really loved the first act of the movie. The pace was slow but it was intense. I really felt like a Killer waiting for the perfect moment.
Wow, that detail when looking through the scope. If you don't point it out, you don't notice. But if they don't do it, it just doesn't look real.
What’s with the handheld very shaky scene when he’s running to his house? Fincher never does that, in fact he stabilizes even any moving scene.
It looked like it was handheld shake added in post too which made it even more odd.
That's true. It felt weird because Fincher doesn't use that technique. There's a few scenes on his movies that feature that technique but on this movie it was more obvious.
This was definitely a masterclass of a movie!
Caught a theatrical screening in NY early November, lighting was beautiful. Really enjoyed the making of and could watch another hour of BTS. Not surprised to hear about the amount of detail just for the opening scenes, Fincher is a wild boy!
Ultra fascinating
I still don’t get how he missed….. he had the dude in his sights for about 2 mins, long enough for entire dapeche mode song to play through and yet he waits till the floozy gets right in front of him to shoot. It’s like huh??? Another thing that bothers me is how he stalks people literally in broad daylight and no one seems to notice him just sitting there watching them. I don’t know about yall, but I’d notice and so would my neighbors some random car with a guy just sitting in it all day infront of someone’s house. And lastly The Brute…. How in gods name did he not know something was wrong outside? The dog is literally barking like crazy and he doesn’t even bother to open the door or check out the window and instead just yells “shut up” again all of us dog owners and especially pit bull owners we know if our dog starts barking that means someone’s outside or in the yard. But yeah, the cinematography was good.
I really love movies like this one
Great film!
THIS MOVIE GIVES ME CHILLS ❤
I wish I had that men in black memory eraser device so I could watch this movie 'for the first time' over and over.
This movie is absolutely amazing story and acting and action.
this movie writers is sooo wise and intelligent 🧠 mind. camera 📸 man color grading amazing and script is amazing. total is this is absolutely perfect. 100/100.
Magnificent.
It was so good.
like a whole 15 to 20 minutes of slow and easy pace before it all goes wrong and the movie switches to second gear for the whole rest.
Good film for mature audiences and a lot to learn for people who are learning film making.
Great job classic movie
"David Fincher insisted that we made Sigma Grindset edits for tiktok and eventually the bluray" - Erik Messerschmidt
Something kinda interesting I noticed on second viewing, in regard to POV, subjectivity and his inner mantra; he seems to only get distracted & fall out of step when he's repeatedly addressing "the audience", therefore missing the target. It's as if we the viewers have unintentionally taken his focus away from the task at hand. Then later in The Brutes house he is again taken by surprise while in the middle of his recitation.
I can't describe how amazed I am with this movie. It's a masterpiece IMO. If you ever in your life played the Hitman game, you know what I am talking about. It is so accurate, it is the movie that we've all been waiting for. I watched it already 2 times and I won't stop. So much things to learn and so much things to enjoy in it. Just a silence alone is magnificent. Thank you David for this movie. You nailed it.
I remember pausing the movie my second time watching it to try to discover which type of Rifle Optic he was using. Turns out it's a custom-made hodge-podge of actual rifle scopes, likely to avoid trademark issues, but still very realistic given that this is all Hollywood - so often films these days show Rifle Optics with the most ridiculous, pointless symbols and markings in the sight picture, randomly scattered around the reticle. Although this reticle is also entirely made-up, it's great to see that they tried to stick very closely to the utilitarian authenticity of an actual reticle, very similar to what one might see while peering through a Voodoo or Trijicon.
Hello Mr. Smith, thank you for your service
This is the most masterful yet soulless film i can recall
what watch does the killer have?
I'm 2 minutes into this video, wishing it were 2 hours long
Excelente
Well done film, enjoyed it!
David Fincher contrast be darker than the Ozarks show
if he wasnt kill by the coffee, please make a sequel
The economy of storytelling is monolithic. The Fincher machine is more taut and finely tuned than the radically obsessive perfectionist portrayed.
Not an ounce of fat or an extra frame.
Did anybody else watch this movie and think that this movie should just be about Agent 47? I mean it's basically him and I immediately got Hitman World of Assassination vibes when the movie started.
I didnt think this was Fincher's best film to date, not his worst but definitly not up there with the rest. I feel he played it a lot safer than usual.
His worst, by far, and it's not even close. What Fincher film do you think is worse than this aimless, plot-less, unsatisfying waste of 2 hours?
Why did you go in expecting this to be his best film?
@@visualsinfilm98 - I dig the question so I'm guna answer as honestly as possible. I thought that way because to me almost all of his films have been his best, to me anyways.
This movie was straight-up Jim Jarmusch
criminally underated. hopefully it will indeed become a cult classic as time passes. fassy is grand done by fincher.
Viewers have really different perceptions,tastes, intellectual and sensitivity level..only the smart sophisticated, intelligent individuals appreciate this awesome movie
Way to pat yourself on the back.
nope. were too busy watching Call Me By Your Name, instead of this commercial trash.
Messerschmidt quickly becoming one of the very best in the business!
This film
Mank
Devotion
Ferrari
This man is mad talented
Brilliant artistry with the cinematography. I give this movie a 10/10. Well done! 🤞🏽 That we are getting closer to Eric Fassbender becoming the new James Bond! With the Director's of this Brilliantly well done Movie 🎥
This film contradicted itself a lot, which is weird to see coming from someone has a high caliber storyteller like Fincher. I still enjoyed the film.
This movie is Love it OR Hate It. Period. Either you loved it or you hated it with the occasional it was ok.
It didn’t work for me. The pace was way too slow and I’m a massive fan of movies directed by David Fincher.
This movie was puzzling. The opening sequence was slick and subtle, promising something special. Then the plot turned sharply into the most shopworn revenge trajectory, where the only plotting and character development that wasn't lazy was where they skipped it altogether. So in the end, the movie boils down to a semi-interesting conversation, a pretty cool fight, and one plane taking off straight out of early South Park. So much promise, so little delivery.
you’re so close to getting it. just a little more thinking
@@turtleguyfan About what? What did I miss? Feel free to share your stunning aperçus.
@@zogzog6611I completely agree. It’s 2 hours of vacuous, empty nothingness. I was extremely disappointed.
@@conorfurlong Right? At the start of that movie I thought I was going to get a peek inside a different world. By the end, the people who knew the most about contract killing were The Killer and then me. All the other characters were so unbelievably stupid or undeveloped that it was hard to care about any of them. I get that smart people seem to think it's a clever joke to play on people to have them watch a movie that is kind of making fun of itself. But it wasn't even funny.
@@chrillex91 I'm not talking about deep. I'm talking about consistent with its own premise. I'm talking about remotely plausible. I don't know if it's on the director, but certainly his name is all over it, but at the very least they should have an intern working through plot and character development so that a movie that looks like this isn't instantly ridiculous to an average viewer watching it real time. So yeah, it's lazy. It's super lazy. I'm sorry if that hurts your feelings.
Loved this film. Fincher and Messerschmidt hijack your eyes, for lack of a better term. Incredible visuals and feeling with very little dialogue (other than voiceover). I just wish I could see it again in a theater!
You saw that video too huh? About what Fincher does to the viewer with his presentation? I believe its literally called "how David Fincher hijacks your eyes" lol. And before you try and swear youve never seen it and this is truly your original assessment, save your breath.
She must have hella-abs to stop that bullet from going straight through and killing the intended target.
Put the cinematographer's name in the title of the video. Have some respect for crying out loud.
9 camera in 1 set-up, WTF.
Great film BTW
This movie absolutely blew. I am sincerely worried about Fincher, and the state of the internet for not acknowledging how bad it is.
Nah its pretty great. You were just most definitely expecting something different and more plot heavy
@@myfilms999 I was expecting it to be good, like all his other movies
I slept well during the movie. Watching Fassbender move from point A to B over and over was a thrill.
This man is speaking elven yet I understand everything he's saying
To each his own. It’s not surprising, however, that The Killer has detractors. It’s cerebral; it dispenses with conventional storytelling, and it’s blatantly disdainful of middle-brow and lowbrow people. I think it’s great.
This movie is like Hitman but he got a wife. Great movie
The photography seemed murky. I’m sure that was by design to depict the Killers life, and unpredictability?