20 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Zodiac (2007)

One of the biggest issues with creating a film based in past decades is getting the setting to look believable. While that tends to be less of an issue for indoor scenes - as set designers can custom build whatever they need - heading out into the real world can cause a multitude of issues for filmmakers.

In a particularly interesting video essay, Kaptain Kristian details some incredible ways Fincher uses the tool to immerse the viewer in his film's settings. To avoid yet another film opening on the Golden Gate Bridge, the director had artists painstakingly recreate the San Fransisco skyline as it was in 1969. The resulting shot was a gorgeous sweep of the city that linked more directly to the film's setting.

The majority of outdoor scenes involved green screen or touch-ups, but that wasn't the only way the effect was used. Zodiac made use of a genius move, utilised in nearly all of Fincher's work. The scenes involving blood were filmed without any practical effects involved. The blood was added in post, as a means of streamlining the shooting process. Splatters would be inconsistent from take to take and as we're about to find out, David Fincher loves multiple takes.