Editing Steven Soderbergh (section)

== Filmmaking ==
===Style===
<!-- Introduction  -->
Soderbergh's visual style often emphasizes wealthy urban settings, natural lighting, and fast-paced working environments.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/artist/steven-soderbergh|title=Steven Soderbergh – Festival de Cannes 2018|website=Festival de Cannes 2018 |access-date=April 14, 2018|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104451/https://www.festival-cannes.com/en/artist/steven-soderbergh|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=Vulture/><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/23/movies/at-the-sundance-film-festival-art-and-commerce-square-off.html |title=At the Sundance Film Festival, Art and Commerce Square Off |last=James |first=Caryn |author-link=Caryn James |date=1992-01-23 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 15, 2018 |archive-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104449/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/23/movies/at-the-sundance-film-festival-art-and-commerce-square-off.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Film critic Drew Morton has categorized his stylistic approach to films akin to the [[French New Wave]] movement in filmmaking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stevensoderbergh.net/articles/2000/premiere.php|title=Steven Soderbergh: The Filmmaker Series|author=Anne Thompson|access-date=December 19, 2007|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104448/https://stevensoderbergh.net/articles/2000/premiere.php|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://stevensoderbergh.net/articles/2003/frenchnewwaveinfluences.php|title=French New Wave Influences in Steven Soderbergh Films|author=Drew Morton|access-date=December 19, 2007}}</ref> Soderbergh's experimental style and tendency to reject [[Cinema of the United States|mainstream film standards]] stems from his belief that "[filmmakers] are always, in essence, at the beginning of infinity{{nbsp}}... there is always another iteration{{nbsp}}... always will be."<ref>{{Citation|last=Movieclips Coming Soon|title=Side By Side Interview – Steven Soderbergh (2012) Film Documentary Movie HD|date=August 6, 2012|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepOQ2KfDwo|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104703/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lepOQ2KfDwo|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Technical aspects  -->

On a technical level, Soderbergh prefers sustained [[close-up]]s, [[tracking shot]]s, [[jump cut]]s, experimental sequencing and frequently skips [[establishing shot]]s in favor of audio and alternative visuals.<ref name=":3" /> Many of his films are noted for a milieu of suspense through the usage of [[Third-person effect|third-person]] vantage points and a variety of [[Over the shoulder shot|over-the-shoulder shots]]. In his film ''[[Contagion (2011 film)|Contagion]]'' (2011), he used a [[Hyperlink cinema|multi-narrative "hyperlink cinema" style]], first established within [[Ocean's (film series)|the ''Ocean's'' trilogy]]''.''<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/29667-thoughts-on-contagion/|title=Thoughts on 'Contagion' |last=Macaulay |first=Scott |work=Filmmaker Magazine |access-date=April 15, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104503/https://filmmakermagazine.com/29667-thoughts-on-contagion/|url-status=live}}</ref> He is known for tracking aesthetic transitions with a variety of [[Color wash|colored washes]], most notably yellow to symbolize open, socially acceptable situations while blue washes typically symbolize illegal or socially illicit endeavors.<ref>Baker (2011), p. 13</ref> In line with these washes, Soderbergh is liberal in his usage of [[Montage (filmmaking)|montages]] as he believes that they are equally important story-telling as dialogue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aboutfilm.com/movies/l/limey.htm|title=The Limey (1999) – Review|last=Vorndam|first=Jeff|date=November 1999|website=About Film|access-date=April 15, 2018|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104443/https://www.aboutfilm.com/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Relationship with Hollywood & studio filmmaking  -->

Soderbergh is known for having a combative relationship with [[Hollywood (film industry)|Hollywood]] and the standards of [[Film studio|studio filmmaking]].<ref name=Vulture/> Film critic [[Roger Ebert]] has commented in this stylistic antagonism, "Every once in a while, perhaps as an exercise in humility, Steven Soderbergh makes a truly inexplicable film{{nbsp}}... A film so amateurish that only the professionalism of some of the actors makes it watchable{{nbsp}}... It's the kind of film where you need the director telling you what he meant to do and what went wrong and how the actors screwed up and how there was no money for retakes, etc."<ref name="Ebert">{{cite web|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/full-frontal-2002|title=Full Frontal|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=August 2, 2002|website=Chicago Sun Times|access-date=January 22, 2012}}</ref>

In ''[[Ocean's Twelve]]'' (2004), he had actress [[Julia Roberts]] play the part of Tess, a character then forced to play a fictionalized version of Roberts.<ref name="Wilkinson">{{cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/18/16150632/steven-soderbergh-explained-brockovich-knick-mike-logan-oceans-unsane|title=Why Unsane director Steven Soderbergh's work is compulsively watchable|last=Wilkinson|first=Alissa|date=March 21, 2018|work=Vox|access-date=April 17, 2018|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104456/https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/8/18/16150632/steven-soderbergh-explained-brockovich-knick-mike-logan-oceans-unsane|url-status=live}}</ref> During the production stages of ''[[The Girlfriend Experience]]'' (2009) he cast adult film star [[Sasha Grey]] in the lead role.<ref name="Wilkinson"/> In ''[[Haywire (2011 film)|Haywire]]'' (2011), Soderbergh cast and eventually launched the film career of professional [[mixed martial arts]] (MMA) fighter [[Gina Carano]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_completist/2011/09/i_watched_every_steven_soderbergh_movie.html|title=I Watched Every Steven Soderbergh Movie|last=Kois|first=Dan|date=September 14, 2011|work=Slate|access-date=April 18, 2018|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104454/https://slate.com/culture/2011/09/i-watched-every-steven-soderbergh-movie-1.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Soderbergh's ''[[Logan Lucky]]'' (2017) made reference to his trilogy by alluding to an "Ocean's [[7-Eleven|7–11]]", noting the trilogy's influence on the Southern heist film.<ref name="Wilkinson"/> <!-- Soundscape and scoring  -->

Soderbergh's films are centered on suspenseful and ambient [[soundscape]]s.<ref name=":4">{{cite news|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1431770|title=Clooney and Soderbergh's 'K Street'|last=Bianculli|first=David|date=September 15, 2003|work=NPR|access-date=April 14, 2018 |archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104456/https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1431770|url-status=live}}</ref> A primary way he achieves suspenseful soundscapes is by introducing audio before visuals in cut scenes, alerting the viewer of a sudden change in tone.<ref name=":4" /> His frequent collaborations with composers [[Cliff Martinez]], [[David Holmes (musician)|David Holmes]], and most recently [[Thomas Newman]], provide his films with "the thematic and sonic landscapes into which he inserts his characters."<ref name="NPR.org"/>

=== Method ===
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| quote = The simplest way that I can describe it is that a movie is something you see, and [[Cinematography|cinema]] is something that's made…. Cinema is a specificity of vision. It's an approach in which everything matters. It's the polar opposite of generic or arbitrary and the result is as unique as a signature or a fingerprint. It isn't made by a committee, and it isn't made by a company, and it isn't made by the audience.
| source = – Soderbergh (in 2013) on the influence his methodological choices have on his films<ref name="Brody">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/steven-soderbergh-dissects-hollywood|title=Steven Soderbergh Dissects Hollywood|last=Brody|first=Richard|date=November 30, 2013|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=April 13, 2018 |issn=0028-792X|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104458/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/steven-soderbergh-dissects-hollywood|url-status=live}}</ref>
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}}Soderbergh's early films—on account of his youth and lack of resources—were primarily filmed on [[Super 8 film|Super 8]] and [[16 mm film]] formats.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2014/07/logmar-super-8/|title=New Super 8 Camera Boosts Vintage Film With Digital Tech|last=Chun|first=Rene|date=July 13, 2014|magazine=WIRED|access-date=April 13, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104448/https://www.wired.com/2014/07/logmar-super-8/|url-status=live}}</ref> A variety of his feature films have been shot using a diverse range of camera equipment. He filmed all of ''[[The Girlfriend Experience]]'' (2009) on a [[Red Digital Cinema|Red One]] camera, which has retailed for $17,500<ref>{{Cite web|title=Red One Digital Cinema Camera Price List Now On Line, Still Not Shipping|url=https://gizmodo.com/red-one-digital-cinema-camera-price-list-now-on-line-s-243779|access-date=December 6, 2020|website=Gizmodo|date=March 13, 2007 |language=en-us|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104500/https://gizmodo.com/red-one-digital-cinema-camera-price-list-now-on-line-s-243779|url-status=live}}</ref>—a relatively inexpensive camera for a movie produced for $1.3&nbsp;million.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.intjournal.com/1114/the-girlfriend-experience/|title=The Girlfriend Experience (2009)|website=Interiors|language=en-US|access-date=April 15, 2018|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104450/https://www.intjournal.com/1114/the-girlfriend-experience/|url-status=live}}</ref> Soderbergh filmed the entirety of ''[[Unsane]]'' (2018) on an [[iPhone 7 Plus]] with its [[Digital cinema|4K digital camera]] using the app FiLMiC Pro.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tracking-board.com/steven-soderbergh-claire-foy-team-for-secret-movie-shot-on-iphone-exclusive/|title=Steven Soderbergh, Claire Foy Team for Secret Movie Shot on iPhone|last=Sneider|first=Jeff|date=July 18, 2017|website=The Tracking Board|access-date=July 18, 2017|archive-date=August 7, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807140838/http://www.tracking-board.com/steven-soderbergh-claire-foy-team-for-secret-movie-shot-on-iphone-exclusive/|url-status=live}}</ref> He filmed with three rotating iPhones using a [[Tripod (photography)|DJI stabiliser]] to hold the phone in place.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2137815/why-steven-soderbergh-shot-unsane-iphone-and-already-doing-it-again|title=Why Steven Soderbergh shot new thriller Unsane with an iPhone|last=Mottram|first=James|work=South China Morning Post|access-date=April 15, 2018 |archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104456/https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2137815/why-steven-soderbergh-shot-unsane-iphone-and-already-doing-it-again|url-status=live}}</ref> In January 2018, he expressed an interest in filming other productions solely with iPhones going forward.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/01/steven-soderbergh-interview-sundance-iphone-unsane-1201921769/|title=Steven Soderbergh Says He's Done Directing Studio Movies and Wants to Only Shoot on iPhones – Sundance 2018|last=Kohn|first=Eric|date=January 26, 2018|work=IndieWire|access-date=April 5, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104437/https://www.indiewire.com/2018/01/steven-soderbergh-interview-sundance-iphone-unsane-1201921769/|url-status=live}}</ref><!-- Roles outside of directing  --> He then filmed the entirety of 2019's ''[[High Flying Bird]]'' on an [[iPhone 8]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/2/7/18214924/steven-soderbergh-high-flying-bird-iphone-tangerine-unsane-netflix |title=Steven Soderbergh's 'High Flying Bird' and the Rise of iPhone Films – the Ringer |date=February 7, 2019 |access-date=August 23, 2019 |archive-date=March 20, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104502/https://www.theringer.com/movies/2019/2/7/18214924/steven-soderbergh-high-flying-bird-iphone-tangerine-unsane-netflix |url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition to his directing, he is frequently a screenwriter for his films. Scott Tobias of [[The A.V. Club|''The A. V. Club'']] has noted his method of [[experimental film]]making as "rigorously conceived, like a mathematician working out a byzantine equation". Starting in 2000 with his film ''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'', when directing films Soderbergh has used various pseudonyms in order to hide the fact that he edits, writes, and arranges.<ref name=":2">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/artist/steven-soderbergh-p112040|title=Steven Soderbergh profile at|last=Marx|first=Rebecca Flint|publisher=AllMovie.com|access-date=February 10, 2013|archive-date=August 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190822024212/https://www.allmovie.com/artist/steven-soderbergh-p112040|url-status=live}}</ref>

When working with actors, Soderbergh prefers to pursue a non-intrusive directorial style. "I try and make sure they're OK, and when they're in the zone, I leave them alone. I don't get in their way".<ref name=":7" /> This method has attracted repeat performances by many high-profile movie stars which has established a reoccurring collaboration between them and Soderbergh.<ref name=":7">{{cite news|url=http://www.hollywood.com/feature/id/471293|title="Traffic": Steven Soderbergh Interview|author=Ellen A. Kim|date=December 3, 2000|work=Hollywood.com|access-date=March 23, 2006|archive-date=June 29, 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120629074129/http://www.hollywood.com/feature/Traffic_Steven_Soderbergh_Interview/471293|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Themes ===<!-- General overview  -->
Soderbergh's films often center the themes of shifting [[Personal identity|personal identities]], [[Human sexuality|sexuality]], and the [[human condition]].<ref name="The New Yorker">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/steven-soderbergh-dissects-hollywood|title=Steven Soderbergh Dissects Hollywood|date=April 30, 2013|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=April 16, 2018 |issn=0028-792X|archive-date=March 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210320104451/https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/steven-soderbergh-dissects-hollywood|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Richard Brody]] of ''[[The New Yorker]]'' stated that Soderbergh is focused on the process of presenting ideas through film rather than their actual realization.<ref name="The New Yorker"/> In line with this actual realization, he presents themes to critically evaluate political and corporate institutions such as money and [[capitalism]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199791286/obo-9780199791286-0187.xml|title=Steven Soderbergh – Cinema and Media Studies – Oxford Bibliographies – obo|access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref> Film critic [[A. O. Scott]] has noted that Soderbergh has a critical interest in exploring the impact capitalist economies have on living an ethical life and the detractions associated with [[Economic materialism|materialism]].<ref name="Scott">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/movies/steven-soderberghs-caper-film-side-effects.html |title=Steven Soderbergh's Caper Film 'Side Effects' |last=Scott |first=A. O. |author-link=A. O. Scott |date=February 7, 2013 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 16, 2018}}</ref> Money is central to many of his movies as Soderbergh believes that it serves as an obsession unrivaled by any other.<ref name="Scott"/> <!-- Heist films and thrillers  -->

Starting with ''[[Out of Sight]]'' (1998), Soderbergh's heist films explore themes of vengeance, characters on a mission, and the morality of crime.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2013/03/video-essay-peter-andrews-the-soderbergh-vision-133830/|title=Video Essay: Peter Andrews: The Soderbergh Vision|last=Carvajal|first=Matt Zoller Seitz, Nelson|date=March 21, 2013|work=IndieWire|access-date=April 16, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> He is generally said to have a [[Film genre|cinematic niche]] in these types of films. "I've always had an attraction to caper movies, and certainly there are analogies to making a film. You have to put the right crew together, and if you lose, you go to movie jail", the director noted in 2017.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/movies/steven-soderberghs-caper-film-side-effects.html |title=Steven Soderbergh's Caper Film 'Side Effects' |last=Scott |first=A. O. |author-link=A. O. Scott |date=August 7, 2007 |work=[[The New York Times]] |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 16, 2018}}</ref>

=== Influences ===
When asked about the top eleven films he regarded among the best, Soderbergh listed the following, in order: ''[[The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.]]'' (1953), [[All the President's Men (film)|''All The President's Men'']] (1976), ''[[Annie Hall]]'' (1977), ''[[Citizen Kane]]'' (1941), ''[[The Conversation]]'' (1974), ''[[The Godfather]]'' (1972), ''[[The Godfather Part II]]'' (1974), ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' (1975), ''[[The Last Picture Show]]'' (1971), ''[[Sunset Boulevard (film)|Sunset Boulevard]]'' (1950) and ''[[The Third Man]]'' (1949).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thefilmstage.com/news/steven-soderberghs-11-favorite-films/2/|title=Steven Soderbergh's 11 Favorite Films|last=Pearce|first=Leonard|date=June 30, 2015|work=The Film Stage|access-date=April 17, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> His directorial debut, ''Sex, Lies, and Videotape'' (1989), was influenced by [[Mike Nichols]]' 1971 American comedy-drama ''[[Carnal Knowledge (film)|Carnal Knowledge]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospectus/career-arc-steven-soderbergh-director-the-knick/|title='I'm Not a Visionary': The Staggering Career Arc of Steven Soderbergh|last=Ryan|first=Sean Fennessey and Chris|date=August 8, 2014|work=Grantland|access-date=April 8, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> He has said that [[Peter Yates]]' 1972 crime-comedy ''[[The Hot Rock (film)|The Hot Rock]]'' inspired the tone of the ''Ocean's'' films.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://dailyblender.com/2017/02/singani-63-screenplays-interview-steven-soderbergh/|title=Screenplays and Singani 63: An Interview With Steven Soderbergh|last=Matthewson|first=Jennifer|date=February 22, 2017|work=Daily Blender|access-date=December 28, 2019|language=en-US}}</ref> Soderbergh listed [[Costa-Gavras]]'s film, ''[[Z (1969 film)|Z]]'' as an inspiration on his film ''[[Traffic (2000 film)|Traffic]]'' and even stated that he: "wanted to make it like [Costa-Gavras]'s ''Z''".<ref>{{cite book |author1=Steven Soderbergh |editor1-last=Kaufman |editor1-first=Anthony |title=Steven Soderbergh – Interviews |date=2002 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781578064298 |page=107 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t2y9xsq0gUMC&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PA107 |access-date=July 12, 2021 |chapter=Ed Kelleher/1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Kaufman |editor1-first=Anthony |title=Steven Soderbergh – Interviews, Revised and Updated |date=2015 |publisher=University Press of Mississippi |isbn=9781626745407 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ho3dBwAAQBAJ&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PT128 |access-date=July 12, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Palmer |editor1-first=R. Barton |editor2-last=Sanders |editor2-first=Steven M. |title=The Philosophy of Steven Soderbergh |date=January 28, 2011 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=9780813139890 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8z6ikCJ4wAgC&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PT190 |access-date=July 12, 2021 |quote=Soderbergh called Traffic his “$47 million Dogme film” and used hand-held camera, available light, and (ostensibly) improvistational performance in an attempt to present a realistic story about illegal drugs. He prepared by analyzing two political films made in a realist style: Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) and Z (Constantin Costa-Gavras, 1969), both of which he described as having “that great feeling of things that are caught, instead of staged, which is what we were after.”}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Mark Gallagher |title=Another Steven Soderbergh Experience – Authorship and Contemporary Hollywood |date=April 4, 2013 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=9780292748811 |page=55 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ucfjPQRtZDQC&dq=Steven+Soderbergh+Costa-Gavras+Z&pg=PA55 |access-date=July 12, 2021 |chapter=Hollywood Authorship and Transhistorical Taste Cultures}}</ref> Soderbergh also cites the Swiss-French director [[Jean-Luc Godard]] as "...{{nbsp}}a constant source of inspiration. Before I do anything, I go back and look at as many of his films as I can, as a reminder of what's possible".<ref>{{cite web |author1=The Observer |title=Godard only knows{{nbsp}}... |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/nov/26/features |website=The Guardian |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |access-date=September 14, 2022 |date=November 26, 2022 |quote='Godard is a constant source of inspiration. Before I do anything, I go back and look at as many of his films as I can, as a reminder of what's possible.' – Steven Soderbergh}}</ref>