Steven Soderbergh - Don't tell me what I already know

The job of the director is to find ways to tell the audience a story. Most directors aren’t very adventurous in how they do that. Then there’s Steven Soderbergh…
/ declan_taaffe
/ writingwiththecamera
Music list/times in the credits
(An Ending/ Ascent should have been credited to Brian Eno)
I really recommend checking out The Limey commentary track. There aren't many places you'll hear a writer and director publicly criticise and defend each other's creative decisions on a project.
Cinephilia and Beyond have a great stack of Soderbergh stuff here:
cinephiliabeyon...

[@jakemaringoni]

Soderbergh is with out a doubt, one of my all time favorites. His films continue to influence me, from his cinematography to his editing to his directing, an absolute genius. you just earned yourself a subscriber

[@btsdancestudio5691]

Do you agree with me-Steven has lots of French New Wave influence.

[@WritingwiththeCamera]

Thanks for the positive comments, guys. The support really helps when putting in the hours to make these things.

[@monwhooperinvasive8064]

Writing with the Camera The Limey is great. Amazing content! Big thanks from Brazil!

[@sankaranarayanapokkalla250]

Keep doing it bro... I love your videos

[@mehdimehdo3359]

Very good; Soderbergh doesn't get enough credit for his effort on finding new ways to engage the audience (as you putted). I'm always curious to see his work. Loved what he did on The Knick too.

[@JosephDutra]

The Knick is amazing!

[@waltermontiel4405]

If you wanna save some money on film school, watch Soderbergh's The Knick without any sound. Or try to watch it by just paying attention the music and the visuals. Every episode is more inventive than the last and you will learn so many different ways of telling a story visually. It's incredible that he shot, directed and edited it all himself, let alone 10 episodes in 6 months.

[@GabrielBarliga]

David Lynch: I'm gonna tell you what you already know and you'll realize you don't really know it.

[@TOAOM123]

Underrated comment

[@charleswood5843]

Really loved the essay! That Soderbergh/Dobbs commentary on The Limey is so grand mostly because it is a work of art, in and of itself. I wish Soderbergh still did commentaries, because every single one was a film school.

[@danfox4969]

Really, really good video essay on easily the coolest and one of the most versatile directors working today. This is an essay I've wanted to make for a while. Well done!

[@WritingwiththeCamera]

Thanks Dan, yeah, there's so much to say on Soderbergh's films. The scenes that started me making this video didn't even make the final cut.

[@atomtan6107]

I haven't even watched the video yet but I saw your comment about, The Limey commentary in the description. I first listened to that commentary while my wife was pregnant with our just now turned 16 year old, and I was prepping to direct a film, which ultimately did not happen, when we found out that the financing was coming through organized crime. We were told they were just upstanding people in the Albanian community. Long story longer, that commentary is hilarious. I rewatched it end of Jan. It's still so good. The older I get the more I think the writer sounds more like an immature tween, than a middle aged working screenwriter, who knows how filmmaking works. Soderbergh could belittle him by pointing things like this out, but he's ultra patient with him. Solid stoic behavior.

[@graveyardshiftfilms2076]

Soderbergh is a freaking genius. And that's that! One of the most continuously inventive filmmaker around. Every episode of KNICK is a masterclass of film making that guys like NOLAN or FINCHER could really use. Btw, great video.

[@leocelente]

I've never really paid attention to his movies. Thank you for showing me that innovative cinema still lives

[@Chrisratata]

Bubble is low budget af but is amazing

[@filmjots7244]

I've been waiting for a good video essay on Soderbergh, thanks for this. Watching it again now...

[@airart]

This is really eye-opening, especially your analysis of "a character walks into a bank" (starting around 0:42). Super well done & very helpful.

[@ANigerianPrince]

You have no idea how much I love Oceans 12 and am happy you made this.

[@marcusalonzooleary4788]

Awesome video essay, dude. I absolutely love and admire that someone finally did one on Soderbergh and put it out into the world.

[@TobyWallwork]

Stumbled across this the other day. It is wonderful, a must-watch for anyone even THINKING about picking up a camera. EXCELLENT.

[@jayfolk]

exterior to wide interior establishes the geography, whichs definetly needed for something like an upcoming fight scene, a lack of establish geography is a lack of info, great for suspense, claustrophobia, or confusion. great for thrillers or horror.

[@CraparellaSmorrebrod]

Soderbergh: "let's say things differently". I think different is not enough. Different is just one aspect of artfulness. Does it touch you is another. Elegance/simplicity another. Was it difficult to create is another. Great channel. Keep it up.

[@WritingwiththeCamera]

Thanks for all the support, guys. I’m currently finishing up a directing project of my own(which I’ll put up here for anyone who’s interested). After that, I’ll start on video three. I’d rather take the time to work on topics that haven’t already been covered elsewhere. Got a few interesting things coming up for you…

[@pradyuminater]

Hello, Sir, There are so many channels on KZbin discussing motion pictures but You are the best in describing the Director`s role or should I say Director`s importance in the making of those motion pictures....thank you for making an brilliant essay On Steven Soderbergh and for describing his way of thinking....

[@kiribundi]

Well done. I truly hope the best for your channel. I think it's a matter of weeks before it ranks close to everyframeapainting and now you see it

[@chrisbark582]

You published this on my birthday yet I missed it, worth the wait! I subscribed after your first video and sure enough you live up to the expectations. I can't wait to see what areas of film you explore with your channel and your essays. Thanks for doing what you are doing and giving me motivation to start on my own projects.

[@jopeel4250]

Great video! Can't wait for the next one!

[@MrOmarchido]

I really liked this video and the other one you have in your channel. I wonder why you stopped making this amazing videos! You should really keep making them, they're great!

[@leofreaking]

Thanks for the reminder that the Ocean's Soundtrack ist a banger!

[@Chris-vi8qh]

Great video, really enjoyed it. Looking forward to the next one!

[@punkseth1]

I like how rather than giving us unnecessary dialogue. When you said "What choice has Soderbergh made?" You just put a sentence by Soderbergh in which answered the question for us.

[@thegrimyeaper]

Did anyone out there see his movie Haywire? It bombed so bad, but I love it so much.

[@jec1138yt]

Wow, your videos are so insightful and well-made. You seem so experienced at this, I just assumed you'd have more posts. Please make more! I really look forward to seeing what you do next. Subscribed! Also, you should look in Patreon, if you weren't planning on using it already.

[@roberthoward1840]

Very good. Thanks for the video. I love Soderbergh's experiments.

[@BampFilm]

Great work here, well researched, very insightful. Would be great to liberate a scene from some of usual coverage

[@pkb452]

I Love your ideas and videos. Keep on doing this.

[@parthkhare9960]

Brilliant analysis, fact that you selected Ocean's 12 over others, and the fact that you used Cliff Martinez here says a lot! PS: I think Solaris is gravely underrated, and have strong feeling Tarkovsky would have liked it.

[@TheBiggervern]

Thoughtful commentary on a thoughtful director.

[@ArtOfTheProblem]

great work

[@CreativeDerp]

Oldboy captures well what you're saying. I'm talking about the scene where the protagonist is in the police station

[@three1ne]

Great video. Nicely put together. Very interesting.

[@flaurehn]

Soderbergh is my favorite director from whom I dislike a lot of his movies, precisely because I don't always connect with what he is trying to say or how. But I wouldn't like it any other way, because when he nails it, he freaking nails it, and that only comes from his willingness to experiment.

[@KwapiPL]

Oh my fucking god, that sex scene shot was incredible. Great video! You've still got some work when it comes to polishing your edit but the structure and the content are already there. Good luck!

[@ivansb4121]

Thomas Paul Anderson would apply perfectly into this example too. Brilliant

[@cholocco2831]

"I was really enjoying Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Twelve"

[@matamoney]

Great essay!

[@ocubex]

You had me at "pointlessly complicated"... brilliant video.

[@thefilmkind2034]

This is fantastic, thank you!

[@spiderchinna2007]

love you

[@zuzkarory]

MUCH BETTER THAN SO MUCH OF THE PRETENTIOUS YET HOLLOW ANALYSIS OF FILM BY SO MANY OTHER VIDEO ESSAYS WHICH GET WAY TO MUCH CREDIT FOR THEIR BANAL PRETENSION (INCLUDING "EVERY FRAME A PAINTING" AND "NOW YOU SEE IT" ETC. WELL DONE MY FRIEND!

[@Wiffernubbin]

The irony of this comment about pretension.

[@neonatalpenguin]

Nah, Every Frame A Painting knows his stuff. The worst offender in the field of 'PRETENTIOUS YET HOLLOW ANALYSIS' video essay has to be Nerdwriter. That guy says almost nothing of substance, but says it in a gee-gosh-darnit voice that makes him sound super-earnest.

[@michaelwatterson1967]

I respect your opinion, but I feel Channel Criswell is the best offender of this (of the popular channels). He goes on for 20 minutes talking in circles and saying nothing of any real value. I think Nerdwriter has some interesting stuff every once in a while, but I see where you're coming from.

[@jlassh]

I had a wait job in LA once, Soderbergh was eating there, I tried to tell him the specials for the day but he cut me off as he had already read them himself... case in point (true story)

[@alilucci]

Very cool

[@WeegieMovies]

Soderbergh is an excellent filmmaker. While some of his films have moments that are, um... questionable, to say the least, I'd so much rather have that than the hundreds of unimaginative cookie - cutter movies that come out every year and blend together as one.

[@josephniepce7887]

Nice upload. When discussing all this you cant escape from economy.SS knows that and thats why he made this lecture at San Francisco. The core of the problem.Money. Directors are afraid to be brave because audience might reject something new.And business is about safe profit. The point is directors usually arent approaching cinema as art, but rather as business nowadays. Directors became producers, in a way. Being innovative pays off in long term, but show me producer who is ok with getting his money back "in long term". So generally Hollywood is not so much about making movies, as about making money - with significant help of movies 😉 I like how SS tries to reason that being art-oriented could be simultaneously economically successful, but normally directors are just money-oriented. Its easier. BTW I dont really liked how you took few scenes from the International. That particular movie is not representative when we speak about cowards behind cameras.Tom Tykwer made very original, almost arthouse film ALTHOUGH he was pushed by producers to make it more "hollywood". Example - shooting sequence was add on their wish - and yet he made it look so cinematic n beautiful, so unlike hollywood pulp. There are few shots in the International, like Salinger standing in front of the Bank that just make you think its Kafkas character standing in front of the Castle. Plus Matthew Bellamys music. And did you know that this amazing Quantum of Solace opening heli shot was totally inspired by shot from the International? it was even same montain they filmed. So not really good example, Tykwers film, even if some scenes indeed werent innovative. In general the International is really underestimated film imo.

[@saiashwin26]

Yeah, even the Shop Around The Corner example wasn’t appropriate. Lubitsch is also an amazing director who always had interesting ways to present information to the audience.

[@adityaparmar6433]

Hes the modern Godard!!!

[@graysonroyal]

Awesome video! You've got a new subscriber.

[@pondopondo1497]

This is a good video, mate.

[@WarioWareProductions]

Seeing this, makes me annoyed at how basic films and basic filmmakers feel like they NEED to do standard coverage, for the sake of coverage. I hate it.

[@Chrisratata]

The difference between me and most people is that I have no problem with an artist trying and failing. Pushing the limits not working sometimes goes with the territory; I'd rather be slightly confused than spoonfed by a sleepwalking director. Granted, the right balance is key to making a *great* film of course, and being *completely* lost in an uninteresting world is bad too, but seeing run of the mill shit is boring.

[@dictionaryofwords1108]

Schizopolis is off beat, sure, but that movie is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. It's pretty much sketch comedy with more obsessive framing.

[@WritingwiththeCamera]

Glad it worked for you, I'd like to like it because I respect when people try to do something different but I just can't get on with it.

[@RGBEAT]

Films that use incidental sound instead of music to build tension are common outside of mainstream us film

[@afrosymphony8207]

just like story the camera movement should maintain a cohesive style from beginning to end, it should just fit. So even you are doing things differently you shouldnt just do a particular scene or few scenes differently, you have to find a way to make the whole movie accommodate that difference.

[@messi91]

Insightful. Keep it up ;)

[@ilikespacedinosaurs]

Absolutely love Ocean's 12. Easily tje best Ocean's

[@d.m.collins1501]

This is the first time I think I've seen Schizopolis referenced by a KZbin movie critic, and I was shocked to see it described as a misstep... and then I went to Rotten Tomatoes and see that a LOT of critics kind of thinks it's lame. Did you guys see a different movie than I did? I thought it was a brilliant, absurdist exploration of how language works, as well as a pretty decent critique of Scientology and other personal success cults. Maybe folks found it indulgent, because Soderbergh starred in his own movie? I actually thought it was kind of brave to lean into his bland, uncool, unlikeable visage, and not try to look at least a LITTLE cool, as Tarentino did with his own appearances on camera around the same time. Soderbergh instead dresses his character in khakis, portraying him (which he gleefully forces the audience to conflate with his actual persona) as a morally dubious pathetic loser--and he did this right after a handful of somewhat poorly received and attended films, when he had a lot to potentially lose. It must have been SO tempting to try and do something cool. The best thing for him to do by far would be to make a slightly experimental gripping drama with a slight smirk to it, like so many other young director auteurs were doing in the mid-90s. And yet he did this. And sure, maybe it wasn't actually so much of a risk at THIs particular time to make a weird arty film, at a time when it seemed like indie films were the coolest thing ever and could do no wrong. But I can't think of any other directors at his time who did anything like this. I can't even think of a director EVER who did films like this. Bunuel and the surrealists were equally surreal, but they never tackled language in the same way. I dunno. Maybe I need to go back and rewatch it. Maybe I'll hate it now.

[@sumit2658]

Will there be new videos soon? (please say yes, please say yes!) Because I searched a very long time for a channel which is focussing on the work of a Director!

[@senthilvelan544]

The knick is fucking brilliant

[@LukeBannon-e3r]

There’s a scene in Le Mans 66 (Ford V Ferrari for the Americans) where Matt Damon wakes up in his trailer with bottle caps surrounding him and someone knocking on the door. I know this character has been drinking and that he’s late for something.

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

the limey is his best movie

[@TheJohnnyCalifornia]

You know, I think I loved this video during the very beginning of the establishing shot example. It follows the exact format he describes, but inserts shots from different movies so that it looks like characters from entirely different films are talking to each other. Great example of the montage illusion all the way back to the origin of film theory! The rest of the video... meh... (just kidding) Tell a story is a hard thing to break down since it is so basic to human existence. We can't remember anything unless we are able to tell a story about it. 99% of every physical action is forgotten because it is not notable. Did you brush your teeth this morning? Probably. Can you remember brushing your teeth in detail? Not likely. A story is what happens when things don't go according to plan. When the "ready at hand" world" breaks down and you are forced to pay attention at the risk of diminished status (including death). That's the essence of story from evolutionary biology even. There is some element that makes the hero the "hero" and it is at risk of being lost - whether or not the loss includes loss of life is incidental. Death is no problem if it is a heroic death. It's indignity - diminishment, being played - that is the true defeat the hero faces if a story is worth a damne (excuse my Frenche). To tell a story is to present a situation where someone has the "geld" - a position of advantage over everyone else - but that geld is inexplicably and unavoidably put at risk for something the hero (the guy or gal with the geld) believes is more important. For me, the overlooked classic of contemporary cinema is Soderbergh's SOLARIS. I hate to put it this way, but Post-Modern culture has (had?) nothing original to say. But what originality it does have is what it says about something else. I mean, "post" modern implies that it is a reaction to modern rather than something completely new. It would have its own name, after all. Modern wasn't called "post Classical" was it? So, Solaris was a comment on a previous film based on a previous Polish novella that, honestly, Soderbergh probably didn't read (certainly not in the original Polish) informed by half a century of goofy European Slavic science fiction and American SF movies. It's very "post modern" for a film to be a "comment." Commenting is the highest form of art in post modernism. It's the primary activity of the World Wide Web (also, using old terms ironically is the highest form of post modern expression - be thankful I didn't call it the Cybernetic Superhighway). But Solaris set the tone for "science fiction films that will fail at the box office" (SFTWATBO for short) for nearly 20 years. A film that posited or presented the future as being as boring, banal and entirely convenient as the present almost surely would be poison to audiences who expected life and death (or marriage) decisions to take place between purchasing and licking a goddam stamp. But it set the tone for many films that would be far more successful... well, at least one... Ex Machina and maybe Arrival. And it really examined the problem not only with being able to understand - much less communicate with - a completely alien self-aware entity, but also to communicate with simply one other person in your personal experience. To even - in the end - communicate meaningfully with one's own conscience. It's a tragically staggering piece of filmmaking that has been overlooked. It's not even a "cult" film.

[@gabrielidusogie9189]

I’m not sure if you will see this but I’ve always wanted to make video essays like these but I have a hard time analyzing films. Do you have any advice on how I could do that?

[@StefanReich]

0:13 LOL... you're so right

[@carls.2649]

Man, this was GREAT! But, unfortunately, it looks like you only have 2 vids and nothing in months. Hopefully that means you've been too busy doing good work elsewhere. Too bad for us, cuz I'd love to see more from ya. Oh well... cheers!

[@btsdancestudio5691]

(FrenchNewWave=StevenSoderberg)

[@Emanuel-oz1kw]

Wow this is interesting

[@warplanner8852]

One of the more interesting songs from one of the most forgettable yet funny movies of the _very, very late_ sixties: Candy.

[@Yupppp222]

amazing video... but what is that song at 4:34 ????

[@linuskarlsson9449]

What is the song at 8:38? 😊

[@666galager]

What's the background music at 8:15 . Thanks. Great video.

[@jakemaringoni]

Brian Eno - An Ending

[@666galager]

Thank you very much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@animaniacsrule]

Film at 4:37?

[@KeithR2002]

does your name literally mean "Of the clan taaffe"

[@WritingwiththeCamera]

Ha no idea

[@michaeldillabough8933]

What is that beautiful music at 7:54?

[@bobunitone]

Brian Eno's An Ending, Ascent. From the Traffic soundtrack. It's at the end of the film at the baseball scene that leads into the credits. Beautiful ending, one of my top 5 films. =)

[@thediscostu4127]

It would have been way funnier if Julia Roberts as her character had to impersonate a different famous actress.

[@adrianlysenko15]

Brian Eno wrote AN ENDING (ascent), not Cliff.

[@WritingwiththeCamera]

Amended, thanks mate.

[@adrianlysenko15]

NP, great video. Out of Sight as well as The Knick are very underappreciated works by Soderbergh. One of the most innovative filmmakers of our time.

[@EthnHayabusa]

Ocean's 12 is awesome. I will never understand the problem people had with it. Funniest of the series, killer locations, the best score in the series, great chemistry, and it all looks great.

[@Ottah1999]

are you still active?

[@chrishall2594]

Why you give up?

[@mainmanmainlining7575]

This entire video is essentially stating what a vision is as oppose to a systematic assembly line.

[@legaminmaccormaic2895]

okay, i know you are irish but whereabouts are you from?

[@Redmenace96]

Soderbergh wants to get rid of exposition. Exposition is there for the less sophisticated viewer. Exposition helps make movies with mass appeal. Soderbergh is valiant in is opposition to mass appeal. He makes movies for people who love movies. Like him! All the dumb-ass Marvel movies, ironically, demand exposition. (they are dumb plots, but the fans still need explanation) And it kills them as far as art is concerned.

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

so basically youre saying oceans twelve is the best of the three haha

[@shrutikaanand7587]

A firm no on the "unique sex scene" It's very male gaze-y

[@Reilly5]

Soderbergh makes all the mistakes listed in this video in Logan Lucky.

[@ataridc]

ya want ya dork sorked?

[@BBkiddz]

I just don't think his anti style of cinema is an engaging way to tell a story

[@FrancoisDressler]

If his more popular films have proved anything, it's that it may very well be one of the most engaging ways to tell a story.