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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Ask David Mullen ANYTHING

David: I was wondering if you are familiar with a now extinct line of filters with the brand name Wilson. They are not glass and came in sets. There was Suprafrost, Sepiafrost and Black Suprafrost. I happen to have acquired a mint set of each of these (the close-ratio sets) three lines. How do they compare to the Tiffens? Thanks
 
SupaFrost and Black SupaFrost were plastic filters that came out in the early 1980's and were used on such movies as "The Natural" and "Empire of the Sun" (I believe) but eventually Tiffen released a similar glass filter, the ProMist and Black ProMist, by the mid-1980's -- which became more popular because they were more durable than SupaFrosts.

I don't know the equivalent strengths though when comparing the two, I don't have much experience with SupaFrosts.
 
David,

You look very young in your full page feature in American Cinematography this month!

After all the criticism that people on Reduser came out with, there now seems to be a lot of articles and features in AC regarding the Red.

Antony
 
David,
I just listed a short film on IMDb for which I won best cinematography at the 48 hour film project. IMDb did list the film but they got a lot of the information wrong. I've posted an update a week and a half ago, but they don't seem to be listening. Is there a way to get their attention that I'm missing?

They have listed someone as director, cinematographer, editor, ect. that had nothing to do with the film. Very frustrating.

Thanks for any suggestions, Barry
 
David,

I'm shooting a short film next week and have two questions:

1. Format: I intend to frame for 1.85:1 but I'm not sure what sensor format to use. Among other things the goal of the short is to have a 'trial run' of procedures in preparation for a feature I'm shooting next year.

So looking ahead to a film out path is it better and/or more correct to shoot 2:1 and crop the sides or shoot 16:9 and crop above in below?

By my reckoning 16:9 1.85:1 will have slightly less DOF than the 2:1 @ 1.85:1. And 2:1 1.85:1 is about the same size as Academy 1.85:1 so making it more correct to go to a film out. ???

So is it a drama to shot 16:9 1.85:1 - a good path through broadcast and DVD etc and shallower DOF. But is it going to make a film out harder? Or is this all easily fixed with a little transcoding?


2. Lighting: Inside looking out

I have a shot that starts in a hall tracking back with the actors as they walk along the hall to the front door. It is relatively dark in the hall with no windows and only rooms off it but it is not going to be realistic or correct (the time setting for the scene is early morning, about 8am) to light the hell out of it to bring the T stop up. This is an issue because at the end of the track back we pan with the action as the actors pass the camera and lock of the camera with a wide shot to the front door. They open the door and we see outside and the actors walk out of frame. We hold this shot for a long time about 7 to 10 sec with no action in the frame. So the audience has a long look at it.

So... being inside looking out I want to try and not let the outside light blow out (we are shooting this scene at about 11am and being close to spring in New Zealand we are starting to get sunny spring days starting). What is the best way to equalize the light without revealing that you have? Can you use a 2 stop net or ND to do this, beyond praying for overcast skies?

Notes on the shot:

4K @ 24fps
16mm lens
T stop, 2.8
minimum subject focal distance 1m ( 3.28 feet)
maximum subject focal distance 4.6 meters ( 15.09 feet)
distance from camera to Net or ND 6.6 meters ( 21.65 feet)



Thank you for your help in advance.

James.
 
David,

Shooting a music video in an elevator. General color tone is going to be this dark blue, with beams of light. Sort of an advanced industrial Michael Bay elevator. The elevator is on a set, and the top, and sides are removable. I was thinking of placing a small grid of lights on top, giving it that blue humm, and then maybe supporting that with a few kinos from below. Using some source 4's as my beams. Shooting red. So thats kinda my specs.

Time is an issue for some band members, so if I can just get a nice grid on top, re-lighting would be faster.

Question for you.

Any advise about shooting in an elevator.

What would be your lighting set up....hihi, sorry could not resist.

I thank you for any feed back at all.

Cheers,

T-Burton
 
James Cleary said:
David,

1. Format: I intend to frame for 1.85:1 but I'm not sure what sensor format to use. Among other things the goal of the short is to have a 'trial run' of procedures in preparation for a feature I'm shooting next year.

So looking ahead to a film out path is it better and/or more correct to shoot 2:1 and crop the sides or shoot 16:9 and crop above in below?

By my reckoning 16:9 1.85:1 will have slightly less DOF than the 2:1 @ 1.85:1. And 2:1 1.85:1 is about the same size as Academy 1.85:1 so making it more correct to go to a film out. ???

So is it a drama to shot 16:9 1.85:1 - a good path through broadcast and DVD etc and shallower DOF. But is it going to make a film out harder? Or is this all easily fixed with a little transcoding?


2. Lighting: Inside looking out

I have a shot that starts in a hall tracking back with the actors as they walk along the hall to the front door. It is relatively dark in the hall with no windows and only rooms off it but it is not going to be realistic or correct (the time setting for the scene is early morning, about 8am) to light the hell out of it to bring the T stop up. This is an issue because at the end of the track back we pan with the action as the actors pass the camera and lock of the camera with a wide shot to the front door. They open the door and we see outside and the actors walk out of frame. We hold this shot for a long time about 7 to 10 sec with no action in the frame. So the audience has a long look at it.

So... being inside looking out I want to try and not let the outside light blow out (we are shooting this scene at about 11am and being close to spring in New Zealand we are starting to get sunny spring days starting). What is the best way to equalize the light without revealing that you have? Can you use a 2 stop net or ND to do this, beyond praying for overcast skies?
Click to expand...

Shoot 16x9 for 1.85, either 4K HD for an HD finish or 4K 16x9.

You need to get the range between in the inside and outside closer together. If you can't light up the inside, you need to shoot when it's darker outside. Unless you can hide an f-stop change in a pan. And even then, the difference between some exteriors and interiors are beyond a pull from f/2.8 to f/16. The "sunny 16" rule says that in direct sunlight, the f-stop is f/16 when the ASA is the same number as the value under 1/... for the shutter speed, i.e. 50 ASA at 1/50th of a second. So if you are in full sun outside at f/16 at 50 ASA (at 24P with a 1/48th shutter, close enough to 1/50), then the interior can't be much darker than f/2.8 at 50 ASA in order to be within a stop-pull range. And that's a pretty extreme stop-pull.

Antonioni's "The Passenger" ends with a slow track out from an interior to an exterior which was done near dusk in order to balance the interior and exterior more easily.
 
David,
You've had the opportunity to work with numerous 35mm film stocks in your career. My question, out of curiousity, is: are there some film stocks you consider your favorites?

I assume that with most films depending on post to get the right color in the film, choosing film stock for its warmth/tone quality is probably not that big of a consideration -- or is it?

Best.
 
With the power of digital color-correction, subtle differences between stocks in terms of color saturation or bias matter less than grain, resolution, and contrast differences, and even some of those can be evened out digitally.

So my main consideration is how grainy a stock is -- relative to speed -- almost more than anything else. However, if I'm shooting on a larger negative format like 35mm anamorphic, then grain is less of a worry, I may be more concerned about contrast vs. sharpness.

But warmth vs. coldness is fairly easy to adjust even in contact printing.

I do miss some of the brown-olive tones of Agfa color negative. That was somewhat unique and hard to recreate in post.
 
lighting approach with multiple cameras

lighting approach with multiple cameras

hi david ,
i would like to know what could be the lighting approach in multicamera shoot(in my case two cameras).
if one light could works for one camera could be flat or not very good for the second camera.
so what is your suggestion and tips?
in a low budget situation(with few and "poor" lights)is this solution(shooting with two cameras)an advantage or only a new problem to resolve?
best regards
ivan
 
I don't really have a solution that can be summed up in a post -- it just takes lots of careful lighting. Generally you use a lot of soft cross lighting but you figure one angle will probably end up on the flat side. Or you go with very directional light motivated by a source and just let actors be lit by that logical direction whether it ends up flat or backlit, etc. Or you go with soft top lighting.
 
What do you think about Nikon D90 and Canon 5D mk II? I know skew is a big problem, but I think they are very usable if on a budget. Do you have any experiences?
Sorry if you already answerd this question...
 
I was just on a set were they used the Canon 5D. It was a $50K industrial How To video. It was quite a hilarious sight to see a DSLR camera at the end of a 32 foot Cammate Crane fitted with a 3-axis remote head. The camera's sensor kept overheating and turning itself off every 5 minutes. Someone would yell "Sensor" every few minutes and they would have to lower the jib arm and push the reset button. Total PITA! This camera is not really ready for "production" usage.
 
David, I'm sorry if this was already covered (but I dont think it was).

What are your preferred focal lengths for dialogue: master-ots-cu ? Ignoring space constraints (say you're on a set with moveable walls or a big field or wherever).
 
I just finished doing some documentary stuff with the 5DM2, and I had no sensor issues with it (including shooting in Spain and Morocco).

It's great for doc work, but I'll stick to our RED for dramatic/corporate stuff unless we need to stuff a camera in a really tight space...
 
David,

If you have the time, I was wondering if you have the time to check out my most recent piece. Even though its not that big of a deal we won Best in Festival and Best Cinematography for DePaul University's Premiere Film Festival.

The main reason I want you to watch it is to spark a discussion about the differences of natural and artificial lighting - which do you prefer, how hard is it to rely on natural light in the real world, etc. I have heard many different opinions and there are great arguments for both and of course reasons for shooting both. Still, I find it to be an interesting topic of discussion.

(BTW, I have been reading this thread for months and am still about 100 or so pages behind...but im getting there!) Oh, and its fantastic that you do this...I have learned (maybe not retained) but learned tons. Thanks.

Link - L'espoir
 
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