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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

Hello David,

I just saw the wonderful "Testament of Youth" (2014), apparently shot on the Sony F65.

The images looked VERY film like. Do you know what filters they used on the lenses?

Do you know if they added any film type grain in post production etc.?
 
Hi David. It's been a while. Hope you're well.

My question today is trying to thread the needle between daylight coming in through the windows and tungsten only lighting. I'm shooting on a compressed DSLR. Would it be better to white balance in the middle, around 4300k? Or maybe stick with 3200 and ignore the background? I don't want it to look alien. It's a relatively normal documentary style. How not to botch it?
 
Thanks David.
 
Joe G. said:
Hi David. It's been a while. Hope you're well.

My question today is trying to thread the needle between daylight coming in through the windows and tungsten only lighting. I'm shooting on a compressed DSLR. Would it be better to white balance in the middle, around 4300k? Or maybe stick with 3200 and ignore the background? I don't want it to look alien. It's a relatively normal documentary style. How not to botch it?
Click to expand...

There is no simple answer. A lot depends on which color temperature is more dominant overall. And it also depends on visual intent and design, whether you want more warmth or coldness in the light.

But the truth is that you should have a few daylight-balanced lights with you. Back in the day when I shot EPK's and infomercials, or doc interviews, I brought a few Kinoflos that I could use daylight tubes in unless I was sure I didn't have to deal with daylight. Today I'd have a few LED units.

So given a tungsten package, again, it depends on the scenario -- maybe you could get away with the camera white-balanced halfway with distant daylight in the background, and maybe use tungsten for a warm backlight but gel the key light with 1/2 CTB to match the white-balance on the camera. Or maybe in a room dominated by daylight, you gel all your tungsten with Full CTB and just use it for fill since it might then be too dim for a key. Or gel the tungsten used for keys with 1/2 CTB and the fill with Full CTB. Or if the daylight is not too strong, just light everything tungsten and set the white balance to that -- some small amount of daylight in the background or seen through windows could be tweaked in post, maybe just by pulling the blue chroma down a little. So there is no single solution, you just have to evaluate the space.

Generally I feel that fill should be white or be cooled off, mainly because skin tones when underexposed as in the shadows already look redder naturally even if lit with white fill, so I don't use warm fill much unless I am simulating the warmth from sunlight bouncing off of a wooden floor or something. In other words, most of the time, I'm more likely to have a warm key and cool fill than I am to have a cool key and warm fill. But there are always exceptions, especially if that color combination is logical due to the light sources in a scene.
 
Hi David, what would be your suggestion for a gel filtration combo to create the teal/orange color contrast look so dominant these days? Thank you so much.
 
You could certainly light a scene with cyan and orange colored-lighting, but this look is partly about color-correction choices too in terms of shifting your blues to cyan.

They make cyan-colored gels, or you can create cyan by adding green to blue.
 
David,
I appreciate your time and commitment to helping others learn.

I saw an old thread you were part of where you spoke of 1.5x technirama.
I have an old 1.5x lens and want to get the most out of my Dragon sensor with it. I get quite confused with all the options on the camera for anamorphic modes and was hoping you could point me in the right direction.

I like the look of 2.40:1 but also really like the idea of 3.55:1 aspect especially as our monitors and screens evolve into wider 21:9 options.

My questions are;
Camera settings for 1.3x for 3.55:1
Camera settings for 1.5x for 2.39:1 AND 3.55:1

Want to utilize the most area of the sensor for best quality and not have to stuff around too much in post.
What do you think?
 
Anthony Mather said:
Quick one: I was considering getting the Tiffen 1.8 6-stop IRND. I am using a IR Cut on every shot. Will having IR Reduction on my ND cause issues if used with the IR Cut? Is using the IR Cut with the IRND Superfluous and counterproductive or can they be used together without issue? Thanks again!
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Sorry I missed this question, but I don't have an answer either, I haven't tried stacking those filters -- I would think the only problem would be some color cast possibly.
 
Joshua P said:
Thank you, David, for the quick reply. I appreciate the candor and sensitivity of your response. We are continuing to contact the agent's of DP's. Some agents have even told us that their client is available, but then stop the conversation after we divulge the budget.We would love to explain to an available DP from our list what interesting visual opportunities we believe we will offer on this shoot. We would love to tell them we plan to pay full rate. And we tell this to the agents.

But what is most interesting is no one has yet asked to see a script. No agent. As soon as we offer our budget, they don't email us back. The conversation ends. So there seems to be zero professional respect.

One more batch of questions: If we put in an offer, isn't the agent required to tell the client? Are they also required to give us an answer? Is this a bad tactic in order to get the conversation going?
Click to expand...

You'd have to talk to some agents not involved to get their take on this behavior. As far as I know, my agent doesn't screen out people but then, I wouldn't know if she did. Also, sometimes agents are screening the low-budget people out at the request of the DP, so the DP doesn't look like the bad guy. I think many agents would tell a DP if there was real money on the table, but the question is whether they believe the offer is legit. I don't know the details, there may be some other aspect of the project that makes the agent feel wary to bring it to their client. Or maybe it is as simple as the DP is already fielding so many offers that it is very unlikely they'd consider the project at this time.
 
Naim Sutherland said:
Hi David,

A colleague has pointed out there is a scene in Big Sur that looks very much like The Potato Eaters. He uses it as an example in a cinematography class about working with reference images.

Was the Potato Eaters a reference you and the team discussed for that film? Do you have any thoughts about using reference material, images or anything else, in your work?

Thanks for your time!

Naim
Click to expand...

I've certainly used paintings for inspiration though I can't say we specifically referenced Van Gogh's "The Potato Eaters" in this case. But often the director and I look for "formal" wide compositions that are common in classical painting, so it was probably more of a subconscious choice in this case, if you are talking about the dinner scene in the cabin -- there is a bit of a religious painting aspect to the master shot, sort of a Last Supper vibe, and I think Van Gogh was also echoing religious paintings in his depiction of the family eating.
 
Heya David,

I can never get a straight answer for the following question,and I often got conflicting answers from various key grips & gaffers. The question is "What and how is the proper way to skin a 4x4 open frame ? ". The skins are going to live on the frame permanently.

I have heard; gaff tape first, then snot because it's hard to get the snot off later. However, gaff tape also leaves hard to clean residue. I also heard "Snot tape first as it can be easier to scrape the residue vs gaff tape residue" then gaff tape it over if needed. Both arguments sounds very valid to me as they make common sense.

Which is the correct way please ?? Thank you so much in advanced.
 
And BTW, congrats to David on the upcoming ABC-TV series Designated Survivor, which looks terrific:


I think this has a real "high gloss feature" feel to it, and it feels more like a big-budget action/adventure film than a TV series. The advance buzz on the show is very good, and I would bet it's the most highly-anticipated new drama of the new season.
 
Yes, it looks great! Thanks for posting this.
 
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