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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 was browsing Strike.tv and came across this:

any1p.jpg


Anyway, usually the backlight on the girls' hair is just the sun or DPs usually use some big lights with CTO to reinforce the effect?

Searching this thread I came across this:

David Mullen ASC said:
There were other day scenes where they used a big light to create a late afternoon / sunset effect, maybe a Dino.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the same thing I am right now?

Thanks a lot David.
 
The shot could be either backlit naturally or with a lamp -- it's hard to tell with such a long-lensed shot where you can't see the sunlight effect on background objects. It's probably the real sun but it wouldn't be hard to fake this effect. You can see that they are using lights on the faces judging by the reflection in the eyes.
 
Hello David,

I love your work. I was wondering..... when you direct the photography on a film do you ever actually touch any lights or C-stands yourself? I assume you direct and then the gaffer grips etc. physically touch and set up the lighting and shadow making equipment.

Regards,
Martin Stevens
 
I have a reputation, for better or worse, for touching lights and c-stands, flags, etc. Some union crews are amused and some are appalled, but it's hard to help myself, I love playing with lights and flags SO much. My main key grip calls me one of the best grips on his crew -- he's threatened to give me a c-stand for my birthday so I can play around with it on my free time...

For me, lighting is a physical, tactile act. I just try and watch myself from going too far because it does start to be inefficient, not to mention, somewhat of an insult to a trained crew to see their DP lighting the set. But for me, it's very personal and I can't always explain the effect I'm going for without adjusting the light myself.

Big set-ups, of course, I have to step away, go to the craft services table, and let the crew get to work... I'm more talking about the intimate set-ups, close-ups, inserts, etc.
 
Thank you very much David.

Is it normal in the film business for a Director of Photography to only vocally direct (with hand gestures of course) the photography on a film and then see the gaffer and grips etc. doing all of the physical setups?

I understand that as a Director of Photography you CAN set up or adjust things, but are you expected to or required to as part of your job?

I know this line of questioning seems awkward, but in books or articles about DPs they don't really cover this empirical issue very well.

Regards,
Martin Stevens
 
You're supposed to direct the crew through the Gaffer and Key Grip, but in the fast pace of a film shoot, there is a bit of an attitude -- rightly so -- of "whatever gets the job done quickly and efficiently". If I need an electrician to drop a double in a light, I tell the nearest electrician (or do it myself) I don't look for the Gaffer and tell him to tell an electrician. However, after I've done it, I tell the Gaffer so he knows there is a double in that light now.

Remember that all of this equipment can be quite expensive and if I break something, as a DP, it's the Gaffer and Key Grip who are going to get the blame because they are responsible for their gear. Same goes for camera equipment -- if I drop a lens, it's still the 1st AC's fault in the eyes of the production, since he's responsible for the camera package. So there is a good reason for the breakdown of responsibilities.

But in terms of being hands-on as a DP, you have to play that by ear. Some crews don't respect a DP who touches equipment, and some people don't respect a DP who doesn't touch equipment. My attitude is that the crew gets to set everything up but then I get to play around with it if I feel it is necessary. Some crews don't get it, some do. The ones that work with me over time get used to it.

And I don't like to wait, so if there's a big set-up where more lights have to be set-up than I have crew members to set it up, I'll grab something easy and set it up myself while the crew does the hard stuff, like I'll grab a Kinoflo for the fill and set it up. And I've had some Gaffers yell at me (usually the East Coast ones) despite the fact that they don't have enough people to set up all the lights simultaneously, but on the other hand, I am the DP after all -- they work for me, not the other way around.

Sometimes you get into trouble with the unions, who would rather production slow down when departments are under-manned just so that the producers get the message that more crew people need to be hired. For example, I was on a show with sets with a lot of fake greenery outside of windows, etc. and during some big turnarounds, suddenly a dozen fake trees and bushes had to be moved -- and there's no time to wait for the single greensman working on the show to move all of that stuff, so me and the grips and the set dresser jump in and get it moved. But sometimes the union will then complain that production didn't hire more greens people.

But you do what's necessary to make the movie, which is why you get hired back again.

I do feel it is important that you explain the lighting set-up to the Gaffer and Key Grip rather than start lighting without talking to them; it's the only way to stay organized -- you have to involve them. Plus they may have better ideas than you do as to how to accomplish the set-up.
 
David,
My apologies if this has been chewed on before.

With all the talk of new glass coming onboard I wonder what your preferences are in glass? Both in brand, type (zoom, prime, vari-prime) and focal lengths.

Then as a follow up, what right does Director have to say what lens to use? What aperture? Where does the Director/DP line go in terms of glass to use and how to use it ?

Thanks a bunch, I appreciate your time.
 
Lenses are tools and what you need depends on the project. It also depends on the camera itself -- if you are renting Panavision cameras, then you're probably talking about Primo lenses, not Ultra Speeds or Master Primes.

I prefer prime lenses in general, and I prefer the middle focal lengths in general, but again, it all depends on the needs of the project and the tastes of the director. I just did a TV pilot where the director wanted to use zooms and we ended up shooting at lot at 250mm even indoors. It was a Panavision shoot, so we used the Primo 11:1 zoom.

But when I've shot Arricam, or on my two RED features, I used Ultra Primes, a few Master Primes, and Ang. Optimo zooms.

I think most of the high-end lenses are similar enough that I'm not going to reject any of them. The main issue for me is if I need the speed of the Master Primes.

Generally I discuss the camera choice, the format, the aspect ratio, with the director, and then the lenses. I give him a list of what I am proposing to rent in case he wants to make changes.

Now with a RED or Arricam shoot, where I have a choice of renting Zeiss versus Cooke primes, I would have a discussion with the director about the look of the show and what lenses would come closest to getting that look. Since I mostly shoot Panavision though, on the few Arricam shows I've done, I stuck to Ultra Primes, mainly because Master Primes were too expensive to rent for the whole show. Now I could have used Cooke S4's, and maybe I will someday, but generally I like snappy, contrasty lenses so I can get away with some light diffusion filtration on the lens to get halation (or in the case of one project, so I could use lower-contrast Fuji film) so I tend to shy away from the lower-contrast Cooke primes. So when I did my RED features, I used the same Zeiss Ultra Primes as I did before, except for a few night scenes where we spent the money to rent Master Primes.

But as I said, I mainly rent from Panavision so I generally use Primo primes and zooms.

I also love shooting anamorphic, but I rarely get a chance to do so, only four anamorphic features so far.

I've never had a director get specific about aperture, other than a general discussion about the look of the depth of field. Most directors ask for fairly natural-looking lighting and don't like or understand the need for high light levels, so you always seem to end up at a T/2.8 indoors on fast film. I go even wider-open when necessary, but for general scenes, I prefer the look of lenses stopped down to at least T/2.8 plus you can work faster if the AC is not dealing with super shallow focus. And once you start lighting an interior, it's not harder to light to a T/2.8 instead of a T/2.0, unless it is a super large interior space.

I have had to explain to a director the need to get a higher stop / light level in order to achieve something they've asked for, like a deep-focus shot or slow-motion, etc.

Some directors don't seem to get that they can't have it both ways, low-levels of available light photography yet deeper focus or flawless focus-pulling at wide-open apertures. They want all the benefits of low-light photography with none of the constraints or restrictions.
 
mazenhashem said:
Hi
how can i listen to the sound recorded on REDONE using REDCINE
Click to expand...

Hi Mazen,

This is probably not the best place to ask a REDCINE workflow-related question. You could try posting it over on the related forum: http://www.reduser.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=20

Also, I'm sure if you searched around for a little while that you could probably find a suitable answer. As it is, this thread is devoted to asking a very gifted ASC DP about his approaches to cinematography.

Thanks again David for all the energy you've put into educating the public, both here and elsewhere. It is greatly appreciated!

Eric
 
Hello David,

Thank you for your wonderful reply the other day.

What feature films have you shot with a Red One camera, and are they on DVD yet?


Regards,
Martin Stevens
 
I shot "Manure" and "Stay Cool" last summer. They are both looking for distribution. "Stay Cool" just played at the Tribeca Film Festival last week in a temporary HD version. "Manure" was at Sundance in January, also shown in HD. Neither have been completely finished.

I look forward to my next RED feature so I can finally apply everything I've learned to date.
 
Per chance would you know if there are any DVDs out of films that were shot with a Red One camera? Perhaps this should be asked elsewhere.

Martin
 
I'd ask elsewhere on the forum. There may be some indie movie, etc. shot on the RED that is already out on DVD. As for major features, "Che" may be coming out soon on DVD and I'm sure "Knowing" will be out eventually -- but you can go see that in movie theaters right now.

"Jumper" is out on DVD and has a few shots done on the RED.
 
Hello David,

How much Dynamic Range do you think film has, and how much Dynamic Range do you think the current Red One sensor has?

I keep thinking that perhaps the answer is 14 Stops for film, and 10 to 11 stops for the Red One. I eagerly await the Monstro Sensor. Also, I will be watching the DVD of "Solstice" soon.


Martin
 
Unless the same person measured both with the same tools and used the same parameters for deciding what was usable detail and what was buried too far into noise to be counted as a "stop", you aren't really going to get an answer that isn't mired in politics.

Suffice to say that color negative film probably has at least three stops of usable exposure information beyond what most digital cinema cameras can record -- mostly in the bright highlights.
 
Do you consider a 25mm lens to be a normal lens for Super35 work? Or a 35mm etc. I'm trying to compare this to a 50mm normal lens for FF35 Still work.


Thanks,
Martin
 
Well, the magnification factor between Super-35 and FF35 is 1.5X, so if you feel that a 50mm lens is a "normal" lens, then you'd be looking at a 35mm focal length in Super-35 for a similar view.

Which is around what I think is "normal" -- I don't really believe in the concept of a "normal" lens, but certainly there is a range of middle focal lengths that do not exaggerate perspective or subject size. In Super-35 shooting, generally for me it's the 35mm and 40mm lens. In a pinch, I'd include the 27mm and the 50mm at either end.
 
hi mr.mullen.
i have two question for you:

a:what is ,in your experince, the 35mm lens(brand and model) with the most beautiful flare?

b:wich filter do you suggest me to use on a light to reproduce the color of the early morning sun with also a pink tint?
i will use a 5.500°k balanced camera.
what the solution if i use a tungsten light?
what the solution in case of hmi light?
thanks
ivan
 
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