Ask David Mullen ANYTHING

[David Mullen ASC]

My question is how does one approach a DP, first AC, gaffer, etc to ask things without getting in the way or being annoying? I know I will be learning a lot by observation, and I know the answer to my question varies depending on the individuals. How do you deal with interns/PAs/other crew members approaching you and what do you think is the best way to establish some sort of communication?

You just have to judge when there is some quiet time between set-ups, or before call at breakfast or after wrap on the truck, or at lunch, etc. You have to play it by ear and don't feel put off if the DP is very busy at the moment, like suddenly at lunch the AD and director want to have a meeting with the DP, etc. Introduce yourself early of course, hopefully at the camera prep, and ask the DP how he feels about questions and when the best time would be to ask them.

Sometimes you'll find a moment to ask a question only to have the DP walk away to deal with a sudden issue, but later the DP will get back to you with an answer, I'm sure. (My wife calls it "male answer syndrome", the need/compulsion to answer any technical question, and I suffer from it big-time, so it's not hard to get me to answer questions when I have the time, just don't be surprised if I give you a long-winded answer on the history of widescreen processes or something like that.)

But on a set, I tend to concentrate so heavily on the work to the point where I forget everything else, like friends who were visiting the set that day ("When did they leave?" I ask. "About four hours ago.") So only after I've solved a set-up problem in my head, figured out how to light the scene, etc. and then passed instructions onto my crew... do I feel like I can listen to and then answer a question.

Scenes with actors can be very intense and private almost, with the director, DP, and script supervisor allowed into that emotional circle, so keep your distance in those situations, don't hover near the monitor next to the director while an actor is doing an emotional scene. Don't become the center of attention ever.

 

[Marc Wielage]

BTW, David, beautiful job on the final episode of Smash. I hope they submit at least one show for an Emmy nom.

Loved the long steadicam shots in the lobby -- those couldn't have been easy. And I have to confess, the dressing room scenes looked very natural. If they were lit by practicals, I sure couldn't tell! Looked very flattering to the actresses.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

BTW, David, beautiful job on the final episode of Smash. I hope they submit at least one show for an Emmy nom.

Loved the long steadicam shots in the lobby -- those couldn't have been easy. And I have to confess, the dressing room scenes looked very natural. If they were lit by practicals, I sure couldn't tell! Looked very flattering to the actresses.

Thanks! That running steadicam shot was done in one continuous shot with a 180 degree pivot in the middle but broken up in editing into three shots.

Those lightbulb dressing mirrors are designed to be fairly flat-lit on the faces and thus flattering for the most part.

I had a bigger version in the star's dressing room which did not look as flattering and I realized it was because the top row of bulbs was higher being a taller mirror. So in close-ups, just above the frame line, I hung a tungsten lunestra tube off of the top of the mirror a foot lower than the top row of bulbs, which I unscrewed. This brought the key light to a lower, more flattering angle.

 

[Yousuf Abbasi]

Hi David
I tried to search on this topic before but couldn't find a suitable answer. My question is about shooting blue skies in the background, while still retaining rich flesh-tones in the foreground. What is the best way to expose a shot of the sky on a sunny day so that the blues are enhanced, while still keeping the color of flesh properly exposed? For example, look at the photo which I found. In this example, the sky is very blue, but there is also a lot of rich color/detail in the sand (similar to fleshtones). If any filters or certain camera settings you would use, what would they be? Thanks!

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Hi David
I tried to search on this topic before but couldn't find a suitable answer. My question is about shooting blue skies in the background, while still retaining rich flesh-tones in the foreground. What is the best way to expose a shot of the sky on a sunny day so that the blues are enhanced, while still keeping the color of flesh properly exposed? For example, look at the photo which I found. In this example, the sky is very blue, but there is also a lot of rich color/detail in the sand (similar to fleshtones). If any filters or certain camera settings you would use, what would they be? Thanks!

First of all, you need blue skies to begin with. If you have those, then they will look the bluest in front light, or in side-light with a Pola on the camera. If that's the case, you won't have problems color-correcting for both the face and the sky because you'll have plenty of information in both. In post, you can isolate the blue channel and darken it and/or add more saturation/contrast. If there are some white clouds then an ND grad might help keep them from getting too clippy compared to the lower part of the frame.

 

[Philipe Ratton]

Hey David, I was wondering if one can get by without a 50 on the lens kit.
Lets say, a kit with a 14, 24, 35 and 85. Keeping in mind Scarlet's crop factor.
Thanks a lot.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Sure, you can try to live without the 50 but that's a big jump between 35mm and 85mm. With only four primes and no zoom, you have to pick when end of the spectrum you want to shoot in, the wide-angle world or the telephoto world. If wide-angle is your style, then I'd get the 50mm instead of the 85mm. In the abstract, I'd be more likely to pick a set that goes from 18mm to 50mm, which is the most practical range (hence why most APS-C still camera kit zooms are in this range), but that's not taking personal style into account.

I mean, if you want more range but less convenience in terms of selection (i.e. you have to move the camera back or forth to compensate), then doubling the view with each lens makes some sense, i.e. 14mm, 28mm, 50mm, 100mm. Otherwise, 18mm, 24mm, 35mm, 50mm is a narrower range but allows more subtle variation in focal length.

It all depends on the needs of the script. Maybe you have a style that uses a 14mm for ultra wide-angle shots and then jumps to 100mm for everything else, who knows? But in general, you'd get more milage from an 18mm over a 14mm, which more obviously distorts a space. 18mm is wide-angle without crossing into stylization.

 

[Yousuf Abbasi]

Thanks David. Amazing your wealth of knowledge, and kindness to contribute to others. Over the years, not only have you worked on films but I'm sure watched many films as well. From all you've seen and experienced, what films have stood out as your favorites with respect to cinematography? Maybe just stuff you've seen and were like, wow that's really great.

 

[Philipe Ratton]

Great advice there, thanks a lot mr. Mullen!

 

[David Mullen ASC]

This was a list I made several years ago, it's a good starting point. I just now put an asterix next to some movies in particular that you should watch.

FAVORITE CINEMATOGRAPHY BY DECADE

Silent Era:
Broken Blossoms (1919)
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)
The Last Laugh (1922)
Nosferatu (1922)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Sparrows (1926)
Metropolis (1927)
Sunrise (1927) *
Wings (1927)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

1930’s:
All’s Quiet On the Western Front (1930)
Morocco (1930)
Dishonored (1931)
Scarlet Empress (1934)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Midsummer Night’s Dream (1935)
Garden of Allah (1936)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Alexander Nevsky (1938)
Drums Along the Mohawk (1939)
Gone With The Wind (1939) *
Wuthering Heights (1939)
Young Mr. Lincoln (1939) *

1940’s:
Grapes of Wrath (1940)
The Long Voyage Home (1940)
Rebecca (1940)
Citizen Kane (1941) *
How Green Was My Valley (1941) *
Casablanca (1942) *
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
The Life & Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
Henry V (1944)
Jane Eyre (1944)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Spellbound (1945)
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Duel in the Sun (1946)
Great Expectations (1946)
A Matter of Life & Death (1946)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
Black Narcissus (1947) *
The Fugitive (1947) *
Out of the Past (1947)
Hamlet (1948)
Oliver Twist (1948)
The Red Shoes (1948) *
The Third Man (1949) *


1950’s:
Rashomon (1950)
An American in Paris (1951)
Moulin Rouge (1952) *
Othello (1952)
Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Seven Samurai (1954) *
Night of the Hunter (1955)
Pather Panchali (1955)
Aparajito (1956)
Lust for Life (1956)
Moby Dick (1956)
The Searchers (1956) *
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The Seventh Seal (1957) *
Throne of Blood (1957) *
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Vertigo (1958) *
Apur Sansar (1959)
Ben-Hur (1959)

1960’s:
Psycho (1960)
Spartacus (1960)
El Cid (1961)
One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
Yojimbo (1961) *
Lawrence of Arabia (1962) *
Cleopatra (1963)
8 1/2 (1963)
Hud (1963)
The Trial (1963)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
I Am Cuba (1964) *
Dr. Zhivago (1965)
Help! (1965)
Red Beard (1965)
Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1967)
In Cold Blood (1967)
Hell in the Pacific (1968)
Romeo & Juliet (1968)
2001 (1968) *
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) *
The Wild Bunch (1969)

1970’s:
The Conformist (1970) *
Patton (1970)
Ryan’s Daughter (1970)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Devils (1971)
Fiddler On The Roof (1971)
The French Connection (1971)
Klute (1971) *
The Last Picture Show (1971)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) *
Cabaret (1972) *
Cries & Whispers (1972)
Deliverence (1972)
Fat City (1972)
The Godfather (1972) *
Last Tango In Paris (1972)
The Exorcist (1973)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
Paper Moon (1973)
The Three Musketeers (1973)
Chinatown (1974)
The Godfather, Part II (1974) *
Lucky Lady (1974)
Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
The Sugerland Express (1974)
Barry Lyndon (1975) *
Day of the Locust (1975)
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
All the President’s Men (1976)
Bound For Glory (1976)
Network (1976)
1900 (1976)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
The Return of a Man Called Horse (1976)
Robin & Marion (1976)
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) *
The Duelists (1977) *
Eraserhead (1977)
The Exorcist II (1977)
Jesus of Nazarith (1977)
Days of Heaven (1978) *
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Interiors (1978)
Superman (1978)
Agatha (1979)
Alien (1979) *
Apocalypse Now (1979) *
Dracula (1979)
Manhattan (1979)
1941 (1979)
Tess (1979)

1980’s:
The Elephant Man (1980)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Heaven’s Gate (1980) *
Raging Bull (1980)
The Shining (1980)
Stardust Memories (1980) *
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Excalibur (1981) *
Pennies From Heaven (1981)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Reds (1981) *
True Confessions (1981)
Blade Runner (1982) *
Das Boot (1982)
E.T. (1982)
One From the Heart (1982)
Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Fanny & Alexander (1983)
The Right Stuff (1983)
Rumblefish (1983) *
Wagner (1983)
Yentl (1983)
Amadeus (1984)
Dune (1984)
Greystoke (1984)
The Natural (1984) *
1984 (1984)
Brazil (1985)
The Color Purple (1985)
Ladyhawke (1985)
Legend (1985)
Mishima (1985)
Out of Africa (1985)
Ran (1985)
Blue Velvet (1986)
The Mission (1986) *
A Room With A View (1986)
Angel Heart (1987)
Empire of the Sun (1987) *
The Last Emperor (1987)
Red Sorghum (1987)
Someone to Watch Over Me (1987)
Baron Munchausen (1988)
Tequila Sunrise (1988)
Tucker (1988)
Born On the Fourth of July (1989)
Fat Man & Little Boy (1989)
Mountains of the Moon (1989)

1990’s:
Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams
Dick Tracy (1990)
Ju Dou (1990) *
The Godfather, Part III (1990)
Hamlet (Zefferilli) (1990)
Henry & June (1990)
Memphis Belle (1990)
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Barton Fink (1991)
Bugsy (1991)
Delicatessen (1991)
The Doors (1991)
JFK (1991) *
Raise the Red Lantern (1991) *
Terminator II (1991)
Tous Les Matins Du Monde (1991)
Batman Returns (1992)
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Far & Away (1992)
1492 (1992)
Jennifer 8 (1992)
Howard’s End (1992)
Like Water For Chocolate (1992)
Unforgiven (1992)
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Little Buddha (1993)
The Piano (1993)
Remains of the Day (1993)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Searching For Bobby Fischer (1993) *
The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Legends of the Fall (1994)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
The Secret of Roan Inish (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) *
Wyatt Earp (1994)
Braveheart (1995)
Casino (1995)
City of Lost Children (1995)
Crimson Tide (1995)
Flamenco (1995)
A Little Princess (1995)
Nixon (1995) *
Seven (1995) *
A Walk in the Clouds (1995)
The English Patient (1996)
Evita (1996)
Fargo (1996)
Michael Collins (1996)
Amistad (1997) *
Character (1997)
Kundun (1997)
Titanic (1997)
A Civil Action (1998)
Dark City (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Tango (1998)
The Thin Red Line (1998) *
The Matrix (1999)
Sleepy Hollow (1999) *
Snow Falling On Cedars (1999) *

 

[Carlos Reyes]

Thank you for the reply much appreciated

 

[Adrian T.]

Wow, what a great list of cinematic masterpieces!
I would love to see your picks of the 2000's too.

 

[Kemalettin Sert]

thank you so much for the list David.Its mainly Hollywood based list can you add bit more from european and world cinema?

 

[David Mullen ASC]

thank you so much for the list David.Its mainly Hollywood based list can you add bit more from european and world cinema?

It's a personal list of favorites based on what I've seen, if I saw a foreign film and was captivated by the cinematography, it would probably be on the list already. I just haven't seen enough foreign movies!

Also, I did the list several years ago and I've seen more films since then, but I don't think the list would change radically. I'd probably add Tarkovsky's "Nostalghia" to the 1980's list now, for example.

It's Hollywood-based because I grew up in the U.S. and am Hollywood-based. It's the cinema of my country, why shouldn't I like it?

 

[Ryan Skeete]

This was a list I made several years ago, it's a good starting point. I just now put an asterix next to some movies in particular that you should watch.

David, thanks for providing that list!! Looking forward to your picks for the 2000's as well. Maybe someone on reduser with a bunch of time on their hands, can list the cinematographer of each film on the list, so one can easily sort the list based on the DP. Might make for a great learning resource for aspiring DP's on this forum.

 

[juliensees]

Hi David,

I have an upcoming shoot that takes place at night in the woods and by a lake. My initial thought is to bounce a 2.5kw or 4k into an 8x with a cuccoloris of some kind in front. And then to have two 1.2kw pars to illuminate parts of the background to at least give it some depth. My one worry is that the location (which I'm hoping to see next week) is much more claustrophobic in terms of trees, and thus I won't have the space to bounce the hmi into an 8x. Besides going direct (with at least a 4x frame in front of the lamp) do you have any other ideas of how to deal with limited space in the woods? Unfortunately a condor is out of the question.

Thanks.

 

[David Mullen ASC]

I'm not sure why you'd put a cookaloris in front of a soft light unless it was semi-hard and can create some broken-up patterns, otherwise it's just a scrim at that point.

If you are going to use long lenses, you can try rigging backlights above the frame but otherwise if you don't have a condor and have wide shots, you're going to have to have the moonlight in the wide shots come from the side rather than from the back. In which case you may want to rake the background from farther with the bigger HMI and rake the foreground closer with smaller HMI's rather than use the big lights for the f.g. and the small lights for the b.g. You could also try lighting through smoke/haze from below in the background and create a glow along the horizon if shooting on a small rise.

If there are a lot of leaves, heavy foliage, then you may be better off with a lot more smaller units scattered behind trees rather than a couple of big units, which won't throw very far if blocked quickly.

Daylight Kinos can be useful too in the woods for the foreground or for fill. I've also tried daylight compact flos in Chinese Lanterns strung above the frame on some lines.

 

[Stas Tagios]

Hi David,

I'm shooting a low-budget music video on the 7D. We have a day of car shots -- incl. car-to-car tracking, as well as GoPro and 7D mounted on the car, cameras facing the driver/singer. I want the singer to look glamorous (i.e., soft even light on the face), but I don't have time or budget to rig lights on/in the car, so my question is, what do you think is a better approach, shooting with a convertible with the top down (and if so, how best to minimize any issues with ugly top light earlier in the day, or is it better to just shoot later in the day with the sun backlighting the singer?), or shooting with a hard-top so the singer's face will mostly be evenly and softly lit and the exterior blows out? Another issue to deal with if we go the convertible top down option is that the singer will be wearing a very light-colored blonde wig, which tends to blow out rather quickly. The reason I'm considering the convertible is we want to showcase various iconic L.A. locations and with the top down, we'd see more of the exterior and not have to worry about over-exposure on the background. Thanks!

Stas Tagios

 

[David Mullen ASC]

Top down seems more glamorous. You're just going to have to drive early or late in the day when the sun is closer to eye level for her close-ups, back-lit or front-lit can look nice.

 

[Alexey Milokost]

Hi David, what is the practical difference between ND.60 soft edge grad vs. ND.60 Attenuator?
Thanks a ton!
Alex