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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

I have worked on a great many films with a great many directors.
David brought up something that I have begun to notice regarding ambitious directors. Having worked with some old school directors who could get all their shots in 10 hours was a pleasure to watch and experience. They did their homework and came in prepared. The knew what they wanted.
But the majority of directors today have no regard for doing their homework or being prepared.They do not know what they want. Every crew memeber comes prepared for the most part and will catch hell if they are not, yet that standard is never applied to the director. They have been given carte blanche to create as they go. And meaning no offense to David or other sensible DP's I have seen the elevation of the DP, in their own minds, to godlike status, that have such ego's and take control of a set, lighting it for hours on end with no regard for budget or people. And yet have seen old school DP's light a similar setup in a quarter of the time.
12 on 12 off will never happen. Egos and bad work ethics will always be there on the above the line folks and a schedule must be kept. I've had crew member friends flip their cars over because they fell asleep at the wheel. Yet I have those same crew members saying they want as much overtime as they can get because, you know, the more money you make the more toys you buy the more bills there are and the cycle continues.

I personally think a 10 to 12 hour workday with a minimun of 10 hours turnaround would be heaven.
 
fightordie, the 12/12 schedule might not get a universal pass, but it allows indie directors like myself some leverage when bringing expereinced people onto a project. If a seasoned and valuable crew member is choosing between a back-breaking studio flick or an indie picture with a 12-12 or 10-14 schedule, it can sway the favor toward the independent. Then again, I'm one of those guys who shoots 3-pages a day. This luxury isn't available to studio filmmakers whose projects are funded by a long-existing business model. If my project is funded by an investment broker, for example, he just wants a finished movie that will get a decent ROI, regardless if we shoot for 90 days or 9 days. I'm personally a big fan of the 10-14 schedule, though it drives some producers bonkers. But they're not the ones sweating.
 
Usually you don't count the meal break, so it's more like a 12.5 hour day (6 hours work, half-hour meal, 6 hours work) but if you have 12-hours off, this means your call time drifts a half-hour later every day at least, which is a problem if you are daylight dependent. So some sort of flexibility has to happen to avoid that, whether it means 11.5 off or you count the meal as part of the 12 hours.
 
Violating the 12 hour turn around period will generate both penalties and over the course of a project, less happy and less productive crews. I try to fight to keep the long days near the head of a shoot and plan for shorter days near the end, if for no other reason than to compensate for the inevitable pushed schedule that tends to arise at the end. I have noticed that talent is less often asked to turn around in less than 12 hours (must have bigger penalties).
 
I stick to the 12 hour off rule pretty tight. The job is hard enough without suffering lack of sleep.

There are always exceptions. but they need to stay that way.. Exceptions
Jay
 
It would be nice to hear some of the European folks...I bet they only work for 8 hours and drink wine at lunch...Perhaps it's time???!!!:blink:
 
Hello David, I am a Director based in Mumbai have you had a chance to see any of our bollywood films? They are mostly musicals and what is your take on them?
pk.
 
The only Bollywood musical I've seen was recent, "Jhoom Barabar Jhoom", which I enjoyed. I saw it at a movie theater in San Fernando (who wouldn't enjoy a movie with two such incredibly attractive lead actresses dancing in tight clothing...?)

The trailers for other Bollywood films before the feature looked fun too. The production values seem incredibly high -- reminds me of the output of the Hong Kong film industry.

I've only seen a few other Bollywood films at film festivals years ago. All I remember was that it was a period romance, beautifully lit.
 
Hey nice to hear that bollywood is catching up with guys like you and particularly mainstream films....hope you could visit here and we get to meet technicians like you to interact with our guys out here....have you ever been to india?
pk.
 
Hello David. Thanks, as always, for your generous help.

In my three camera greenscreen set-up, due to camera tracking considerations (data tracking, not physical tracks), two of my three cameras will be on jibs.

This will afford me the capability of easily putting lots of movement in as many shots as I want.

My question is, in general, will putting lots of movement on the shots -- maybe the majority of shots -- add to the interest and production value of my productions, or is it likely to be distracting at some point? If in doubt, should I err on the side of movement, or on more locked down shots?
 
A well-designed, well-executed move always adds production value but hopefully it is motivated by the content and mood, not distracting the viewer away from it. There are certain dramatic moments where a simple lock-off shot is the best so that the viewer just looks at the actor's performance.

I don't really believe in just moving the camera for its own sake because then it looks random and you lose the power of precise composition and lighting when you do that too much. However, it can be motivated at times, lots of rough movement, ala an action movie like "Bourne Ultimatum" (though I think they went too far in pushing that approach for the quieter scenes.)

There is the cost problem of doing a lot of jib arm moves in front of a greenscreen and tracking them into plates, plus creating plates with similar moves.
 
David Mullen ASC said:
There is the cost problem of doing a lot of jib arm moves in front of a greenscreen and tracking them into plates, plus creating plates with similar moves.
Click to expand...

As always, thanks David. Actually, my 3D evironments are created in advance, and composited live through an Orad virtual studio system. The two jibs are encoded to link up with the Orad and virtual sets live, so creating plates with similar moves won't be necessary -- we should be able to move as we see fit and the sets still be in proper perspective.
 
Tim,

Do you ever get the problem with the camera tracking not working perfectly if the rig bends (e.g. if you decelerate too fast)?
 
TimPipher said:
As always, thanks David. Actually, my 3D evironments are created in advance, and composited live through an Orad virtual studio system. The two jibs are encoded to link up with the Orad and virtual sets live, so creating plates with similar moves won't be necessary -- we should be able to move as we see fit and the sets still be in proper perspective.
Click to expand...

Very cool studio Tim. I think you're on the right track. (so to speak)

Has David got his hands on RED yet? Any comments on the initial stuff on this forum?
 
GlennChan said:
Tim,

Do you ever get the problem with the camera tracking not working perfectly if the rig bends (e.g. if you decelerate too fast)?
Click to expand...

Hello Glenn. We're just finishing our building construction now and don't have the system in place yet -- I'm probably 60 to 90 days away from opening. The timing should be not be too bad, though -- my three Reds are scheduled for January.

I haven't heard of the bending problem. The jibs will most likely be from mo-sys or General Lift.

By the way, I hope we can do some business together some day. I've admired your posts and taken special note since I was born and raised in Toronto and travel there (or just north of there) every chance I get.
 
joelnet said:
Very cool studio Tim. I think you're on the right track. (so to speak)
Click to expand...

Thanks Joel. Everything we have (other than our building, of course) will be portable via our two beautiful motorhomes. If you ever have a project that you think my set-up would be good for but can't come to Florida, I'd love to pack up and transport it to AZ.
 
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