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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

Hi Mr Mullen i hope you can help and sorry if someone already asked you this:

during all this time i have been using red for TV commercials and music videos. On the 27th of this month ill be working with red for film outs.
I have a couple of questions about Redcode and other stuff.

What is the real setup for better filmouts?

A. 4k 16:9
B. 4k 2:1

Ive been told different answers to that and some ppl say one or the other.

The next thing is that were going to use drives and cards, im gonna have 5 reddrives cause were going to be downloading every 15 - 20 minutes. Doing breaks cause i recommended not to shot all day long in a drive and find out at the end of the day that something is wrong (you know murphy's law). But also i will have 8 gigs cards.
In this movie will not be any highspeed or hand helds (i've been told that). OK... this is the thing... the days job will be flying to LA from Puerto Rico. It will be a film break as in motion picture working with film and the production want to make sure that the lab has everything there before we format any info on the drives, so i will also have 8 - 10 8G cards in my equipment....
So, i know that Reddrives work in redcode 36, the cards on redcode 28.
For film out... its that a big problem??
This is the list:

we will bw shooting @ 24 frames, 4K (2:1 or 16:9) no high speed, no sudden camera movements (no steadycam, no hand held).

thanks!!!
Fernando
 
If you are composing for 2.40, there shouldn't be any difference between recording 16x9 or 2x1 in 4K mode, since 2.40 lies inside either and uses the same pixels. For 1.85, you'd be trimming the sides slightly if you use 2x1 mode, so I'd recommend 16x9.

As for spotting a difference between Recode 36 vs. 28, compression issues tend to be content related and color-correction decision related, so it just depends. Most of the time, you probably can't spot the differences.
 
Contrast filters/filtering on the lens

Contrast filters/filtering on the lens

I did a search on the forum on the topic of using filters on the lens for contrast control, especially for digital cinema. There are some posts but they are specific to a shot that was posted. My question is(to Mr. Mullen and anyone else visiting this thread?): have you used soft or low contrast filters such as say.. classic softs and black frost, digi con, etc. and what did you think of them? Do you have a favorite situation(shot or whole project) in which you used one? Is using such filtering preferred by you instead of letting visual fx or the DI doing something along their pipeline?

thanks!
~Sarah
 
I bought a set of Schneider classic softs (1/8, 1/4, 1/2 & 1) I have to say they are very subtle but effective for cleaning up facial lines and imperfections. I've yet to try the Digi-cons but I hear they do wonders for the F900. Apparently the #1 is best for that camera. It's certainly worth a test.
 
Some of those filters you mentioned are diffusion filters that also lower contrast, as opposed to just contrast-lowering filters. It's a blurry distinction, I know.

I've used light ProMists (regular) or GlimmerGlass diffusion filters because they also lower contrast (compared to the "black" versions of many frost filters that counteract some of the contrast loss by using black dots or specks.) So I get both some softening and some contrast lowering.

I haven't used straight contrast-lowering filters in HD, ones that aren't supposed to also soften detail, like UltraCons or DigiCons.

I like some light lens diffusion because I don't feel like processing every shot in post just to get some mild halation around lights and hot highlights, not when it is so easy to just use a filter when you want that effect.

Right now, I'm using the Schneider Classic Blacks, which are a combination of a 1/8 Black Frost to whatever degree of Classic Soft you pick, so you get a little more halation compared to straight Classic Softs.
 
David, what grades of the Classic soft filters do you find you use the most with the Red. Do you think the set I mentioned before (1/8-1) is sufficient? I have only used them a few times so I haven't really felt them lacking... yet:)
 
This is lovely info, thanks guys! I've enjoyed thinking on it all day. :) I'd imagine that the final effect of any filter(especially contrast-related) would be influenced by the type of camera/lens used and the way the scene is lit. I wonder if you've noticed any significant difference in using such filters under various color temps and light sources(tungsten vs. HMI vs. daylight)? Of course I know, if I ever get around to shooting again I'll have to test a group of filters against the camera and lenses I'll be working with. Your 1/2 might be my 1/4.. kinda thing...

thanks again! I very much enjoy this thread and discussion.

~Sarah
 
I tend to use a diffusion filter that is one grade lighter than the one I think I like, just to play it safe. So if I like the look of the 1/2 Classic Soft, I'll probably opt for the 1/4 Classic Soft, etc.

Anyway, I tend to only use the light grades. In Classic Soft or Classic Black, a 1/2 is the strongest I've ever used, and I'm more likely to just use the 1/8 for medium shots and a 1/4 for close-ups.

I also like the lightest grades of ProMist (1/8), Soft-FX (1/2), and GlimmerGlass (1).
 
Filters...

Filters...

David:

What filters do you keep with you on set and why? Is there particular brands that you appreciate more? Thanks in advance.

Nick.
 
I'm not particular to one brand.

There are the basics: ND's, 85's, Polas, plus ND grads, diopters, optical flat...

Then diffusion of some sort, it just depends on the project. I like the new Schneider Classic Blacks a lot, I also like Tiffen GlimmerGlass.
 
Dear David,

Is there anyway with RED ONE that allow us to shoot with a 4K sensor size image, and have a 2K image recorded on the RED DRIVE
Something like what is is called "4K scaled for 2K record"

Our problem is we have a corporate video which may have multi cameras shoot of 50 hours of materials, and they need to post quickly, final release resolution is expected to be 1280x 720 only

Many Thanks
Percy Fung
Digital Magic, Hong Kong
www.digitalmagic.com.hk
 
Light meters

Light meters

Hey David,

So I've unfortunately have had my light meter stolen during a shoot and other equipment with it. I've had two meters disappear on me, must be bad luck. Both meters being sekonic dual meters (incident and spot). I'm looking to buy separate meters for both this time around. I'm thinking abut a spectra-cine IV-A for incident and a pentax digital spotmeter. Would you say this is a good setup? I would also like to hear your recommendation on other meters.

What do you use?

Thanks,
Sing
 
Hey, I have a question about outdoor lighting. I always feel a need for more control then some bounce allows me. If I where to say, throw up a big silk or two overhead, would that also dim the ambient sunlight enough to the point where other lights I add actually do something?
 
I think it really depends on the size of your light and how wide the shot is. My personal preference is if I have the space I'll go with the bigger instrument because I can always back it off or cut it down via scrims, silks, etc. I find it with bigger instruments it doesn't seem as sourcey since you can back it off, plus you can only stretch a small instrument so far. This is my opinion though, I'm sure David or anyone else have their own ways of doing this.
 
Yes, overheads will cut the amount of light depending on their density and distance to the subject as well. Hence why you carry different strengths. You can also add a scrim to the silk to cut the light level down further. You can even float a smaller black solid right above the actor as well as the bigger silk, or you can use a big solid - it all depends on how much natural light you want to soften and reduce in intensity to balance with your lights.

It also depends on what your goal is in terms of lighting -- for example, are you trying to make hard sunlight look like overcast? Are you trying to completely change the nature of the time of day and turn noontime into sunset, etc.? That determines your approach.

The main problem is often where to hide your stands for the frame, or whether to hang it from a condor crane, how to deal with wind, and what the background looks like that is not getting covered.

I often clip leafy tree limbs to the edges of a big silk so that at least the shadow edge that may appear on the ground or a wall, or when an actor walks past the edge, has a broken-up leaf pattern like from the shade of a tree rather than the pattern of a metal frame with a cloth tied to it.
 
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