Big Love: Season Two

[David Mullen ASC]

For anyone with HBO, check it out.

 

I shot Episodes 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12. I think they may be airing Episode 3 tonight.

[Phil Rhodes]

I'm sure I'll be able to see it in about 2040.

 

Phil

[Robert Houllahan]

For anyone with HBO, check it out.

 

I shot Episodes 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12. I think they may be airing Episode 3 tonight.

 

 

I think the show is great makes me want to have 2 or 3 girlfriends! :blink:

 

-Rob-

[Marc Alucard]

Hello David,

 

Episode two looked great.

 

There was more interesting camera movement in this episode than in the entire first season.

 

I really liked the lighting during the conversation Barb and Nicki had on the edge of the pool. The light reflected towards Chloe Sevigny's face was awesome.

 

Looking forward to tonight's episode!

 

Cheers,

Marc

[Andy_Alderslade]

I'm sure I'll be able to see it in about 2040.

 

Phil

 

Or when Channel Five decided to air it one of their obscure digital channels, 'sigh'....

 

Been waiting a long time for the resolution of lasts seasons cliff hanger.

[Dan Goulder]

For anyone with HBO, check it out.

 

I shot Episodes 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12. I think they may be airing Episode 3 tonight.

It looks quite good, definitely more of a 'cinematic' style than last season. They also showed you behind the scenes on a 'making of' special. Your adherence to strong top lighting definitely emphasizes some fine heads of hair. This approach works well. When using strong top or back lighting, how do you light and expose faces? Thanks.

[David Mullen ASC]

To fake sunlight on the stage, I make the backlight as strong as I can and then just meter for the soft light on the face, either shooting at that exposure, or a half to one stop underexposed. The Expression 500T stock holds a lot of overexposure detail so I expose more for the shade.

[Alex Wuijts]

They're showing it in The Netherlands right now, but it just started, we're in the Alsobrook stage. I was showing off to my one and only girlfriend about how I saw the exterior yard shots were shot in a studio, but I didn't realize how it related to that whole thread you started here a while ago, so that's very interesting. Hope it'll be on tv long enough to see how you handled it.

[Brad Grimmett]

David,

I just watched the most recent episode yesterday and I thought it looked great. I loved the split diopter shot, and I thought the lighting in that scene was beautiful. It was an important moment in the series for the Margene character and I thought the cinematography supported it wonderfully. Bravo! I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

[David Mullen ASC]

David,

I just watched the most recent episode yesterday and I thought it looked great. I loved the split diopter shot, and I thought the lighting in that scene was beautiful. It was an important moment in the series for the Margene character and I thought the cinematography supported it wonderfully. Bravo! I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.

 

Thanks -- that was actually a 45mm tilt-focus lens. Episode 3 director Alan Poul produced "Six Feet Under" and that was a common device on that show. I carried it around for a few more episodes but none of the other directors were interested in the effect so I sent it back.

[Jon Rosenbloom]

Do you have any control over the locations, or do they just bring you on the scout and tell you to figure it out?

 

How many days per episode?

[David Mullen ASC]

Do you have any control over the locations, or do they just bring you on the scout and tell you to figure it out?

 

How many days per episode?

 

About 11 days per episode (10 with the main unit, then a day of splinter unit stuff), but remember we're shooting for a full hour with no commercials.

 

The locations person takes us to possible locations during prep (me, the episode director, and production designer, line producer); hopefully we get some options to look at.

[David Mullen ASC]

I'm sitting right now in a hotel room and noticing that my TV has HBO -- they just played a trailer for Episode 5 tonight, which I shot. Strange to see something I shot on TV. And the in-room movie service has a trailer for "Astronaut Farmer" (which comes out on DVD tomorrow.)

[Xavier Plaza]

I'm sitting right now in a hotel room and noticing that my TV has HBO -- they just played a trailer for Episode 5 tonight, which I shot. Strange to see something I shot on TV. And the in-room movie service has a trailer for "Astronaut Farmer" (which comes out on DVD tomorrow.)

 

That's mean something very good, don't you think...???

[Andy_Alderslade]

About 11 days per episode (10 with the main unit, then a day of splinter unit stuff), but remember we're shooting for a full hour with no commercials.

 

Thats genuinely impressive that you manage to shoot a full hour episode in 10 days, considering the quality of this show.

 

Here in the UK an hours episode of BBCs Casualty is shot in 10 days, and that show is made in Digibeta. It really makes you question the myth that video is faster to shoot than video.

 

I presume your sticking religiously to 12 hours days, I hear that overtime rate is extremely high and productions avoid it at all costs?

[David Mullen ASC]

I presume your sticking religiously to 12 hours days, I hear that overtime rate is extremely high and productions avoid it at all costs?

 

We avoided overtime generally.