M. David Mullen & The Astronaut Farmer in AC

[Matthew Buick]

I love grain, it gives the film personality, I can't stand the way people have this stigma against grain, that it automatically deems the movie unwatchable, I think the level of grain on optically printed 5247 is one of the most beautiful thing ever.

[thomas-english]

I am very much looking forward to watching this, looks lovely! Well done

[Matthew Buick]

My whole family was stunned, my mother gained more interest in cinematography from those two glorious minutes than she ever has from my shoddy works. :(

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

Just read the AC article today, very nice. It did end a little abruptly, plus for us "Cinematography.commers" there really wasn't much anything new. Still, it must be an honor to be mentioned in an issue that has elaborate write-ups on both Ballhaus & Nykvist.

 

:)

[Michael Nash]

I've viewed the 1080P trailer in real size on a 21" iMac, and the bit of "texture" that's similar to film grain looks like artifacts of video compression to me. It's very fine compression, which makes it appear a little like 35mm grain. Very subtle, and hardly distracting, at least to me.

 

David, beautiful work! You make it look so easy, yet from your blog you obviously had logistic difficulties to deal with. Same for Akeelah, BTW -- excellent quality throughout despite scheduling troubles, etc.

 

Was there any color filtration used? I haven't read the AC article yet, and I didn't see anything in the blog here about that. There seems a slight Antique Suede color to many of the scenes; was that done in DI?

[David Mullen ASC]

On one day exterior scene I added an 81EF on daylight-balanced stock for a warm look, but that was it. Otherwise, the warmth was all from timing or from lighting gels.

[Matthew Buick]

your blog

 

 

HE HAD A BLOG!!!!

 

Aw, man, I wish I'd read that, I'll be keeping one for ''Sacred Mushroom''.

 

I added an 81EF on daylight-balanced stock for a warm look,

 

Wow, I REALLY need one of those, where might they be found.

 

Also, is there a filter that gives a particularly cold look?

[David Mullen ASC]

There are plenty of filters that add a warm look, some stronger than others, some more yellowish or reddish, etc. The Coral series is popular for that. An 81EF is similar to a #1/2 or #1 Coral. There are lighter shades like 81B, 81C, etc.

 

You can get the small screw-in filters in the 81 series in almost any camera shop. Read this:

 

From the Tiffen website:

81 Series

The 81 series filters are useful with daylight corrected film in cool light conditions. As letters advance, density and warmth increases.

 

81A, 81B, 81C, & 81EF

 

* Creates warmer tones and brighter colors on overcast days or when shooting with electronic flash

* Great for improving flesh tones

* 81A converts tungsten 3200 K film to 3400 K lighting

 

The blue version is the 82 series:

 

82 Series

These light balancing filters are used to make minor corrections in color temperature.

 

82A, 82B

 

* Reduces unnatural red tones in early morning or late afternoon light

* Prevents reddish cast

* Maintains natural flesh tones

* Can create mood of coolness

* 82A provides a cooler effect with tungsten film under 3200 K lamps

 

There are also the orange 85 filter series and the blue 80 filter series.

 

http://www.tiffen.com/results.html?search_...format=Screw-In

[Kenny N Suleimanagich]

There are also the orange 85 filter series and the blue 80 filter series.

 

The 85 and 80 filters work miracles, especially the ones Tiffen makes. How do you feel about using the 80 at night to get an overexaggerated moonlight blue. Like in a forest or something.

[Matthew Buick]

WOW!!!!

 

Thank you, David. ;)

[Sam Kim]

... the movie is not particularly grainy since I shot it in 35mm anamorphic and rated the stocks 2/3's of a stop slower than normal...

 

...interior scenes were smoked...

 

 

Curious, I've learned to always overexpose by at least 1/3 of a stop when shooting and I was wondering if there was a standard practice you apply to on that.

 

Also, when using smoke, I also noticed you did this on that small indie, under 1 mil $, a lot of blue light movie you recently shot, what kind of smoke are you using? I've used fog machines that were water based but I personally was never happy with the results. Do you use oil based?

[David Mullen ASC]

Most indoor foggers are water-based, mixed with something else (glycol?) The best are "hazemakers" that put out a fine mist rather than Roscoe "party foggers" that put out clouds of smoke -- both work, you'll just have to spend more time wafting a flag through the cloud to spread it around. I think the "fog juice" being used by either is similar.

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

Hey David,

 

Saw the film today, very well done. Not only was your work spectacular, but also the 2nd unit B-roll stuff was equally as gorgeous. I can tell you had a great crew behind you.

 

Fantastic job lighting the rocket as well, I loved the streaked light reflections running all the way up it. I was curious what your method was for achieving that. I assume they were just lights on the side reflecting off the rocket and back at the camera, but what lighting equipment was used, if you don't mind my asking?

 

The one shot that stands out in my mind is of Bruce Dern in bed, this locked down shot was like looking at a classic painting.

 

Anyway, I can't praise you enough.

 

Fantastic story as well, the "feel good" movie of the year :)

[David Mullen ASC]

In my research, I came across this night photo of the Atlas rocket parked in the vehicle assembly building:

 

I later found the same photo in color, with a warm golden cast from all the lightbulbs lighting the rocket.

 

So I asked the art department to put tungsten worklamps in vertical rows along the telephone posts that supported the barn set, the poles on each side of the rocket. These basically illuminated the rocket for me. I usually had to spot a light in at the top of the rocket, because of the black Mercury capsule on top. For day scenes, there was usually a soft HMI light coming through a window too.

 

Thanks for seeing the movie. That wide shot of Bruce Dern lying in bed was shot with a Smoque filter, to appease Virginia Madsen, who was getting tired by breathing smoke during all the interior day scenes (I was getting tired of it too, actually, so it's not like her request was unreasonable.) The filter created this haze coming from the right side of the frame where the windows were.

[Greg Gross]

I cannot wait to see the film! Hoping to see it soon. David if you are

around could you please talk about the lens you used on the camera

for the scene where the family is all together at the table. I loved the

close-ups of the kids and the way Billy Thorton was lit. The camera an-

gles were fantastic. I saw this scene on the trailer this evening. I am so

damn excited because I'm watching you progress in your art and craft.

Best wishes for the film sir! Did you use Panavision lenses?

 

Greg Gross

 

Hey Freddie,

Have you seen the trailer? If not please get on the site and take a peek

at it. This is the stuff that cinematographers talk about.

 

Greg Gross

[David Mullen ASC]

There must be at least five scenes of the family around that small kitchen dinner table... and one around the formal dinner table. The movie was shot on Panavision Primo anamorphics, except for anything longer than 100mm, which would have been an E-Series anamorphic lens. Day interior scenes were shot on Fuji F-250D and the night scenes on Eterna 500T.

[Greg Gross]

Thank you so much David for replying about the scene at the table.

I plan on seeing the film soon. I sort of thought that you shot it with

Panavisions but was not sure.

 

Greg Gross

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

Thanks for seeing the movie. That wide shot of Bruce Dern lying in bed was shot with a Smoque filter, to appease Virginia Madsen, who was getting tired by breathing smoke during all the interior day scenes (I was getting tired of it too, actually, so it's not like her request was unreasonable.) The filter created this haze coming from the right side of the frame where the windows were.

 

Interesting, I'll have to try that myself in some tests and see if I can use it in the future. It definitely looked great on screen. Thanks!

[Kevin Zanit]

Just got home from seeing it. Great work David! Looked fantastic, and was a fun, well done movie.

 

The stuff with them talking by the pond/ lake with the yellow and then green tree looked really nice, a lot of your work on this movie should help your commercial reel quite a bit :D

 

Kevin Zanit

[freddie bonfanti]

Hey Freddie,

Have you seen the trailer? If not please get on the site and take a peek

at it. This is the stuff that cinematographers talk about.

 

im not quite sure what you mean here...if its about me complaining before about how sometimes some individuals of this forum frustrate me dont worry, it was just one of those moments, i shouldve kept it with me...

i have indeed seen the trailer and i always follow David's work, which is higly inspirational for me.

 

all the best

[Greg Gross]

Okay Freddie,

Thats okay I was'nt picking and I thought maybe you had not seen the

trailer. I'm just so excited from following David and watching him pro-

gress in his art and craft. Best regards Freddie.

 

Greg Gross

[Hal Smith]

David,

 

I saw it yesterday, nice movie - some of the plot twists seemed a bit forced but overall a good afternoon at the theater. One advantage of seeing it at the locally owned small multiplex? They're going to save the one-sheet for me when it closes.

 

The photography (of course) is gorgeous. Living in Oklahoma I can tell you that the outdoor photography absolutely nails the "look" of this part of the country. The interior shots looking into bright lights, areas, etc. really capture what things actually look like to my eyes.

 

How did you set up the bar scene with its saturated colors and play of light and shadow? All in the camera or "tweaked" in post? Did you use a different film stock? I'd like to see someone hire you to shoot a film where that look would be the dominant one. Maybe a big city detective thriller or something like that.

[David Mullen ASC]

How did you set up the bar scene with its saturated colors and play of light and shadow? All in the camera or "tweaked" in post? Did you use a different film stock?

 

Well, when you do a D.I., everything is tweaked to some extent, but I didn't have to goose up the color in that scene since I lit it with red-gelled lights and we strung red Christmas tree lights around the bar. I tried to key the faces though with a half-orange light instead of red. It was more an issue of having to shoot near wide-open on anamorphic lenses to get the Christmas tree lights to read more brightly. I may have even pushed that scene one-stop. It was Fuji Eterna 500T.

[Hal Smith]

Well, when you do a D.I., everything is tweaked to some extent, but I didn't have to goose up the color in that scene since I lit it with red-gelled lights.............I may have even pushed that scene one-stop. It was Fuji Eterna 500T.

Thank you. Is the Eterna 500T capable of as much color saturation in greens and blues?

[David Mullen ASC]

Thank you. Is the Eterna 500T capable of as much color saturation in greens and blues?

 

In normal situations, you'd find Eterna to be slightly more pastel than Kodak Vision 5218, more like the color pallette of Expression 500T but less grainy than that stock. It's just that in this case, you're talking about a scene lit with colored lighting.

 

The exteriors were shot on Fuji F-64D, which is more saturated & contrasty than Eterna. But in the D.I., we made the Eterna stocks look a little more contrasty to match the look of the older Super-F series stocks.