Black Narcissus here on YouTube (rent the DVD) is an example of great editing, which I prefer instead of the jumpy editing of today.
notice the reply below the video: the fabulous scenery is all mattes, on glass! It was all shot in the studio, in the Greater London area, and the only 'location' work was in someone's local suburban garden.
Showing posts with label nugget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nugget. Show all posts
Friday, June 8, 2007
Lenses for a look like Children of Men
Another important nugget I compiled by David Mullen, ASC:
David, I was really impressed with the look of Children of Men, and read that the DP used very little in the way of movie lights. In my upcoming feature I would love to get away with minimal production lights and go for a more realistic, documentary feel, yet still maintain a "filmic" quality. There will be many day interiors, some outside day and night, and a few low light interiors, including hallways.
Given the speed (t3) of the 18-50 red zoom, which I plan to use shooting mostly on the shoulder, how realistic is it to assume I can get away with mostly available light? Particularly if I want shallow DOF on occasion with wider lenses...
Being able to move quickly and shoot a lot of set ups each day with a small crew is a factor as well. (not to mention budget)
Thanks in advance!
thinkbug
David Mullen ASC:
T/3 is a bit slow for low-light work, unless you are willing to live with some noise from underexposing and having the brighten the image in post. You can gain another stop of speed by turning off the shutter (360 instead of 180) but with an attendent increase in motion smear which some find to be very video-ish (see some of the action scenes in "Apocalypto" for an example.) You can also gain exposure by undercranking, but then you have motion problems.
If you are determined to use very low levels of available light, like for night exteriors or candlelight scenes, you should get some high-speed lenses (T/2 and faster.)
For day interiors, T/3 is probably fast enough most of the time. And well-lit night interiors.
__________________
David Mullen, ASC
Los Angeles
David, I was really impressed with the look of Children of Men, and read that the DP used very little in the way of movie lights. In my upcoming feature I would love to get away with minimal production lights and go for a more realistic, documentary feel, yet still maintain a "filmic" quality. There will be many day interiors, some outside day and night, and a few low light interiors, including hallways.
Given the speed (t3) of the 18-50 red zoom, which I plan to use shooting mostly on the shoulder, how realistic is it to assume I can get away with mostly available light? Particularly if I want shallow DOF on occasion with wider lenses...
Being able to move quickly and shoot a lot of set ups each day with a small crew is a factor as well. (not to mention budget)
Thanks in advance!
thinkbug
David Mullen ASC:
T/3 is a bit slow for low-light work, unless you are willing to live with some noise from underexposing and having the brighten the image in post. You can gain another stop of speed by turning off the shutter (360 instead of 180) but with an attendent increase in motion smear which some find to be very video-ish (see some of the action scenes in "Apocalypto" for an example.) You can also gain exposure by undercranking, but then you have motion problems.
If you are determined to use very low levels of available light, like for night exteriors or candlelight scenes, you should get some high-speed lenses (T/2 and faster.)
For day interiors, T/3 is probably fast enough most of the time. And well-lit night interiors.
__________________
David Mullen, ASC
Los Angeles
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Directing methods
From David Mullen, ASC:
Just a description of some of the styles of directing I've come across, regarding being organized:
One director drew his own storyboard on index cards, white for day and blue cards for night scenes. At the start of the day, he'd lay out all the cards and we'd shuffle them around in what we (the AD, DP, and director) thought was the best order. The director would label some cards as less important than others (some he would tear-up right on the spot). During the day, he kept the cards on a metal binder ring on his belt loop and would flip through them, crossing off the ones we finished.
I've done a number of movies where the director and I would sit down and draw up a shot list for the week's work, for each day, and try and put them in shooting order. This was a quick way of seeing if the days were balanced properly, that we didn't have an excessively heavy day that perhaps could be re-organized, a scene moved to another day. I've even done a shot list for an entire feature during prep, but that's almost too much work.
When I did my first feature, I asked Allen Daviau, ASC for some advice and he said "Know your first week backwards and forwards." It's the best advice I've ever gotten. After the first week, you fall more into a groove where you can deal with upcoming work and know how long things take to do with this particular cast and crew, but it's great if you start the shoot out running, and know where you want to be minute by minute during the day, know exactly how you want to shoot every scene, etc. It also impresses the crew and cast when they see how organized the director and DP are and sets the right tone. By the end of the shoot, though, you are more in a reactive phase where you are picking up the pieces of what's still missing, etc.
On the TV series I just did, I worked with seven directors and they were all very different in style and temperament.
One director used little Post-It notes on his script for storyboarded shots and ideas, so he could transfer his notes to each draft of the script that came along. Other directors would email me and the AD a shot list for the next day's work. With the alternating DP approach, I could walk all the sets and locations with the new director a few days before the shoot began, and plot out how we were going to shoot each scene. But some directors didn't want to be nailed down too much, and some directors wanted more time to think. I had one director who wanted the key people on the scouts (DP, production designer, AD) to be quiet for stretches of time and just contemplate the location, rather than spit-out ideas quickly. Other directors would just march into a new location and start saying "the camera goes here and then here..." immediately without discussion.
I have worked with very inexperienced directors too -- I remember one guy who would constantly ask me whether we should cut the camera once the scene was over and the actors had left the frame and we were rolling on a blank wall for a minute. And then ask me what we were doing next. But when it came to talk to the actors about performance or story, he was one of the best directors I've ever seen at work.
__________________
David Mullen, ASC
Los Angeles
Just a description of some of the styles of directing I've come across, regarding being organized:
One director drew his own storyboard on index cards, white for day and blue cards for night scenes. At the start of the day, he'd lay out all the cards and we'd shuffle them around in what we (the AD, DP, and director) thought was the best order. The director would label some cards as less important than others (some he would tear-up right on the spot). During the day, he kept the cards on a metal binder ring on his belt loop and would flip through them, crossing off the ones we finished.
I've done a number of movies where the director and I would sit down and draw up a shot list for the week's work, for each day, and try and put them in shooting order. This was a quick way of seeing if the days were balanced properly, that we didn't have an excessively heavy day that perhaps could be re-organized, a scene moved to another day. I've even done a shot list for an entire feature during prep, but that's almost too much work.
When I did my first feature, I asked Allen Daviau, ASC for some advice and he said "Know your first week backwards and forwards." It's the best advice I've ever gotten. After the first week, you fall more into a groove where you can deal with upcoming work and know how long things take to do with this particular cast and crew, but it's great if you start the shoot out running, and know where you want to be minute by minute during the day, know exactly how you want to shoot every scene, etc. It also impresses the crew and cast when they see how organized the director and DP are and sets the right tone. By the end of the shoot, though, you are more in a reactive phase where you are picking up the pieces of what's still missing, etc.
On the TV series I just did, I worked with seven directors and they were all very different in style and temperament.
One director used little Post-It notes on his script for storyboarded shots and ideas, so he could transfer his notes to each draft of the script that came along. Other directors would email me and the AD a shot list for the next day's work. With the alternating DP approach, I could walk all the sets and locations with the new director a few days before the shoot began, and plot out how we were going to shoot each scene. But some directors didn't want to be nailed down too much, and some directors wanted more time to think. I had one director who wanted the key people on the scouts (DP, production designer, AD) to be quiet for stretches of time and just contemplate the location, rather than spit-out ideas quickly. Other directors would just march into a new location and start saying "the camera goes here and then here..." immediately without discussion.
I have worked with very inexperienced directors too -- I remember one guy who would constantly ask me whether we should cut the camera once the scene was over and the actors had left the frame and we were rolling on a blank wall for a minute. And then ask me what we were doing next. But when it came to talk to the actors about performance or story, he was one of the best directors I've ever seen at work.
__________________
David Mullen, ASC
Los Angeles
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
tips for shooting
Most people know this but forget:
1. Shoot into the sun--directly into it. Having someone backlit by the sun can really make things look dreamy and it will greatly improve your production value.
We just shot a video for Element Skateboards last night and the best footage was the backlit stuff. I'll post it here as soon as we're done editing it.
2. Use uninflected photography: make a shot of a spoon a spoon! Not a whip pan-dolley-zoom! Steady shots look so much more pro.
3. And Please! Please! Invest in a good tripod--one with a fluid head. They're around $400.
1. Shoot into the sun--directly into it. Having someone backlit by the sun can really make things look dreamy and it will greatly improve your production value.
We just shot a video for Element Skateboards last night and the best footage was the backlit stuff. I'll post it here as soon as we're done editing it.
2. Use uninflected photography: make a shot of a spoon a spoon! Not a whip pan-dolley-zoom! Steady shots look so much more pro.
3. And Please! Please! Invest in a good tripod--one with a fluid head. They're around $400.
Monday, June 4, 2007
cool tip
While I'm thinking about it:
1. Every day, spend time visualizing your film. Both making it and the film itself.
A big part of it is making it. Think of it as a lifestyle.
2. Keep it as small as possible. If you've never made a film before, try to have as few people on set as possible. Too many people can clutter an already cluttered mind. It will get real cluttered on set. But the more films you make, the better you'll get at this. If you are swarmed with people everywhere, I've noticed its alot harder to focus, obviously. Thinking small early on will pay huuuuuuuuuge dividends when you're on bigger projects.
1. Every day, spend time visualizing your film. Both making it and the film itself.
A big part of it is making it. Think of it as a lifestyle.
2. Keep it as small as possible. If you've never made a film before, try to have as few people on set as possible. Too many people can clutter an already cluttered mind. It will get real cluttered on set. But the more films you make, the better you'll get at this. If you are swarmed with people everywhere, I've noticed its alot harder to focus, obviously. Thinking small early on will pay huuuuuuuuuge dividends when you're on bigger projects.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Bizrro is the best character ever, and a great inspiration for me and my films. Check out this amazing wikipedia page about him.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarro
you may never see your influence
Teach others along the way. You may die a penniless miserable artist, but who cares?
Worrying about the sharks?
No you're not. Don't worry about getting screwed in the industry. Trust your instincts. Don't agree to a deal where you feel over your head. Get a lawyer instead.
freeze the moment
An actor of mine once told me after a good screening, "No matter what ever happens from here on out the rest of my life, I'll always have that moment. Thanks." That moment where everyone is enjoying them on the silver screen. Moments like that are addictive. It seems so easy.
procrastinator!
What do you need to get started working on your film RIGHT NOW?
A camera.
Something to point it at.
Do it!
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