Ask David Mullen ANYTHING

[David Mullen ASC]

Here are some frames from my movies where I used a Smoque filter:







It's similar to a Double Fog or a heavy UltraCon -- doesn't cut sharpness too much, creates a haze around light sources, the main problem is if you pan off of the light sources or someone crosses the frame and blocks them, the smoke effect disappears. So it's not a cure-all, but it's a useful filter for when you can't smoke a shot in a scene, or want an insert to look more like the fogged wide shot.

[David Mullen ASC]

I've only shot four features in anamorphic and all of them used Panavision Primo anamorphics, which are HUGE but very sharp. The 50mm Primo anamorphic prime is almost the size and weight of a 24-290 Optimo zoom, so you need to carry a few C-Series anamorphics for steadicam or handheld shots, though I've done those on an E-series as well.

[Jon Chema]

Thanks so much David! Looks like the Smoque filter could be a very useful filter to own.

[J Davis]

were the pics above a number smoque #1 ?

[Peter Mosiman]

I recently AC-d a shoot that was shooting with the Red MX and some older Lomo Anamorphic lenses (the square element ones). We were very unhappy with the edge to edge sharpness and overall lenses in general and wish we would have used something else. In your opinion what anamorphic lens set is normally your go to? I've heard several opinions on this but Hawks seem to be the most talked about.

What stop were you guys shooting at?

[David Mullen ASC]

were the pics above a number smoque #1 ?

Yes.

[Julie K]

Hi David- I have an upcoming doc interview shoot in a small planetarium. Our main camera will be the 5D - because the director wants the 5D look. We'll also have another camera, but I'm having a hard time determining what camera will work in such a dark space. I shot some tests and had to be at 640ASA at a T2 to get a good exposure for the images on the planetarium dome. This is fine for the 5D, but I'm wondering what other cameras out there will be light sensitive enough for this shoot. We can't go with a Red or Alexa because our budget doesn't allow for those, and we would like a camera with greater depth of field than the 5D or 7D. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help!

[Jon Chema]

What stop were you guys shooting at?

Varied, but mainly tried to keep it at T4. Even at T4 it was a bit soft...

[Jon Chema]

Yes.

Those shots are beautiful! The effect seems to be great when used subtly.

[daanin]

hello again sire,..
Recently watched The ring,..its a pity I came to this film this late,..(considering my cyan fetish),...Im guessing,.. considering the work (look/compositions/movement everything) done on this film that its sure to have been talked about,..
I found asc article on ring two but nothing on mr bojan bazelli,..so heres a request if any one is aware and would kindly guide me to it,...or the maestro here could shed some light on the look of this film,.. himself.
thanks again.