Providing Color Continuity
Dan Mulligan
Director of Photography, Evesham, UK
Starting as a film camera assistant, Dan Mulligan
progressed to camera operator and finally cinematography. As a Director
or Photography, Dan found himself increasingly involved with digital
technologies. Now he runs his own company, Rogue Element Films, which
specializes in digital cinematography and consulting for full 4:4:4
image capture workflows.
"I suppose I'm seen as a D-Cinema specialist. Besides my
own cinematography, I'm also hired to help make sure that someone's
digital setup is done properly. The thing with digital is that there's a
lot to know, but since my own background is in film, I find I am able to
explain digital workflows to other DPs.
"I used SpeedGrade OnSet every day on Last of the
Summer, the first BBC show to be shot on a Viper. It allowed us to
quickly check different color temperatures. Basically, it gave us a tool
to see what we were going to do with the image. I enjoy working with
digital because it gives me a lot of room to control the image while on
set helping color continuity into Post."
"I find the new version of SpeedGrade OnSet more
user-friendly. I like being able to do a simple grade quickly. I can
always do more complex grading if I need to, but often that's not
necessary, so the 2006 version is more efficient in that sense. I like
the split-view function: it's so simple but it really helps to be able
to compare the before and after."
Dan has his own opinions on color workflows. "I feel
that LUTs are somewhat overrated in the industry: made into something
more complicated than they need to be. It's not alchemy! They really are
pretty simple things to use, especially with a tool like SpeedGrade
OnSet."
As a consultant, Dan spends a lot of his time explaining
the ins and outs of digital workflows to other cinematographers.
"SpeedGrade OnSet is very encouraging for DPs with a film background;
it makes digital technologies much more accessible to them.
"The thing I like most with digital workflow is being
able to leave the set each day feeling I've done the very best job I
can, and knowing I have it all in the can"
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