Chris Saul

I'm going to shoot a low budget feature in a few weeks and I'm thinking of shooting it on the 5D in Ananmorphic. I was wondering if anybody has experience with this or knows someone who does. I want to know if anybody has recommendations for lens support and if anybody has a way to fit the Panavision follow focus to the 5D? I would love to learn about any bit of advice. Thanks! info@chrissaul.com

I'm doing a project on 35mm 5229 stock and I have a scene where I have a window as the main source and I want it to bloom. I want it to have a creamy glowy feel. What are some filters that are recommended in order to do this? An example of this is in Kill Bill Vol. 1. Robert Richardson does this in the Kitchen scene when Black Mamba seeks revenge. Is this more of a post process? Any suggestions would be great!

I love the quality of Helium balloon lights but as a student they are too expensive to rent. Is there a poor mans version of this. I want something like a china ball but alot larger.

I'm shooting a spec commercial at my school and we are using an old 35mm hand crank camera from the 20's. It's been serviced and it works. I wanted to know what speed I need to crank and what techniques I can do to make it look like it was shot in the 20's. Can I crank to a metronome?

I'm shooting a project on green screen next month of a guy riding a motorcycle. I have no experience with emulating traffic lights and city lights passing by. Whats the best way to go about doing this. Can I pan the lights or do I have to track the lights? Are there a few different types of rigs I could use? Thanks!

I'm shooting at night in a garden on the Red and I only have access to two 1200 HMI pars. The character is walking with a lantern. I'm looking for a lantern strong enough to light the actor and a little around. Does anybody have any suggestions. I was thinking of using a butane campers latern. It's suppose to be an old fashioned style lantern. Thanks,

I'm shooting a film in a laundry mat and the director wants to do a bleach bypass on the negative. He can't afford a DI so we are going to do it the old fashioned way. He wants the colors to be saturated. How do I expose the film, will the colors be saturated and if so how do I make it saturated and is there anything I should be aware of?

I just put together my website and reel and I would love to have it critiqued. www.chrissaul.com ( on the cinematography page go to the montage button) Thanks!

I'm shooting a block of ice and I really want the texture to show and I want it to glisten. It's supposed to be melting by a large ray of light coming through a window in a dark room. What's my best angle of light for this. Also part of the scene will be done with a fake block of ice, how can I make the fake block of ice look real?

I want to get a 2k xenon light. I usually get my lighting from wooden nickel but I didn't see this type of light on their website. Does anybody have any recommendations on where a good place to rent a xenon light or any HMI's?

Thanks David. It's so great of you to take the time to share your wisdom. Also you came to my Cinematography class at Cal State Northridge last year which was great as well. Thanks.

I'm shooting a dark room and I need a strong shaft of light coming through the window. I'm using a putt putt generator and I was wondering what would be the best HMI light for the job and also what would be a good hazer to get? Also I'm following someone down a long tunnel that has skylights but I wanted some fill on the face of my actor while in the shadows. Is there a good light for this, that is battery operated? Thanks!

I just saw Iron Man and there is a night scene where the street vapor lights are blue. What filters do you add on camera and what filters would you add on your lights you use to light the talent with? If you have the gel recipes for both tungsten and HMI that would be great!

Thanks for the great advice! We were thinking that her key light would be from the headlights. Should I just diffuse one big light source or should I get two lights and place them as if they are headlights? For the moonlight I have a 9light maxi brute with medium bulbs, Is that okay or should I get something larger like an 18kHMI? As for lighting her with a key light does it matter if I diffuse fresnel or open face lights, is there a standard? Thanks for all the great info!

I'm a film student and I'm going to shoot a 35mm spec commercial for Victoria's Secrete. The director wants it to have a horror film look. The story is about a couple that goes to a make out point, it's a full moon and a werewolf comes out of the forest. The girl in the passenger side of the car gets out and starts dancing in front of the werewolf and she turns out to be a werewolf herself. Could I get some pointers on how to give it that Victoria's Secrete look and the horror look. What lens should I use for her getting out of the car, and dancing? What specific lights and the position of them? She's suppose to be lit by headlights. I'm a beginner filmmaker, but I have this opportunity to shoot this great project. Should I use a soft focus filter on the lens for the shots of the girl? For slow motion, what's a good speed? I pretty much want to know everything that could make it look great. Thanks

I am shooting a scene at night. The street is filled with vapor lights and under the lights I get a T1.3 on my meter. I would like to add some moonlight but would like to know the best way to make it realistic with the vapor lights. I'm trying to come up with a resolution to have a good strong backlight. Does anybody have some helpful advice for a student and what light I should use and the cheapest crane for my light? Thanks

This is a scene from the 2nd season of Lost. I was wondering by looking at this shot, what gel combinations the DP used to get this look?

I am doing a short student film, shooting 35mm, and using the new vision 3 stock. I wanted some gel recipes, all styles, motivated by street lights and business lights so I can get some ideas. The film is about gangs and tagging in East LA. There is a specific scene in the second season of the show Lost when Anna Lucia, the ex-cop has a flash back of killing the guy who tried to murder her. It was a parking lot with a green and orange look. Does anybody remember that scene and could give me an idea of what filters were used?

I need to light a 50 yard long alley at night but I don't have much of a budget. I'm going to use the new vision3 500T and super speed primes. I was wondering if I could light it with some Maxi brutes 12 pars and If it would work how many? I'm planning on having several lights down the alley I just wanted some big lights for fill or perhaps rim light. I also want to gel the lights to look like vapor lights. What gel combination do I need. I've heard 1/2 CTO and plus green.