First Time Shooting Film

[Greg Segul]

Its my first time shooting 16mm for a school project. I understand how to use a light meter as we've gone over it in class.

 

My question is if your putting in a highlight either from the side or almost side ke,y would the proper way to meter would be to block that light from hitting your meter? I would assume this is correct as if you allow that light to strike the dome it will give you a stop that may not give the desired highlight as it will make you close down to compensate.

 

If I wanted that highlight to be my key and not a blown out sun effect then by all means I would meter that as my main source. But I found that allowing the extraneous light thats suppose to be a effect like that can change something that you want 3 stops over to only a stop.

 

Thanks For Help In Advance

[Saul Rodgar]

Yes. In other words, when you look at your "picture," it is up to you to place the 18% gray (what the meter sees). If you want the highlight to be at 18%, then yes you take a reading at the highlight. If you don't want the highlight to be at 18% then you measure somewhere else. Where? Again, that is up to you. But, generally, the rule of thumb for everyday exposure is to look for what would to your eye be the "middle gray" in your picture and measure that. Then, technically you should have 5 or 6 stops in either direction to pure white and pure black, for a well balanced exposure. Obviously, that is not always desirable. That is when you "choose" your own middle gray for mood, style, effect, etc.

[Greg Gross]

Hello Greg,

Basic photography rules apply here as in "f-stops". Look up the term f-stop if you are not

aware of it already. Make sure you understand the term as it applies to photography. If in

your scene you want to expose for the "Werewolf's Face" then measure the light at the We-

rewolf's face and not the direct light from a light source such as a key light,fill light etc.. By

all means when your scene is lit go ahead and measure the light from the key,fill,background

light etc. and at your subject,in this case the werewolf's face. You'll observe a distinct difference

in f-stops based on the ISO in use. All of these differences equate into a certain ratio of lighting

that could set the mood for your scene. Please read about "18% Gray" when you get a chance.

Something for you to think about- "Do not get fooled into believing that the measurment at the

werewolf's face is 18% Gray. Best wishes for you and your filmmaking. I am sure also that you

will be learning about blocking light. Since its holloween soon just using werewolf for example.

 

Greg Gross

[David Rakoczy]

Get this asap:

 

FILM LIGHTING