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How Cinematographers Set Their Exposure

Exposure treated as a system of six controls — ISO, shutter, aperture, frame rate, ND and the light in the room — and how working cinematographers decide which to move. The framing is what makes it useful: exposure as a set of trade-offs rather than a correct answer.

In Depth Cine · 13 min · Intermediate · CIN · Cinematography · 2023

What you take away

Every exposure control costs you something else — depth of field, motion blur or noise — so the question is never "is it exposed" but "what did I spend to expose it".

Watch it

Filed under

Films to study for light

Oscar winners for cinematography

The Aviator (2004)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Road to Perdition (2002)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
American Beauty (1999)

Books on cinematography

Kit for this lesson

FEELWORLD LUT7 PRO — A bright 7" monitor at a quarter of the price
PortKeys BM5 III WR — Monitor that can also run the camera
Atomos Ninja V — The 5" recorder-monitor that made ProRes RAW normal
Atomos Ninja (5") — The current 5" recorder-monitor
PolarPro Mist Edition VND — Diffusion and ND in one piece of glass
PolarPro Peter McKinnon VND II 6-9 stop — The dense one, for a wide-open lens in daylight

More Cinematography

Roger Deakins on How to Choose a Camera Lens — Cinematography Techniques Ep. 8 — StudioBinder · 10m · Intermediate
Sony Picture Profiles & Dynamic Range Guide (Cine vs S-Log vs HLG) — Gerald Undone · 24m · Advanced
The Pros & Cons Of Film Vs Digital: Featuring Robert Yeoman — In Depth Cine · 15m · Advanced
Mother (2009) - The Telephoto Profile Shot — Every Frame a Painting · 4m · Advanced
Making THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS (with Wes Anderson & Robert Yeoman) — Cinematographers on cinematography · 27m · Advanced
Cinematic Film Composition — Roger Deakins on Blocking, Staging & Composition in Cinematography — StudioBinder · 7m · Intermediate
Depth of field | Virtual Cameras | Computer animation | Khan Academy — Khan Academy Labs · 3m · Intermediate
Roger Deakins on "Learning to Light" — Cinematography Techniques Ep. 1 — StudioBinder · 9m · Intermediate
Shooting “Moonrise Kingdom" (with Wes Anderson & Robert Yeoman) — Cinematographers on cinematography · 17m · Advanced
Ultimate Guide to Camera Lenses — Every Type of Camera Lens Explained [Shot List Ep. 7] — StudioBinder · 20m · Beginner
Depth of Field Explained: Ultimate Guide to Camera Focus [Shot List Ep. 4] — StudioBinder · 15m · Beginner
How Kubrick Achieved the Beautiful Cinematography of Barry Lyndon — CinemaTyler · 14m · Advanced

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