CHAPTER 24 Exposure

It seems to me that how we expose film is one of the great nightmare beasts to aspiring cinematographers. Exposing video and HD seems easier; in fact, it looks as though you can just glance at your monitor or LCD display on the camera. True, you can get a somewhat acceptable picture that way, but you don't know how to expose, and you don't know what you're doing when you light.

It always pays to know what you're doing and why you're doing it. You know that you're not lighting for illumination; you're putting music on the film. You're setting time, mood, style, and emotions. You have to think about how the shot is going to look, and you need to understand exposure to do that. You will quickly find that hit-and-miss-lighting, ...

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