This week we focused on exposure, and the effects this can have on cinematography. We can lean the three components to exposure through the triangle diagram we were shown:
ISO was particularly interesting to me; this can affect the image or scene’s resolution due to it being the measure of light sensitivity that is taken with the camera. Higher ISO = higher light sensitivity = a grainier texture to the image.
Aperture, also known as F-value, is the measure of how much light travels through in a camera. A larger f value lets in a small amount of light, with a smaller f value letting in more light.
Shutter speed is the measure of how long the shutter is open for, letting light through to the sensor in the camera. The less the shutter speed, the less light will be let through, and the more shutter speed, the more light will be let through.
This can be measured in fps (frames per second) and the standard speed for cinema is 24fps.
We then looked at angles such as wide lenses, close ups, macro lenses, and compared these to how they are affected by the written above. We did this by looking at a variety of film captures, and the appropriate lens type used for each one.
Work at home
In my spare time I thought about exposure in some of my favourite films, and how this could have affected the experience of the film. One example in particular I would like to share is from the film ‘Drive’ (2011). This film uses neon lighting as a huge part of its aesthetic, yet the exposure varies throughout.
For example, in this scene, when they first enter the lift, we see a quite highly exposed shot, a lot of light is included.
However, when tension builds, and the scene becomes more darker in emotion and actions, the exposure lowers a fraction gradually as the scene continues. As the kiss scene is happening, before the driver kills the man in the lift, we see this change of lighting, and this represents the change in the mood. Exposure here really played a part in the setting of this scene.
Homework
For the homework we had to create a 15 second clip of the city around us that we will edit in Nuke next week.
For mine, I filmed outside my accommodation as that is where I am most times and what the city means to me personally.
I used a split scene effect to represent different perspectives, and different times of the day. I also added casual music to bring all of it together. It also starts and ends on the same scene to make the very short film feel like a closed circle and brings it back to the start.