Exposing Correctly for Video, and grey card

Well, the key is the light that's going to determine your exposure as it's the brightest light source in your scene, so I could see why people would do that. I usually just go with your method though, using the zebras as well as my eyes. Not too hard to get a correct exposure like that.
 
Luke, the best way to determine accurate exposure is with a light meter. Or a light meter and a gray card as you described. The DVX has a marker feature that reads out a percentage level reading, and that along with a gray card can be used to set exposure very acurately.

The top priority is that your subject is properly exposed. The key light is the key light! Once that is set, you can use fill light to taste, you may use none or a lot, and that would give you different looks. The important thing is that the key is exposed right.

However, what if you expose to the face and a lot of the rest of the scene is overexposed? That's not good at all. In that case, you need more light on your subject, and then when you set exposure again both the subject and the scene should look OK.

All of this assumes your camera can support it, and that you have the time and discipline to do it right. If you are at a point where you know when to trust your LCD and when not to, then you can certainly get very close to perfect just eyeballing it.
 
The Grey card and the light metters are great tools, but tools designed for film work, not video work. In the best of world what I try to achieve is a wide range in the midtones, and watching out my highlights and my blacks... Using the Zebra in combination of a well calibrated monitor does the trick.If your monitor can displaya scope, then it's even better... If it looks good on my monitor and if the zebra are good, then it's a go. I do color grade/correct everything I shoot. It works well for me, however I am sure there are better ways. I'll be curious to hear what other people have to say.
 
What you need to do is find out what the Latitude of your camera is. You'll need a Light Meter that reads footcandles. If you start from a Grey card at 0fc and go up to about 1290fc's in increments that double, i.e. 1fc, 2fc, 4fc, 8fc, 16fc, 32fc, etc. Set your fstop to f4.0. you will see various shades of grey. When you see a "grey" that is what you would say is "grey" to you, count how many fc's you can go before you get to clip the whites and underexposure (black). This gives you an idea of how much Latitude you are dealing with.
If your using a DVX100, I've found most to be about a 500 ISO and a Latitude of about 7 stops. (-4 -3 -2 -1 N +1 +2)
 
I started using digital still cameras 5 years ago and I have never needed a light meter since. I can just check the histogram (with studio flash just 1 or 2 test shots) and exposures are perfect.

With a digital video camera I have the zebras (I use either 80% or 100%) and that's more or less it. In critical studio work DVRack is perfect, I get various scopes to fine tune the exposure. Why use a light meter when I can actually see on the monitor (camera or PC) what the end result looks like?
 
Any other people want to talk about how they light a scene? I'd like to hear some more people about their method.
 
Ummm no. An 18% grey card is not a person black, white, or brown. I totally pooched one of my first gigs as an engineer by exposing for highlights rather than skintones, the point being the rules don't mean squat if the talent looks like poop. Lighting a whitey you want your key at about 60-70 ire. A 2-1 ratio key to fill is oft considered standard for cinema less for TV , backlight to taste. You always expose for your subject PERIOD. If the windows blow out fine, if the shadows are crushed fine, you always expose for your subject.
Lynch I light a scene with lights and sometimes reflectors, you might want to be a little more specific.
 
Zone System for Video?

Zone System for Video?

filmprofessorbear said:
What you need to do is find out what the Latitude of your camera is. You'll need a Light Meter that reads footcandles. If you start from a Grey card at 0fc and go up to about 1290fc's in increments that double, i.e. 1fc, 2fc, 4fc, 8fc, 16fc, 32fc, etc. Set your fstop to f4.0. you will see various shades of grey. When you see a "grey" that is what you would say is "grey" to you, count how many fc's you can go before you get to clip the whites and underexposure (black). This gives you an idea of how much Latitude you are dealing with.
If your using a DVX100, I've found most to be about a 500 ISO and a Latitude of about 7 stops. (-4 -3 -2 -1 N +1 +2)
Click to expand...
this sort of sounds a lot like the Zone System for Video - see -

Applying the Zone System to Video

http://www.internetcampus.org/zone.htm

this is an adaptation of Ansel Adam's classic Zone System to video - rather interesting...
 
This is probably not the correct way to do it, but I've tended to use zebras to set the exposure by the backlight (usually my brightest light) first. I've then moved the key light to a point where all the zebras stripes have just barely disappeared from the face.
 
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