12 Three-point image control There's no such thing as exposure latitude Many photographers refer to a particular film stock as having plenty of latitude; indeed, stock manufacturers often sell certain stocks as having great, or extended, latitude. If we are to produce the very finest images, it is important to abandon all thoughts of film having latitude and use all the tonal range of the film, If you are using a film stock with the ability to record an image with a tonal range covering seven stops (that is, a lighting ratio of 128:1), and you knew that the image was only ever going out on television, which can only transmit a lighting ratio of 32:1, or five stops of tonal range, then you could say that you had two stops’ latitude, one stop above correct exposure and one stop below perfect exposure. But why not go for a more appropriate exposure every time? Even when shooting for television you might not want to put the five-stop range in the middle of the sensitometric curve. If you were shooting a night exterior you might wish to lay your exposure right on the bottom five stops of the full exposure range, thus taking advantage of the curved response at the bottom end on the sensitometric curve. This would be very sensible, as the non-linear response to extreme shadow detail at this point in the film’s sensitivity is very akin to the human eye/brain response and can therefore, in these circumstances, look both appealing and appropriate. ‘The same is true of a scene containing mainly highlights, say a snows- cape, Here you may decide to peg all your important tones right at the top of the sensitometric curve, thus compressing the extreme whites as they will sit on the non-linear part of the curve, where all the bright whites start to go to absolute white. This can have the effect of appear- ing to extend the information-recording ability of the film well into the shadows, where you may wish to show more information. If you are shooting with a film having a seven-stop overall range and you are going to show the resultant picture in the cinema, where, as we have seen, a really good projectoriscreen set-up can show the full seven-stop range, then clearly you have no latitude whatsoever. 1m2 Practical Cinematography If we are to work at these extremes, or even if we wish to be certain that we are placing our chosen tones right in the middle of the straight-line section of the curve, then we will need a simple and accu- rate method of measuring the brightnesses in the scene and relating them to the chosen film’s recording ability. Three-point image control To work to the accuracy required above you cannot use an incident light meter. An incident meter can make no allowance for the reflectivity of the subject behind it and that reflectivity can vary over huge margins A reflected light meter is required and one where the user is certain of the exact area over which the reading is being taken. Such a thing is, called a spot meter. You will find a full description of a spot meter in Chapter 10. ‘There is a very simple way of using a spot meter to very quickly give you all the information you need for the most accurate positioning of the tones of your scene on the sensitometric curve of the film you are using, After a little experience you will not even have to think about the sensitometry at all. Point 1 In order to establish the correct aperture to set on the lens, take a reading on the most important subject in the scene. As this will usually be your main character in the scene, then use their lit skin tone. If they are a Caucasian then the reading on your spot meter will be one stop over the setting for an 18 per cent grey card. ‘As we have seen, the meter expects to be pointed at something hav- ing a reflectance value of 18 per cent and Caucasian skin usually has a reflectance of around 36 per cent. This means that if the skin reads 5.6 then the lens should be set to T4, You can check this by substitut- ing the person with an 18 per cent grey card; this will read T4. In fact, using the card is a very good way of setting this point when the person is not available. Remember, the card must be placed in the exact pos- ition of the face and should be set so that all the light that will fall on. the bright side of the face falls on the card. The only other caveat is that all the readings for this technique must be taken from in front of or very near to the lens, for only then will the reflectance of all the surfaces in the scene be the same for the spot meter as for the film. Point 2 The second most important part of most scenes to most cinematog- raphers is the shadows, so measuring these becomes Point 2 of the technique. We know that for cinema our tonal range goes around four stops below camera aperture; therefore, without changing any of the settings on your spot meter, look into the shadows in your scene. Four stops below the exposure we have chosen, T4, is T0.9 — therefore, any shadows that read above T0.9 will ust have detail in them when shown, on the cinema screen and any that read below this figure will come out, as solid black‘Three-point image control 13 Point 3 We know that the chosen film in this example has a tonal range of the equivalent of seven stops and therefore will record up to three stops of information above the setting for the 18 per cent grey card. As we have established that the lens is to be set at T4, then this upper cut-off point will be a reading of T11, three stops above T4. Now explore the highlights in your scene. Any parts of the scene that read below T11 will have information in them; any that read above T11 will appear in the cinema as even, clear, white. ‘There is one more matter to remember when reading the highlights, When you get a reading a certain amount above the maximum record- able by the film, the image of that subject will grow, as pouring so much energy, light, into the film’s emulsion causes it to disperse in various ways. Also, there is a likelihood of lens flare at these very high bright- nesses, Containing this overexposure within two stops above the maxi- mum recordable will usually prevent this happening, Relating the three points to the sensitometric curve Let us assume we are about to photograph an exterior scene with a 200 ISO film we have used before and we know its characteristics quite well. Experience tells us that with this film we will be able to record a seven-stop tonal range and that we will still get a little detail in the highlights if they are three stops brighter than the aperture we have set on the camera, and we still get just a little detail in the shadows when they read four stops below camera aperture. Figure 12.1 shows a scene with the viewfinder image of a Pentax Digital Spotmeter overlaid on the scene. Let us say we were using our 200 ASA film, then the reading on the gir!’ face, Point 1, would be 8 in the viewfinder. Translating this on the meter's scale, this becomes T5.6. We would therefore set the lens to T4, as her skin tone will be reflect- ing about one stop more than an 18 per cent grey card. This means that camera aperture would now be represented by a reading of 7 in the Pentax viewfinder. Checking the doorway to the right of the building, the shadow, and therefore Point 2, we get a reading of 4 and one dot in the viewfinder — that is, two and two-thirds stops below camera aperture and therefore one-third of a stop above black. Converting this to an exposure we get TLO; therefore, the doorway will be just on the very edge of having information in the image and the door will, most likely, have wood grain just discernible in the image. ‘A reading taken on the highlight on the wall just below the dome on the top of the building is 9 and two dots in the viewfinder. As each dot in a Pentax finder represents one-third of a stop, this gives us a read- ing two and two-thirds stops above the camera aperture, still one-third of a stop within the three-stop limit, so there will still be a little colour and detail in these highlights — they will not have lost information or become pure white. All the other tones tis now possible to take readings from any or all the other tones and see exactly where they are going to sit within or outside the tonal range"4 Practical Cinematography Figure 12.1 How scene tones folate to the senstometrie curve 'y Created on the Negative 18% Reflectance Den Logarithm of Exposure created by Brightness ot scene of the film, With a little practice you will be able to imagine the bright- ness in the final image as it relates to the nearest of the three cardinal, positions you have set against the stop you have put on the lens. Adjusting the tones If you find that there is an important part of the scene that has read a little above the maximum white but you wish to photograph it, one rela- tively simple solution is to light the subject's face a little brighter. This, will enable you to stop down enough to bring the highlight within the recordable tonal range. You will now need to recheck your shadows to make sure none of them have now fallen outside the film’s tonal range. More simply, if there are some shadows that fall below the record- able tonal range, then by simply adding a little more fill light you will bring them up to a recordable level. On an exterior this might simply be done with a reflector, for instance. Three-point image control works just as well when filming for televi- sion transmission, The only difference is that you have only two and two-thirds stops of recordable image below the reading on an 18 per cent grey card and two and one-third above. In practice, with modern film stocks, you can approximate this safely to three stops below and two stops above,13 Using the 18 per cent grey card The messenger Perhaps the most important use of the grey card is as a messenger to the processing laboratory. By adjusting the brightness, and indeed the colour, of the grey card then photographing it before you shoot a scene you have, possibly, the most powerful communication tool in cinematography. In order to use this tool you must frst tell the processing laboratory you need them to participate. You can do this in three ways: 1 Before shooting, explain to the laboratory that, at the beginning of every day’s rushes, there will be a grey card and would they, please, always grade the following scenes to that grey card. Tell them that when you want the grading changed you will put a new card on. 2. When the grading is to be changed, always break the roll and start anew roll. This way the laboratory grader does not have to inspect all the rushes for cards — they only need to check the beginnings of rolls. This is important, as it means the negative receives less hand- Jing and therefore has less chance of being damaged. It also saves the grader a lot of time and this encourages them to be helpful. Graders are human too. 3° At the top of the lab report sheet, always get the loader to write, very clearly, ‘Grade To Grey Scales’. This is in case the grader who normally prints the rushes every night is off for some reason and the new grader does not know you are using this technique. Ihave my own grey card which has printed on white Dymo labelling ‘Please Grade the Following Scenes to this 18 per cent Grey Card’. When that is photographed at the front of the roll there can be very little misunderstanding as to the requirements. 15