American cinematographer (Jan-Dec 1941)

**Hi BETTER WAYS TO Use Your Exposure Meter By THEODOR SPARKUHL, A.S.C. SOMEONE once remarked about flying that "it isn't the airplanes that are dangerous — it's the people who fly them." You might coin a very similar epigram about exposure meters, too. Rightly used, the modern photoelectric exposure-meter can be one of the biggest aids to consistently better cinematography that either the professional or the amateur could want. Wrongly used, it can be a positive menace, for while the meter has a highly efficient electric eye, it has no brain. The user has to supply that. One of the biggest sources of difficulty most amateurs (and some professionals) have with using a meter is that while the meter gives a very accurate interpretation of the exposure-value of what it "sees," it does not necessarily "see" the same thing that either the camera's lens or the cameraman's eye sees. For example, the 1-inch lens normally used on 16mm. cameras (and the corresponding 12.5mm. lens used on the eights) covers a horizontal angle of about 20 degrees. But the meter's "eye" takes in a considerably wider expanse. The earlier Weston meters, for example (with the exception of the special "cine" models) view an angle of about 60 degrees; the "cine" models and the new "Master" when its high-range baffle is in place, scan an angle of about 30 degrees. Even if you're not statistically minded you can figure out that the meter is likely to be reading on a lot of exposure-factors the camera won't be photographing! To get around this, simply make sure your meter "sees" the same field of view your lens is photographing. If you use one of the newer, narrower-angled meters, come about one-third of the way from camera to subject to take your reading. With one of the older, widei"vision meters, you'd usually better come about half-way to the subject. It isn't a bad idea at all, by the way, to scribe a center-line on the edge of your meter's case, right in line with the photocell, and then scribe side-lines indicating the meter's angle. With this as a guide, all you'll have to do is sight along the edge of the meter, and walk in until the scribed side-lines match the field you know your camera is photographing. Another difficulty the meter faces is the fact that it often "sees" exposuremaking factors that we deliberately want to ignore. For example, in an average long-shot there's often a pretty fair amount of sky. But the meter's "eye" is likely to "see" much more of that sky Correct exposure can make as much difference as' filtering in shots like these. than is actually in the picture. Accord-i ingly it will give a misleadingly high! reading, and you'll find your picture tends toward underexposure. The sim plest way to avoid this is to make a l::tle sunshade for your meter, using the palms and fingers of both hands folded over the edges of the meter-case, andl then point the meter downward at abouti a 30-degree angle. This way it doesn't "see" so much of the sky, and gives a correct reading of the darker and less reflective parts of the subject — the parts you want correctly exposed. Often, too, you'll be more interested in the parts of your subject that are in the shade than those in the sunlight. The meter will simply average up the two brightnesses, and give you a sort of compromise reading, trying to balance the exposure between them. This may be right when the sunlight and shade areas are of approximately equal area and importance; but it's all wrong when, as is often the case, the shadowed area is smaller but more important. The remedy is to bring the meter still closer to the subject, so that it "see?" only, or at least principally, the shaded area which is the important part of your picture. This is an especially good method in making close-ups of people. As a rule, the most pleasing lighting for close-ups is a cross-light, with half the face in sunlight, and half in shadow. But you want those shadows "open" — well exposed— not inky black areas. If you take your meter-reading from a position where the meter "sees" both areas, you're likely to lose the shadows. It is much the best idea to take your reading from an angle such that the meter scans only the shadow-area. The highlights, with most modern 16mm. and 8mm. films will take care of themselves. Another type of shot where the meter's vision may prove faulty and misleading is in making extreme long-shot landscapes, especially if for good composition you've included a closer foreground, with or without figures. The meter will av, rage the two up, and you'll get a badly overexposed shot if you make your picture according to the meter's reading. But the meter-makers have taken excellent care of that for you. On the Weston meter's calculator-dial, for example, you'll notice several markings other than the "Normal" arrow usually used in making the reading. One of these is marked "A," and indicates %-noitaal exposure. Use this instead of the regular arrow-point in setting the calculator for these extreme long-shot readings, and you'll get a much more satisfactory exposure. As a matter of fact, in long-shots like these, correct exposure can do fully as much in bringing out distance, etc.. as filtering. This is especially true in Kodachrome, where overexposure so quickly "washes out" the picture. That calculator dial can do some other (Continued on Page 242) 224 May, 1941 American Cinematographer