Movie Makers (Jan-Dec 1952)

294 turn off the other lights so that only the back light is shining on the subject; then adjust its height and angle to give the most pleasing effect. Now turn on the front lights and background lights also to check the overall combination. EXPOSURE TABLES With a simple, uncomplicated lighting arrangement, perhaps the easiest way of determining exposure is by use of the guide or table supplied with the film. However, in using these one must be sure that unblackened lamps are burned on a line of proper voltage. Also, when lampto-subject distances, such as 3 feet or 5% feet are itemized in the table, use a tape measure to determine such distances in your setup. Never guess; it's too easy to be wrong. For these tables and guides have been checked carefully under average working conditions, and when followed carefully they will produce very satisfactory exposures. The Movie Kodaguide (Fig. 2) and the newer Cine Photoguide are examples of this type of exposure counsel — for both indoor and outdoor movie making. EXPOSURE METERS If a reflected-light exposure meter is used to determine exposure, care must be exercised to make sure that the back light and background light do not affect the meter reading. One way to handle this situation is to turn off the back light and background lights and take the meter reading of the subject with front illumination only. Actually the two front lights are the only ones that contribute to the basic illumination of the central subject. The other two are effect lights. And, while they do produce an exposure effect in the finished picture, they do not contribute to the basic exposure. A gray card of 18 percent reflectance, such as the Kodak Neutral Test Card, also can be used as a target in measuring light reflections from an average subject. The card should be held so that it faces the camera lens and is in the plane of the subject. The meter should be held relatively close to the card (about 12 to 18 inches) and TABLE HI-GUIDE NUMBERS FOR DETERMINING EXPOSURES WITH PH-375 WATT LAMPS IN 2-LAMP OR 4-LAMP LIGHTING BARS TYPE OF FILM USED 2-Lamp Bar 4-Lamp Bar Type A Kodachrome 24 34 Cine-Kodak Super-X Panchromatic 34 48 Cine-Kodak Super-XX Panchromatic 54 75 FIG. 4: Flexible and facile in operation, the lighting bar system of home movie making invites use of many interesting angles. so that it does not cast its own shadow on the card. Also it should be close enough to measure only the light reflected from the gray card. If you use an incident light meter which reads in footcandles the intensity of illumination falling on the subject, you may translate these readings into aperture designations by referring to Table I. LIGHTING LARGER AREAS The arrangement of lights so far described will produce top quality movies, particularly on closeup views. However, for medium to medium-long shots, more front lighting and less effect lighting is required. In taking medium and long shots, a larger area is covered by the lens; therefore, more lamps will be required to illuminate that area. The lights also must be placed farther from the subject; otherwise they would show in the picture. Therefore, it is wise to avoid large areas or long shots when shooting indoors and stick to near shots and closeups if it is at all practical to do so. This will result in simpler lighting arrangements, better exposures and, incidentally, more interesting movies. However, when larger areas are lighted, the beams of light from the lamps should not be superimposed. Rather the lamps should be placed so that the beams of light are side by side with only the outer periphery of the light cone overlapping. For the number of lamps, the areas covered and resultant exposures, see Table II on the preceding page. [Continued on page 303] TABLE IV-LENS OPENINGS FOR AVERAGE SUBJECTS WITH TWO PH-375 WATT LAMPS IN BAR* Lamp-to-Subject Distance (Beams Superimposed) 4V2 ft. 6 ft. 9 ft. 12 ft. 13 ft. 17 ft. CineKodak Films Type A Kodachrome f/5.6t f/4f f/2.8 or f/2.7 f/2 f/1.9 f/1.4 Super-X f/8 f/5.6 f/4 f/2.8 f/2.7 f/2 Super-XX (16mm only) between f 11 and f/16 between f/8 and f/11 between f/5.6 and f/8 between between f/4 and f/4 f/2.8 and f/5.6 f/4 * Table recommendations are for new lamps only. stop larger. t These exposure recommendations may differ from some Brownie Movie Cameras and Cine-Kodak Re acceptable quality at these distances. After lamps burn one hour, use Vi stop larger lens opening; after 2 hours, one the minimum camera-to-subject distances recommended in the manuals packed with iant Cameras with f/2.7 lens. However, recent tests have shown pictures to be of