Why I don’t recommend ETTR Anymore: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/p8qgo7aC1dmcloE.html (Cinematography Update / Part 2)

1. Always expose the brightest part of the image. 2. Work with these three factors, i) aperture ii)nd filter iii)add light 3. External monitors with luts and false colors. 4. Shoot at blue hour to avoid noise at low light, or day for night, or ETTR

“If you really take the time to get to know your camera” Something almost nobody does anymore because they are always upgrading to the latest. No bueno. Great video. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, this video is a game changer! I can totally relate to the struggle of trying to achieve cinematic images without knowing how to properly expose them. It's amazing that you're sharing this knowledge, especially for those of us with entry-level cameras. I wish I had come across a video like this earlier. Thanks for sharing your secrets!

Easily one of the best filmmaking videos I’ve watched in a while. Still working on shifting my shooting style from high dynamic range and super clean to more artistic, cinematic and intentionally exposed.

This is a little misleading for people who truly want to master exposure. Someone below explained it perfectly. When it comes to “perfect” exposure, if you have a character in the frame, their skin tone (specifically their face) is the priority. You have to make sure their face falls within the proper IRE range, that would be proper exposure, everything else after that is secondary. So for the examples you said were “overexposed”, looking at the subjects being properly lit, technically those shots were not overexposed. The subjects probably fell within the proper IRE range. After that whether or not the DP or director chooses to adjust the surrounding light sources (windows/sky/light) is completely up to them and up to stylistic choice, if they want to keep everything natural and as is, that’s completely normal and is an acceptable choice by many. *Something to note about proper IRE levels when exposing - different formats from cameras have different curves resulting in different “ideal” IRE ranges. For example, if you’re shooting in log the IRE range of where a face should fall is different from if you were shooting in a non log profile closer to a .709 image. And on top of that, different log profiles for different cameras also have minor differences. For example, for the Sony FX series, when shooting slog 3, they recommend skin tones fall within 49-55 IRE (give or take). But other log profiles for other cameras may have a slightly different skin tone “sweet spot”. It’s always best to just do your research on the camera YOU have. Figure out the ideal settings and profiles that are recommended for shooting the best results, and figure out what IRE ranges are recommended for proper exposure of skin tones etc. taking one video and applying it to all camera systems isn’t the most wise thing to do… No knock against the creator, but if the goal is to get closer to mastery, you gotta have the same approach as the professional do, and that is, 1) Know your specific camera system and it’s specific curves 2) Figure out what your SUBJECT is and make sure said subject is exposed properly, everything after that is up for creative/stylistic choice

Finally shared my thoughts and knowledge about this subject since i‘ve been avoiding making the video for a long time simply because i was still looking to explain it in the best possible way. (also couldn’t find such a video on the internet that deep dives in the art of exposure and i think i covered some new perspectives) I hope it helps, let me know if you have any more questions!

Well done Jared! I really admire your passion for the subject. Keep up the good work.

This is great. I started in photography and then dove deeply into cinematography. Since then I’ve always felt cinematographers tend to have a much deeper understanding on lighting and exposure than most photographers. You have way less room for error given raw stills vs even raw video if not 8/10bit video.

I can only recommend that you analyze movie stills with false color luts for yourself. It helped me a lot to achieve and understand the right cinematic contrast.

Amazing the way you explained it! Very helpful mate! Keep it going 🔥

This is something I stumbled upon naturally. I was super disappointed with my shots because I was told the ETTR. Eventually, one shoot I was so disappointed and mad at my images I just decided to make everything DARK… VERY DARK. ( I was prepared to give the client a refund for the shoot) the moment I put it into the editor…. It was beautiful. All my highlights were gorgeous and everything was amazing. The shadows? Were way closer to black but I was so much more pleased with the images. 10/10 best advice right here

Der Ansatz ein „cinematisches Bild“ bauen zu wollen ist, denke ich, der falsche. Auf Fenster etc. zu belichten ist ein technischer Aspekt, den man bei jedem Projekt neu infrage stellen kann. Wichtiger ist es ein Bild zu gestalten, welches die Story vorantreibt oder untermalt. Alle auf YT wollen einen „cinematic Frame“ aber die meisten wollen die Bildgestaltung nicht gerne mit ihrem eigentlichen Sinn in Zusammenhang bringen: der Geschichte. Was bringt einem DOP ein schönes Bild, wenn es nicht zum Film passt

Very well explained. Thanks for the tip to shoot during day. Never thought about that!

Super solid tips! Great tutorial and editing on this 👏

Bro is the embodiment of "straight to the point" This video was very helpful, unfortunately you don't get as much attention to such a great content, you're very underrated

Massive know-how and congratulations for the performance bro !!!! 💯🔥

Breaking photography habits is one of the hardest things to do when you've been trained and enforced to do everything in a clean and clinical way. I'm finally starting to really get filmic footage because I'm not afraid of breaking these unwritten rules.

Great breakdown! I feel like I knew these things but you really put it in perspective!

Great video man! Keep up the good work! I use false colors along with my light meter to get proper exposure and to help judge the contrast ratio.

Omg. This answered so many, many questions for me. Subscribed and thank you.

EDIT: My bad, just saw your recent upload addressing not to use ETTR! Hey Jared, nice video and well put together. I'd just like to clarify about your "how does cinema expose" section. When we shoot films, we monitor with a 'show LUT' and expose for the final look in camera. We rarely ever ETTR on set (I've never personally seen any DP do this on a big budget film set). In post, the colourist will usually stick close to how it was exposed by the DP but still build the look up from scratch plus any power window/automation adjustments that couldn't be done on the day with Livegrade. Also, a lot of DPs I've worked with keep skin tones around 50% and under, even as low as 20% for night shoots. The reason we expose so low for cinema is because, usually the movie will ideally be viewed in a darkened environment (like a cinema) and also because it gives a lot of headroom for exposure (equal stops above and below middle gray rather than interview style 70% IRE). There are some unique examples where some movie shots are overexposed on purpose for creative reasons (eg. in the matrix when Neo opens the door to the tv screens room). False colours are really good for viewing monitors outdoors or uncontrollable environments, but on set when DPs expose inside the DIT tent which is blacked out, they almost always do it by eye. We usually always stick to the cameras native ISO and swap NDs or pull iris. Once again, really good video! just wanted to clarify this particular section of the video!

Loved this video! Thank you for the tips!

I always struggle with exposure. Loved this video man!

Really enjoy it One of my favourite thing about this video is the many controversies that triggered in the comment session So much to learn from them too in a way or another

great breakdown 🔥🔥🔥

Very well explained. Thanks for your effort!

AMAZING VIDEO!!!!! this help a lot

perfectly explained, you nailed it! Thanks a lot!

Great knowledge 👊🏾🎥

Wow, this is definitely the recipe for cinematic imagery! Even if I don’t consider myself as a beginner this really gave me clearance. Thanks for making this

Good stuff man. Helped a lot!

that was a really great explanation thank you very much

None of the shots you showed as "bad example" are bad. They're artistic choices and they totally look "cinematic".

Excellent video! another option (in a controlled enviroment) is to bring external lights "down"; by adding blinds, ND films to the windows, or such things.

I would be EXTREMELY careful of using the ETTR technique. If you do this for every shot, you'll end up exposing your talent at different values which will cause problems when you cut your shots together and try to match them in the grade. Any digital sensor or film negative will shift colour slightly when filming the same thing at different exposures. This is especially noticeable on skin tone. The human eye and brain are programmed by millions of years of evolution to pick up even the most subtle shift and variation in skintone. Instead, you should aim to shoot your talent at the correct exposure value and then adjust the rest of the frame to match. So, when shooting drama, instead of exposing for the window in the example you use in your video, you'll want to use sheets of ND to knock it down to match the rest of the frame. When shooting docs or in less controlled environments, you'll have to manipulate the subject instead by moving them away from it so you're not shooting in front of such a hot source. I was lucky enough to study under some very experienced cinematographers, including Haskell Wexler, Billy Williams and Carlo di Palma. They all had exactly the same technique. Peg the exposure using their incident light meter meter on the actor's face (the modern equivalent would be to use false colour or waveform on an 18% grey card). Then put away the meter and light everything else by eye. That was the thing they drummed into all of us: *use your eyes*. When youv'e finished lighting the scene, then fine, use your spot meters (false colour) to judge when something is too hot and then adjust your extreme highlights accordingly. Good cinematography is always about photographing faces above everything else. They should always be your starting point, NOT the brightest part of the frame. Consistency between shots is what you should be aiming for. The very best cinematographers always shoot every shot in the scene, if not the whole movie, at the same stop. Ted Moore, for example, shot every single scene in all the early James Bond movies at t5.6 which is utterly crazy when you consider how slow film emulsion was back in the 1960s.

Amazing content!! Cheers from Portugal

more valuable advice than my 3 years in film school lol earned yourself a new sub! 🙏

Your false color images are very useful to see what you're talking about visually. Great video

Awesome video! Very appealing image

Thank you for all the valuable info.

Thank a lot for your content 🙏

Great video. Learned alot

Useful video. Cinematography is a complex subject! And every camera does it differently too. I'm guessing you're using a Glimmerglass or Black Mist filter? I have a Glimmerglass 1 filter and it makes my shots on my Sony ZV E10 look unbelievably dreamy. Ppl probably think I'm nuts running around outside in the Aussie sun with a portrait lens and filters but the results are out of this world, totally different to what you'd get from a phone camera for instance.

Monitoring Rec709 instead of Log will display blown out highlights where your camera in actually capturing details. I would use conversion LUTs on the monitor just to get a better feel of the image, not for waveform/false color monitoring.

Great video man, thank you 🙏🏽

This is challenge for short filmmakers because we use different apps to apply special effects for a part of a particular scene and those effect sections have different colour mood diffently from the actual camera used to shoot.

Great explanation. Thx.

Wow so much information thanks!!!

Thank you for this! This helped me a lot

A fresh dude ;) - Nice vid - keep on going!

Just to tell you, this thumbnail is amazing, I clicked in an instant without knowing you or being subscribed. Can't tell you why, just loved it.

Wonderful tutorial!!!

This is gave me some ideas. Thanks for this video.

this really helpful

Thank you

great video my dude!

Great video thanks I learned a lot.👍

Informative video 👌🏿👌🏿

Great job 👏🏾

Very cool video man! Well explained! IRE mesurement is not that accurated actually but It helps!! Keep inspiring man!

Very helpful! Laying in my bed ar 2 am and learning to look different at exposing🤝

> secret to exposure > bro is underexposed

Great video!

Cooles Video, Jared. Auch, dass Du auf Englisch sprichst. Keep it up bro :)

You are a great teacher!

Great video! Subbed :)

I see people saying prioritize skin. While this is true, know that you can always add light to a skin tone to bring it to proper exposure but never take light from blown highlights. I have learned personally to always expose for highlights and adjust for skin either in post if I'm not too far off or add light to the scene.

Thanks so much

Ur video cinematography feels like Wong kar wai Movies💙

Great video, love the style. These comments are like a cinematographer’s happy hour. ❤

Nice video bro, very informational.. by the way do you happen to have a video on how to get Smoove cinematic skin that pop out for Davinci resolve

Ich habe gesehen du kommst aus Deutschland, super informatives Video, hat mir sehr geholfen. danke :)

this was soooo helpfull thanks

This video was dope, subsribed

Great video! Got me out of my fear of overexposing slightly 😂

Nice Video Bro

spoken like a 🐐

The thumbnail is next level

You got a subscriber🎉🎉🎉

Hey! Great content - I do have a question which is confusing to me. Waveforms - when shooting in Slog3 (Sony) and Using the rec709 Lut monitor , do I based the Waveform of the Slog3 or the Lut?

Precious info! What makes your image in this video not sharp like there is a fog without having it, kind of films looks? Lens? Filter? Post?

Nice vid dude, I am struggling with exposing right. I wish I had false colors in camera as I cannot carry an external monitor around.

I love you brow, i am from Brazil

Amen !

It's also important to remember that when we look at movies, that is a graded shot. These shots are certainly exposed a bit differently than what you see in the final movie, so it's hard to really judge how it was exposed on the day.

What are you shooting the video with? I do see one light tube but what camera and lens do you use. And are you using a promist as well I mean the talking head part please. Thank you.

May I ask whats the song from the intro? I've felt in love with it!

how do you adjust the wording have that red-ish glowing effect, I have no idea how to do so, how do you make it/how to achieve that exposure red highlights

Hey man I was wondering how you got that IRE graph 0-1 in Davinci? I wanted to see the values of my stills like you are showing.

Thank you for this video. The video itself is very good, the information itself and the way of presenting it is very clear. but don't get me wrong, I cannot say the same about your A-Roll. It looks way more soft than it should be and the effect reaches the point where it looks not soft cinematic-ish but rather as if you forgot to clear your lens, or use the cheapest vintage lens/installed lens from disposable camera to your regular camera. anyway, I just wanted you give you my perspective and didn't want to be rude in any way.

Most cinema cameras drastically change dynamic range seperation (bright and dark areas) with changing ISO...for example : you shoot outside and it's a bright overcast day...normally you would stick with a low ISO or the native ISO in conjunction with using an ND...but...if you increase ISO just two stops higher than native ISO...the details that the sensor can capture in the bright areas drastically increase. This also works in the other direction...dark scenes ISO 100 because sensors capture more shadow details with lower ISO's. Liebe Grüße aus Mannheim 👍 und viel Erfolg

great information, this should be on every filmmaking discussion. 🔥🎬

Clarification: I shoot in slog 3 on my a7IV, and I'm using a Ninja Flame monitor. When shooting in slog 3, do I use false color on the log footage to expose? (for example 70 IRE for skin) or should be uploading a rec709 conversion LUT THEN apply false colors to the conversion LUT to judge exposure values? (i.e 70 IRE for skin?)

nice .. can you tell which camera and lens you are shooting for this video? ..thanks

hey what´s the name of the firts sound effect or nade of the track played on the video at the very begining?

Are you using a lens filter (filming yourself) and if so what is it

hey, what movie is it on the top left corner of the thumbnail? great vid :)

I thought this was a really helpful video

Instant subscribe.